Hybrid..is it the future?

[Nicksey]

I decided on the Jazz (Honda hybrid motor) as I reckoned it was a more sensible option than going full electric or a plug-in option. I have always had Renaults previously, and always considered economy and MPG before performance.
After researching, I decided this time to go for a Jazz because I liked the hybrid set up.

Today, in the news it has stated that electric charge costs are now 18p a mile.. which is only a penny behind petrol which is 19p a mile! Looking at the way electric charges are going, it is possible that running a 'green' motor will eventually cost more than running a petrol one. Add on top the initial cost, and battery degradation it would appear a self charging hybrid is the way forward.

So running an electric car is proving to be coming less cost effective than petrol. Obviously, a plug-in is not going to benefit the pocket either. This means the only benefit is probably inner-city pollution.

 

[Jocko]

A plug in hybrid charges like a normal hybrid plus you can plug it in as well. It is only some public chargers that cost as much as is being reported. You can charge at home for a fraction of that cost.

[Kremmen]

Petrol 19p a mile

That will depend on the car. I wonder what our hybrid Jazz costs per mile at ~£1.60 per litre and say 60mpg ?

Calculators at the ready .......

[John Ratsey]

I did my sums over two years ago before I bought my Crosstar. An EV would be cheaper to run if I never ventured far from home and could be charged using 5p/kWh electricity. Then I saw that public chargers were 30p/kWh so around 9p/mile assuming 3.5 mile/kWh which was in the same price range as petrol for a hybrid. Given that the majority of my miles are for longer trips it would mean I would get little reduction in running costs in return for a much greater cost. Petrol has gone up in price but so has electricity.

EVs make sense for those with access to home charging and most of miles in daily commuting within the distance which can be replenished each night by home charging, otherwise good hybrids are the better option.  EVs are unlikely to drop in price substantially in the near future as there are constraints in both the supply of battery materials and the production of batteries https://www.economist.com/business/2022/08/14/could-the-ev-boom-run-out-of-juice-before-it-really-gets-going. And, given the UK's increasing gap between reliable electricity supply and expected demand due to phasing out of old nuclear and increased EV charging plus heating changing to heat pumps, I don't see electricity becoming cheap even when the unreliable wind blows.

[Jocko]

A PHEV is the best of both worlds in my opinion. It runs like a normal hybrid but if you plug it in and charge it up it can give you 35 - 40 miles of pure electric motoring. If you have a drive you can charge it off a normal 13A plug as you are not having to fully charge a big battery as in an EV.

[Jeff15]

I am delighted with my Honda Jazz Hybrid. Petrol to Electric and back to Petrol again, it is all seamless you can hardly tell. Honda seems to have cracked it with this power train. I would buy an electric vehicle if it had a range of 400 miles or so but I think this is still many years in the future.

[Kremmen]

+1

Perfectly happy and a very nice car to drive. Smooth, silent, toys and 60mpg

[ColinB]

If you're talking about "The Future", then the fly in this particular ointment is that you won't be able to buy a new hybrid after 2030 because it'll have an ICE. There is talk of an extension of a few years for hybrids that can travel more then a certain minimum distance (maybe something like 30 or 50 miles) as an EV, but that hasn't yet been defined or confirmed. Certainly the Jazz wouldn't qualify because (a) you can't select EV drive and (b) the battery's too small. And the only way a PHEV makes sense is to plug it in at every opportunity (which'll annoy EV owners), because if you don't you're lugging a heavy battery around for no reason, which will cost you in fuel economy.

[John Ratsey]

If you're talking about "The Future", then the fly in this particular ointment is that you won't be able to buy a new hybrid after 2030 because it'll have an ICE. There is talk of an extension of a few years for hybrids that can travel more then a certain minimum distance (maybe something like 30 or 50 miles) as an EV, but that hasn't yet been defined or confirmed. Certainly the Jazz wouldn't qualify because (a) you can't select EV drive and (b) the battery's too small. And the only way a PHEV makes sense is to plug it in at every opportunity (which'll annoy EV owners), because if you don't you're lugging a heavy battery around for no reason, which will cost you in fuel economy.

There will probably be a rush to buy new hybrids in the year before the deadline arrives. By then my driving ambitions may well have diminished and I'll be happy with a 2nd hand EV.

A PHEV makes sense for someone whose mileage is predominantly shorter trips plus the occasional long trip. Something that isn't clear to me is whether or not the battery weight is proportional to charge capacity. I suspect not as there's an up-front weight penalty in battery protection and thermal management. An extra 50kg of battery that gives 30 miles of electric operation might be a reasonable trade-off.

A Jazz PHEV might well be in Honda's plans but I suspect that we would have to forego the magic seats as the battery pack would extend under the seat squab.

[richardfrost]

I keep thinking that a set of pedals in each seating position might be a great idea. For pedalling generator, not for back seat drivers!

[John Ratsey]

I keep thinking that a set of pedals in each seating position might be a great idea. For pedalling generator, not for back seat drivers!

Covering the vehicle with solar panels and only going out in sunny weather might be better.

[ColinB]

Covering the vehicle with solar panels and only going out in sunny weather might be better.

Here y'go:
https://lightyear.one/

[Jocko]

This is the future.

https://aptera.us/

[Nicksey]

If you're talking about "The Future", then the fly in this particular ointment is that you won't be able to buy a new hybrid after 2030 because it'll have an ICE. There is talk of an extension of a few years for hybrids that can travel more then a certain minimum distance (maybe something like 30 or 50 miles) as an EV, but that hasn't yet been defined or confirmed. Certainly the Jazz wouldn't qualify because (a) you can't select EV drive and (b) the battery's too small. And the only way a PHEV makes sense is to plug it in at every opportunity (which'll annoy EV owners), because if you don't you're lugging a heavy battery around for no reason, which will cost you in fuel economy.

Knowing how legislation regarding vehicles, and how any governments plans constantly change I wouldn't be putting bets on this actually happening. Seven'ish years is a little way off, but I honestly don't believe they will ban petrol engine vehicles at that point.

[Bristol_Crosstar]

A PHEV is the best of both worlds in my opinion. It runs like a normal hybrid but if you plug it in and charge it up it can give you 35 - 40 miles of pure electric motoring. If you have a drive you can charge it off a normal 13A plug as you are not having to fully charge a big battery as in an EV.

It doesn't run like a self-charging hybrid, it uses the battery until it's out of power (usually after about 30 miles) then it runs on the ICE not very efficiently as it's got the extra weight of the larger batteries, it doesn't do any charging while driving so nothing like the Jazz. So you have to plug it in AND put petrol in to use it properly.