Tell me about your hybrid vehicle experiences

[jalapeno_pretzel]

FWIW when we were at the dealership looking at the Rav 4 recently, the sales guy told us Toyota doesn't even make gasoline only Camry anymore , only hybrids now. (My current car is gasoline only Camry). It's becoming more and more the norm I guess.

 

[disneyseniors]

DS has a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid (not plug-in) and it is a great vehicle. We are contemplating getting one when we get another vehicle. I know I am not ready for full electric with all the driving that we do, so this is a good compromise.

My daughter loves hers!

 

[AngusIsMySpiritAnimal]

Oldest DD's first car was a Prius (Hybrid). Youngest DD's first car is a Hybrid Camry. I've driven and ridden in both. I would be satisfied with either. Oldest's gave up on her, but it wasn't the Hybrid system, and she put a LOT of miles on it. Youngest's is still going (knock on wood) and it's a 2007.

When we replace DW's minivan, I will definitely look at a Hybrid, would probably prefer it, but don't know that it will be the plug-in variety.

I don't think there's anything wrong with hybrid systems at all. You need to look at the manufacturer's reputation and experience with the vehicle (which you could say about any).

I also have a Camry Hybrid ... going strong since 2008!

It's a true hybrid, draws gas when needed, recharges battery internally while gas is used ... vs many current "hybrids" which draw down battery entirely and then use gas until plugged in for a recharge.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Former PIHV owner (Chevy Volt), current Toyota Corolla Hybrid and Honda CRv Hybrid owner. I live in CA where the current price for gas is around $5.70/gal (average - yes, it gets worse). Electricity here is ALSO expensive - that's something you don't hear about much. Average in the rest of the country is around $0.16/kwh, we pay $0.25/kwh overnight, and a whopping $0.60/kwh from 2p-9p.

OK, so that said, I WOULD NOT own an all-electric, and the PIHV is not worth it. Electricity is not free, and the gas mileage when you are run out of charge is not anywhere near as good as my gas hybrid cars. I was getting about 35 mph running gas only in the Volt. The plug-in charge was about 35-40 miles. The most reliable plug BY FAR was in my own driveway. Chargepoint is great until it isn't, and there is no regulation on how much is charged. Those things get vandalized all the time, so I would never count on it being there. How much does it cost to replace the battery? I wouldn't know. The Volt radiators (yes, two of them) both sprung a leak around 180k miles. Not only that, the propulsion and braking are also all electric, and that all went out about the same time. BTW - that's how PIHV works; the gas engine charges the battery, the car runs on battery, whether you plug it in or not.

Meanwhile, my Hybrid CRv get around 35 mph (not bad for an SUV) and my Corolla gets around 57 mph (!). I get gas for the Corolla about as often as I did for the Volt. I love both of these cars and recommend them both highly.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Non plugin hybrids are getting to be, or already are, the cars of choice now. Plugin hybrids have not seemed to have gone over very well. Hybrids charging from braking and the gas engine are well proven, give great mileage, very dependable. For a number of brand car models, hybrids are the only type available. Marie will be getting a Honda Accord this summer.

 

[tvguy]

We bought a Camry LE Hybrid new in July 2020. It currently has 34,000 miles on it. The LE was the entry level Camry and is different from higher trim levels because it is lighter, and at the time was the only Camry trim line to use the lighter, more efficient, more expensive lithium ion propulsion battery. The higher trim lights used a Nickel-Metal Hydride. With the lithium ion battery it is rated at 51 mpg city, 53 highway. With the Nickel-Metal Hydride it was rated at 44 in the city, and 47 on the highway. ALL current Camrys use the lithium ion battery and are rated at 53 in the city and 50 on the highway.

THINGS TO KNOW. Your gas mileage will be greatly impacted by temperature. Hybrids do not like cold weather. Cold being below about 55 degrees So our gas mileage during the winter runs about 44 in town and 48 on the freeway. Hybrids LOVE hot weather. In town mileage goes up to about 50 mpg in town, and one long trip on a 100 degree day with the ac running we got 58 mpg.

And hybrids really excel in stop and go traffic. As frustrating as I find the traffic when I am in San Francisco, you can watch the mpgs going up in those conditions.

As for power, we routinely drive to Los Angeles going up and down the Grapevine section of Interstate 5. If traffic allows and I can use the adaptive cruise control, it keeps at the speed limit or a bit higher no problem. Without the adaptive cruise control, I do notice that I have to give it the gas to keep up but it has plenty of power. Our 2018 Ford Flex does seem to work a little less hard on that stretch of road.

Our driving is either local trips of 2 to 5 miles, or 1,000 mile round trips on the freeway. I do find myself driving the hybrid a bit differently. If I am coming up to a redlight I will put my foot lightly on the brake pedal much earlier than with my non hybrid car. That engages the regenerative braking that recharges the battery. The actual brakes do not engage until you press slightly harder, and you CAN tell when the regular brakes kick in. At slow speeds the regular brakes can engage rather abruptly. So pulling into my garage, it does seem that the brakes grab right before my final stop. Hard to smoothly come to a complete stop.

Our daughter had a 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid for 5 years. It had 16,000 miles on it when when she bought it and just over 70,000 miles on it when she sold it to move overseas. While she loved it, if she had not moved overseas she was going to replace it with an EV. She absolutely hates having to stop to buy gas so being able to charge a car overnight in her garage was a big plus. She was going to follow her brothers lead and go EV and rent an ICE when necessary to avoid charging on the road.
Our son and his wife are big EV fans, having owned four including the two they currently have. But for trips they rent an ICE vehicle for two reasons. One, space. Two, with three children age 6 and younger, they want their stops dictated by the kids needs (around meltdowns) not by the need to charge.

 

[kdonnel]

You are correct that fully electric is more of a mindset change, but don't immediately dismiss a BEV(battery electric vehicle) as an option.

Hybrids (HEV) operate almost just like the cars you are used to. You fill them with gas and drive. You don't ever plug them in to charge. The battery is tiny and typically can only drive the car for 1 to 1.5 miles in electric only mode at 30MPH or less. The battery is charged using regeneration, capturing the energy from when you stop or go downhill.

Plug in hybrids (PHEV) have larger traction batteries. They can typically propel the car for 30 miles at 55 MPH. This battery must be charged from an external source since regeneration will never fully charge the battery like in a HEV. You can charge it with a regular wall outlet overnight. Most people drive 30 miles or less a day. It is entirely possible that the majority of the days you drive you will only be using electric.

With both you have all the normal maintenance you are used to with the cars you have owned.

BEV are purely electric. My family has been 100% BEV for 4 years now. Between our two cars we drive about 21000 miles a year (1750 a month) at an average monthly cost $40 a month in electricity. That puts the per mile cost at around 2.3 cents a mile. Assuming a 30 MPG car, gas would need to be $0.69 a gallon to match my per mile cost.

Just remember that typical gas powered cars are only 20-30% efficient. That means that 70-80% of the energy in gas is lost to idle, heat, exhaust, and friction. Assuming today's average cost of $3.79 a gallon and a 15 gallon fill up and 30% efficiency, $39.80 of the $56.85 cost to fill up is just wasted money.

EV are typically 75-90% efficient. Assuming my $0.12 kWh electric cost and 90% efficiency that means only $1.08 of my $10.80 90 kWh 0-100% fill up is wasted money.

Much more of the money you spend "filling the tank" actually gets used to move the car in an EV compared to internal combustion engines(ICE).

 

[Lumpy1106]

You are correct that fully electric is more of a mindset change, but don't immediately dismiss a BEV(battery electric vehicle) as an option.

Hybrids (HEV) operate almost just like the cars you are used to. You fill them with gas and drive. You don't ever plug them in to charge. The battery is tiny and typically can only drive the car for 1 to 1.5 miles in electric only mode at 30MPH or less. The battery is charged using regeneration, capturing the energy from when you stop or go downhill.

Plug in hybrids (PHEV) have larger traction batteries. They can typically propel the car for 30 miles at 55 MPH. This battery must be charged from an external source since regeneration will never fully charge the battery like in a HEV. You can charge it with a regular wall outlet overnight. Most people drive 30 miles or less a day. It is entirely possible that the majority of the days you drive you will only be using electric.

With both you have all the normal maintenance you are used to with the cars you have owned.

BEV are purely electric. My family has been 100% BEV for 4 years now. Between our two cars we drive about 21000 miles a year (1750 a month) at an average monthly cost $40 a month in electricity. That puts the per mile cost at around 2.3 cents a mile. Assuming a 30 MPG car, gas would need to be $0.69 a gallon to match my per mile cost.

Just remember that typical gas powered cars are only 20-30% efficient. That means that 70-80% of the energy in gas is lost to idle, heat, exhaust, and friction. Assuming today's average cost of $3.79 a gallon and a 15 gallon fill up and 30% efficiency, $39.80 of the $56.85 cost to fill up is just wasted money.

EV are typically 75-90% efficient. Assuming my $0.12 kWh electric cost and 90% efficiency that means only $1.08 of my $10.80 90 kWh 0-100% fill up is wasted money.

Much more of the money you spend "filling the tank" actually gets used to move the car in an EV compared to internal combustion engines(ICE).

Two questions;
1) where do you normally charge your BEVs?
2) What do you do if you have a long trip? Say, LA to San Francisco, approx 400 miles.

Those are the two questions that kept us from going that route. Related; DD plays lacrosse for a travelling team and one of the Dads was trying to convince me to get a (used) Tesla. He really likes his, and it was tempting. Then one weekend, he gets to the tournament late because he had to find place to charge his Tesla en-route. That's all the convincing I needed; it just wasn't practical to go all-electric.

 

[LuvOrlando]

We had a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (bought it used in 2016). It got ok gas mileage, but not significantly better than the non-hybrid version of that car got. The engine started to go shortly after it was out of warranty. The check engine light didn't come on at all, but we could feel the engine "surge" occasionally. We took it to the dealer who drove the car and ran diagnostics and told us there was nothing wrong. We continued driving it and a few weeks later the same thing happened. Took it back to the dealer and they told us the same thing. So we took it to our trusted engine/transmission mechanic and he told us that while the diagnostics were showing "normal" his experience told him it was the start of the engine failing and that it could last a year or two, or it could fail in a few days. He recommended getting rid of the car now (before the engine actually went) as it would cost about $8500 to replace the engine (as compared to half that cost for a non-hybrid engine...plus with a non-hybrid we would have had the option for a rebuilt engine at an even lower cost). About $2,000 of that cost was the dealer fee for reprogramming the hybrid system after the new engine would be installed. We decided to sell the car to Carvana. This was during the pandemic and they paid us about $2,000 less than what we paid for the car when we bought it 4+ years earlier because used cars were in such demand at that time so we were happy about that. We knew at worst they would piece out the car and make a profit just selling all the batteries and other things in the car. We replaced that car with a non-hybrid because used car inventory was very low during the pandemic.

Fast forward to about a year ago and our daughter needed a new car so we gave her our non-hybrid car and bought a 2025 Hyundai Tucson plug-in hybrid. I have mixed feelings about the car but DH loves it (and it's his car -- I rarely drive it). If he doesn't need to use the a/c or heat during the drive, he can get to work and back every day just using electricity (about 25 miles round trip. The car is supposed to be able to get about 35 miles out of a full charge but that's under ideal conditions. We usually get about 28-30.). If he uses a/c or heat, he can only do about 75% of the trip using electricity. The car has a 10 gallon (I think...maybe 11) gas tank and does get decent gas mileage when we're only using gas, but not significantly better than what we'd get with a non-hybrid. We did see a noticeable increase in our electric usage at the house (from charging the car) since we've bought it which we expected, but that's something to keep in mind when considering buying a plug-in hybrid. While we are constantly shopping around for electric prices and usually have about the lowest price available for this area, it's still an increased cost for us because of the car. Even though we purchase less gas for that car, the savings are somewhat offset by the charging costs. Overall, we're still saving money, but not as much as advertising leads you to believe (because they always just focus on how much money you save by not having to buy gas as often. They never include the extra cost of charging the car. And the extra yearly fee that some states charge hybrid owners since they're not paying as much in gas taxes. I think our fee was $150 this year.). Our son lives in San Diego and also has a plug-in hybrid. While everyone knows that gas is expensive in San Diego, many people don't realize that electricity is also very expensive. He's done the math and he's breaking even on the cost of driving a hybrid vs. a non-hybrid.

There's a lot to think about when buying a hybrid. Don't let a car salesman convince you that even though you'll pay more to buy a hybrid, you'll save more than that by not having to buy as much gas. If it's a plug-in hybrid, that savings might not be as big as they are implying...especially if you live in an area with high electricity costs and/or an extremely hot or cold area of the country where you'll need to use heat or a/c a lot.

ETA: We drive *everywhere*. We have made the drive to Disney (2100 miles round trip) ten times and have another trip coming up in May. I would not want to make the trip with an all electric vehicle or even our plug-in hybrid. We have 2 other vehicles that are non-hybrids that we use for longer trips. We've taken the plug-in hybrid on trips that are about 200 miles one way but we don't charge the car while we're traveling, so we're running on mostly gas anyway.

What is this about being taxed extra for a hybrid?

When reading about the extra expenses I thought maybe there might be a tax rebate of some kind for a hybrid because of the effort to move towards more flexible fuel consumption. In my mind, I figured people having hybrids would take the sting out of the fuel issue so both sides of the aisle would try to make it more appealing. Really can't wrap my head around catch up taxes for less gas because people do still pay taxes on electricity, at least I think we do so this makes no sense. Definitely a head scratcher for sure

 

[jimmymc]

My roommate drove a Chevy Volt (plug in hybrid) for 8 years before selling it and buying an all-electric car. He has a short commute, so the Volt could get him to work 3 days a week on a single charge. He would fill up the small gas tank once every 6 to 8 weeks.

Batteries can start to die or lose a cell around 100k miles, and a full battery replacement is between $6000 and $8000. You don't always have to replace the battery, but most will lose some capacity over time. Given how rare full battery replacements are and how much efficiency is gained, I think they're worth it for most people.

 

[kdonnel]

Two questions;
1) where do you normally charge your BEVs?
2) What do you do if you have a long trip? Say, LA to San Francisco, approx 400 miles.

Those are the two questions that kept us from going that route. Related; DD plays lacrosse for a travelling team and one of the Dads was trying to convince me to get a (used) Tesla. He really likes his, and it was tempting. Then one weekend, he gets to the tournament late because he had to find place to charge his Tesla en-route. That's all the convincing I needed; it just wasn't practical to go all-electric.

1. I typically charge at home. I have a 30 amp 240v circuit that was at one point used for a cooktop in the kitchen that has been repurposed for an EV charger. It is set to charge at 24 amp due to the 80% rule for continuous use of an electric circuit.

In practical terms that means my wife's car needs an hour of charging to get back to 80%. So the routine is, M-F she plugs in when she gets home from work, some time before bed I switch it from her car to mine, I typically drive more than her but still reach 90% well before morning.

The particular battery chemistry in our cars means that you don't want to charge to 100% everyday unless you really need all that range. We charge daily to the manufacturer recommended percentage.

But based on our typical driving and the range of our cars we could both typically go several weeks without charging if we happened to forget to plug in.

2. A 400 mile trip is easy. A shorter trip than the 487 mile trip from my house to WDW.

Let's assume a trip for me to WDW since I have driven it many times in my BEV. We would take my car, it is a much better road tripper than my wife's.

I would charge to 100% overnight before the trip which depending on the season will get me 225 to 270 miles at highway speeds.

Because I typically stay in condo style accommodations, I would know I wanted to stop prior to getting to the hotel and pick up some groceries for the stay. Ideally I would start my trip at a time so that when I made it to Cordele GA, I was hungry. I would start the car charging and walk to one of the fast food restaurants near the Electrify America(EA) station there. I would charge about 30 minutes, walking, eating, and using the bathroom would fill all the charging time.

My next stop is another EA station but in Gainesville FL which is conveniently located in a Target/Publix shopping center. While charging I would do the shopping I want for the stay at WDW. I only need to spend 18 minutes here but would likely stay 30 minutes due to shopping which has the benefit of adding a big cushion of available charge upon arriving at WDW.

There are lots of DC Fast chargers in Orlando and that would be my plan for the return. I would charge to 80% in Orlando and then make the same stops as before on the return.

You can play around with https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ picking different EV and different routes to see what some of your typical trips might involve.

In the 4 years we have been all electric, road trips have become much easier. In the beginning DC Fast chargers were not as plentiful and often damaged. You had to plan ahead using sites like A Better Route Planner and PlugShare to know if the chargers on the route were actually working. That pre planning is no longer necessary. The number of DC Fast chargers has increased greatly and maintenance is much better.

In the 4 years I have also gained access to the Tesla charging network. That added 14000 or so DC Fast chargers that I can use. Charging is just not an issue for any of the places I have driven.

500 miles is about my limit for a road trip. Anything beyond that and I am likely to fly. That was the case before driving a BEV.

 

[bluezy]

What is this about being taxed extra for a hybrid?

When reading about the extra expenses I thought maybe there might be a tax rebate of some kind for a hybrid because of the effort to move towards more flexible fuel consumption. In my mind, I figured people having hybrids would take the sting out of the fuel issue so both sides of the aisle would try to make it more appealing. Really can't wrap my head around catch up taxes for less gas because people do still pay taxes on electricity, at least I think we do so this makes no sense. Definitely a head scratcher for sure

There are over 30 states that charge a yearly "hybrid" fee. According to our state, it is "to ensure PHEV owners contribute to road maintenance funds, replacing the gas tax revenue not paid by these vehicles." I don't like it, but I understand it. Those gas taxes pay for road maintenance. A hybrid car is still causing the same amount of wear & tear on the roads, but the owner is paying less towards the maintenance of those roads if they're not buying as much gas. And we didn't qualify for the tax rebate in our state because of income level.

 

[kdonnel]

What is this about being taxed extra for a hybrid?

When reading about the extra expenses I thought maybe there might be a tax rebate of some kind for a hybrid because of the effort to move towards more flexible fuel consumption. In my mind, I figured people having hybrids would take the sting out of the fuel issue so both sides of the aisle would try to make it more appealing. Really can't wrap my head around catch up taxes for less gas because people do still pay taxes on electricity, at least I think we do so this makes no sense. Definitely a head scratcher for sure

The idea is to make sure that EV drivers pay their fair share towards roads. Gas taxes are often earmarked for roads or at least used as the basis for how much to spend on roads the following year.

Taxes on electricity are not earmarked for roads and generally go into different spending buckets.

In Georgia I pay a fee at annual registration time that is in theory equal to the amount of gas tax paid by the average Georgia driver in a year. They have a complicated formula that is used to calculate the amount owed each year. It is generally around $200.

In Georgia the fee only applied to automobiles that were fully alternative fuel. So hybrids never pay the fee. A PHEV could opt into the fee if they decided to get a alternative fuel vehicle license plate which for many years gave free access to the I-85 HOT lanes but that benefit ended last year so no PHEV driver would opt into the fee.

 

[sam_gordon]

Two questions;
1) where do you normally charge your BEVs?
2) What do you do if you have a long trip? Say, LA to San Francisco, approx 400 miles.

Those are the two questions that kept us from going that route. Related; DD plays lacrosse for a travelling team and one of the Dads was trying to convince me to get a (used) Tesla. He really likes his, and it was tempting. Then one weekend, he gets to the tournament late because he had to find place to charge his Tesla en-route. That's all the convincing I needed; it just wasn't practical to go all-electric.

My department travels across the country. Most of us fly. One coworker however has a Tesla and he drives everywhere. For one, he's not comfortable with all the issues regarding flying, and says "if we can go six months with nothing happening flying, then I'll consider it again". The other is the mileage reimbursement is very generous for him.

He's based in New Orleans, and I've worked with him in Wisconsin and Virginia that he's driven to.

I'm wondering if the dad at your tournament simply didn't plan appropriately. I don't have an EV, so I don't know what's involved, but that's my guess.

 

[walt34]

My department travels across the country. Most of us fly. One coworker however has a Tesla and he drives everywhere. For one, he's not comfortable with all the issues regarding flying, and says "if we can go six months with nothing happening flying, then I'll consider it again".

I hope his job doesn't require any kind of statistics

 

[goofyernmost]

Over 15 years ago I was assigned a hybrid Prius for a company vehicle. I was on the road all day, five days a week. A lot of stop and go and a lot of interstate travel. At least at the time, the motor was connected to the battery powering the wheels. On hills or high speeds the motor kicked in, in the city it was mostly battery. In over a couple years, in Vermont's spring, summer, fall and winter. I did have to gas it up, but the mileage was around 50 mpg. The battery never needed external charging for the entire time I used it. It had a gauge screen that told you when the engine took over and when the battery was running things on it's own. The alternator with the engine kept it fully or nearly fully charged and the further I drove it the more likely it was that it was going to stay charged. The only problem I had was that I was a big guy and the car was way, way to small for me, but it wasn't all the uncomfortable.

 

[sam_gordon]

I hope his job doesn't require any kind of statistics

It's not. And if you're referring to accident statistics, that's not even what he's referring to. He's talking about the delays/cancellations and hassle (lost luggage, crowded seating, etc).

 

[wallawallakids]

I would love to hear what you think of it if you get it! I have a Forester now and am considering getting a hybrid Forester in 2-3 years.

Me too!! I am looking for a new car to replace my 2013 Honda odyssey. My husband has an Outback, my oldest son a crosstrek, my other three share 2 Legacy’s. I’ve been thinking a hybrid Forester might be great for us. I mostly drive in town anyway. Please let us know what you think. I don’t know anyone who has one. Thanks!

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

I have a hybrid RAV 4 and get 42 mpg. My last fill up it said I had 560 miles to empty, it holds 15 gallons. I'm the one that shuttles the kids all over creation, sits in car line, and traffic, which are pretty much the ideal driving conditions for a hybrid. Lots of stop and go. It's pretty nice to sit in car line and enjoy a/c without a noisy engine idling.

I did adapt my driving over time, coasting a slightly longer distance to stop as opposed to stomping on the brake, then not flooring it when the light turns green. It's kind of a game to see how high I can get my mpg each ride.

I absolutely love my car and even sold my husband on another Toyota hybrid. We like not having to rely solely on either electric or gas.