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Last year, my husband and I needed to replace our 17-year-old Prius with a newer vehicle. We knew we weren’t ready to make the leap to a full-blown electric vehicle, but we wanted a car that would get comparable gas mileage to our Prius, just with more space.
We chose the Toyota RAV-4 Prime, a plug-in hybrid SUV. It seemed like a good middle ground since we didn’t want a full electric vehicle.
I’ve really enjoyed this car over the last year, but there were a few things that surprised me when we first brought it home. Here are some of the surprises I experienced.
1. These cars can go
I mostly drive a minivan. And although my car has decent acceleration, it’s not like I can go from zero to 60 in three seconds. Our plug-in hybrid, on the other hand, accelerates Really quickly. I had to get used to that.
2. Not all charging stations are usable
Our hybrid has a range of 75 kilometers, which we like to maximize as it saves us on gas costs. However, charging our car on the go can be a challenge as our hybrid doesn’t work with every charging station. For example, we can’t use a Tesla Supercharger as the car isn’t compatible.
3. Charging your car takes longer than you might think
When you buy a plug-in hybrid, it usually comes with a Level 1 charger. That’s the case with ours, and while it works, it charges slowly. We usually get about 3-4 miles of range per hour of charging, so to get our full 75-mile range with the EV, we usually need to charge our car for about 14 hours. It’s possible to upgrade to a Level 2 charger to speed up the process, but these can cost several hundred dollars depending on the type plus installation.
4. Depending on your driving style, you may not use the full range of your electric vehicle
A big reason I was so excited about a plug-in hybrid was the gas savings. But with a plug-in hybrid, you may not be able to get the full range of your electric vehicle, depending on driving conditions. Driving fast, driving up hills, and using the air conditioning will reduce your range. So while we sometimes start with 45 miles of range, we may only get 40 or 41 miles on electric power before our car switches to gasoline power.
Is a plug-in hybrid right for you?
If you like the idea of an electric motor but aren’t ready for a fully electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid could be a good compromise. However, there are a number of factors to consider when making this decision, including:
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The cost of your vehicle itself, which can be significantly higher than a petrol car or a conventional hybrid
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The cost of car insurance
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The cost of maintenance
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Your driving needs
The latter is important because if you do a lot of local travel, a plug-in hybrid could be a good solution for you. If you don’t tend to travel long distances, you may spend very little on petrol as the range of your electric car will cover the majority of your journeys.
But a plug-in hybrid is also a good car if you drive longer distances, because once the electric vehicle’s range is exhausted, you can simply switch to petrol. And from then on you can generally expect very low petrol consumption.
If you know someone who has a plug-in hybrid, ask them about their experience. This is an easy way to learn more about these cars and figure out if you should look into one.
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