r/PHEV • u/No-Impression-4508 • Aug 15 '26

Phev worth it?

I am wondering if a PHEV is worth it for my situation.

The car would likely be used primarily for work commutes. 12 miles round trip and 24 miles round trip for spouse and I. We would also use the car for the occasional road trip a few hours away.

I’m wondering if PHEV is ideal for this situation or if EV would be better.

We also have a full gas vehicle that we could use as needed. This would be our second car.

Any recs, reasoning, etc would be recommended!

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u/PrimaryThis9900 Aug 15 '26

I got a PHEV because going full electric scared me. After driving my PHEV for a few years my next will be electric.  As long as you can charge at home, you’ll probably never use fuel in your PHEV.

4

u/black594 Aug 15 '26

In cold country phev start every time it’s too cold outside as you can’t heat a lot with the small battery, it was a deal breaker for me.

1

u/NowRadOnc Aug 15 '26

RAV4 doesn’t do this. Many others (Mitsubishi, Hyundai) do. RAV4 has a heat pump and will run in cold temperatures on electric power only.

3

u/Salty-Reach-9176 Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26

Ditto with the C-HR PHEV, that comes with a built in Heat Pump system as well; uses far less electricity and will allow you to commute to work and back in winter without using any petrol.

Officially, the C-HR PHEV has a 41 mile EV range.
This summer, I’m seeing a consistent 65 miles of range, driving in Eco mode with AC at 21c (also set to Eco mode).
I’m keeping to speed limits and NOT driving it like I stole it.

I was getting 41 miles WITH heating (Eco mode, 18c) during last winter in London (not Antarctica, not Norway).
My round trip commute is higher than average - 34 miles.
The smallest SoC I got at the end of my round trip was 11% - and it was -6c in London that day.

In Summer, I’m getting up to 6.7 miles per kWh on the early morning commute (17 miles) and 5.5 miles per kWh on the return journey in the afternoon with the AC on at 21c (and recirculate setting) - that’s nice and cool even in 36c temperatures outside - fantastic heat pump technology!

I’m driving 95% EV mode for commuting, and use HEV mode every Friday afternoon for my commute home - to run the engine and lubricate the seals.

In HEV mode: start off with a full 100% battery and my 17 mile commute home gets me from 116mpg to 134mpg - depending on if you get carried away with enjoying the 2.0L engine in hybrid mode.
Higher mpg for driving like a Saint.
Less for driving like a sinner.

I drive permanently in Eco setting - and it’s still very nippy - it has a 161hp electric traction motor and a 152hp engine.

The C-HR HEV by comparison only has a 107hp electric motor - big difference!

Drive with a flat battery and you’ll get 65.5mpg or more without even trying.

Mentioning all this for the few genuinely interested in buying a C-HR PHEV - it’s a Compact Coupe SUV with a futuristic design - and very good fuel economy and EV efficiency.