EV vs. Hybrid: What You Should Buy

Sneaky Expenses Should You Be Aware Of: https://youtu.be/9_vfLYkQQYU

To say that hybrids are more complicated than a BEV is a real understatement. A PHEV makes rocket science look simple. You (again!) made a great video, though I do not agree with the comment that if you travel, a hybrid is better. After my first trip in my BEV, I sold our PHEV. We'll never go backwards to gas. In the last 19 months, we have traveled 24,000 miles in out-of-state travel from Florida to Colorado to Minnesota and to Maine and many points in between.

Greetings from southern Ontario Canada here apartment buildings aren't interested in installing a charge station underground or above ground parking so a hybrid usually makes better sense 😮

I made the jump to an EV6 for a lot of the reasons outlined in this video; I love it, I can't see myself ever going back to any kind of ICE car

The 2024 Toyota Prius or Camry Hybrid are two of the least expensive cars that you can drive. Both are awesome car and will easily get you 200,000 miles of trouble free driving. During that time you will need 20 oil & filter changes (Toyota pays for 2) @ $60 each. Spark plugs and coolant at 120k miles. Tires/filters as needed. Gasoline cost per mile in St Cloud Minnesota ($2.55 gas at Costco) is about 5¢ since they both get over 50 mpg. You can pick up either one for $35k including tax and license so no government subsidy needed. Insurance is cheap. Tires are average priced.

I like the idea of a PHEV but there simply aren’t many options to choose from. Manufacturers seem to be either all or nothing in the EV game, but I’m of the belief that hybrids and PHEVs are a much more effective product.

We have an EV in the cold (Canada) and it’s great. Just make sure the cold range is enough for your needs. We get about 60% of summer range in winter. Advantages of EVs in cold: really fast cabin warmup (by the end of the driveway), really fast defrosting and defogging, heated seats and steering wheel, heated out side mirrors, always full fuel. What’s not to enjoy. I don’t miss filling up at gas stations having to dress and glove up as I leave the car to handle the wind, snow and frozen windshield washing equipment.

Gas engines degrade over time too

Hybrid for traveling electric for local unless you have 400+ miles range

Greetings from West Midlands UK. Lovely and honest review. I currently drive a toyota prius 2020 phev Excel. I did my calculations of how much it would cost me switch from my current car to a new MG4 Trophy car or Toyota Corolla 2.0 hybrid Excel (odometer is less than 7000miles). Driving 10-12k miles per annum for 3 to 4yrs, free charging at home & workplace, toyota service package for 3-4yrs, mg4 service package for 3-4yrs, zero road tax for EVs. The cost was the same. Now, when I added, depreciation and Insurance, it was cheaper to drive the toyota corolla. So, EVs do not work well for everyone.

Thank you Craig for continuing to put out informative yet fun videos. I've been enjoying your wry wit since your days at Autoguide and CNET. I am interested in switching to a full EV for my next vehicle purchase, but there are some downsides still holding me back. When I buy an ICE vehicle I don't have to buy a gas station, but when I buy an EV I must outfit my home with Level II charging equipment. That isn't cheap! Secondly, I believe dealers should be facilitating the installation of home charging systems. Finally, insurance costs appear to be much higher for EVs, wiping out much of the savings.

Question: I do most of my driving within 20 miles from my home and want to do my part for the environment. However, the apartments I live in don’t have garages or outside electrical outlets and it’s northeast Ohio, so not very warm in the winter. What should I be considering?

My Prius emits less greenhouse gasses per mile than an ev plugged into my grid. Of course the grid will get cleaner or I could charge from my solar panels but that just transfers the pollution to the rest of my house. Once you consider the pollution to make a battery then for me a hybrid is the best option. I encourage everyone to crunch the numbers for their situation and not rely on my or someone else’s opinion.

I want a RE-EV with ~100km of plug-in range for everyday driving and a 15-20kW generator for longer trips so I don't have to worry about fast-charger location, availability, compatibility, silly apps that keep breaking, etc. Engine heat would be nice to have on those -20C or worse days where a heat pump is hopeless and resistive heating to a comfortable temperature would nuke the range. I borrowed my mother's Bolt EV for a 460km Montreal-Ottawa round-trip last weekend and my conclusion is that EVs aren't worth the hassle for longer trips. Yes, the Bolt is only a 55kW slow-charger but most chargers along the roads I did my trip on can only do 50kW max with a 125A limit which reduces practical charging speed to about 44kW anyway. Also, at the stupidly inflated by-the-hour billing rates, I'm only saving about $20 vs gasoline for spending ~1h30 charging... and 15 minutes driving in "power limited" mode because the range estimation got tripped up by elevation change and rain on the return trip. The sort of things I have never had to worry about driving an ICEV because a gas tank fills every bit as fast from 0% through 100%, no need to plan stops to keep the battery between 10% and 60% (the Bolt EV drops from 44kW at 60% to 20kW by 70%) to maximize kWh per fast-charging dollar and minimize total time spent waiting. I did that trip with a friend who demonstrated the other perverse side of EV road trips: the urge to take a walk while waiting and making impulse purchases at nearby facilities, blowing the cost of EV trips out of the water. Since most chargers are installed at rest stops and convenience stores, I'm betting store owners very much like those 50kW units: fast enough to draw people in and satisfy strict necessity, not fast enough that people will choose to wait inside their vehicle.

Great recap. I'm going with an EV as our second vehicle. Works great in that capacity. Can road trip as the charging network expands

Hybrid

EVs are not the best option or perhaps not even a good buy. They are very heavy, expensive to build and buy, they wear out tires quickly (some need replaced after only 10000 miles and can be $1000 + per tire), hard to find working charging stations, and are considerably cost much more to insure. And I wouldn't try to go on long trips with most EVs, and never in winter when batteries lose much of their range. I have none of those concerns with a hybrid. Give me my KIA Niro anytime.

Electric car is very suitable for countries with ample renewable energies

I am hoping that Honda will produce a plug in electric hybrid Element to replace my much loved 20 year old Element EX. I know I am dreaming… I live in a cold climate and very limited public charging options. I would charge at home.

Well, this video is ok, but useless without cost of ownership comparison. From initial value of the vehicle to 10 years of ownership and considerations about the value of the vehicles if one decides to sell them.