Is it worth it?

[Dubbs]

Hi all,

I currently drive a D4 and we are looking to sell that and get a PHEV - reasons are:

1. Get the car through company so pay the lease gross rather than net
2. Cheaper car, save £100 a month (more when considered we pay monthly net personally at the moment)
3. Local around town where my wife uses it most, we should get a high MPG thanks to the electric range (20-25miles)
4. Very practical, almost more so than the D4 in some ways due to being able to chuck stuff in and some more plastic surfaces that will clean up easier than the D4
5. When on a longer run we'll get mid to late 30s mpg which is fine fro motorway plus adaptive cruise etc., to make journey more relaxing
6. Low tax due to 9% BiK
7. Diesel is doomed - good time to move

Downsides:

1. As it's a PHEV and we'll need to get petrol now and again we'll need to pay the additional fuel tax through company which is prob about £90/month
2. Road tax is more expensive as we'd be going to the 5HS - but covered by the lease

We're looking to lease rather than buy - interested in opposing views to that bearing in mind it's a company purchase

Have been aiming for a 24month lease at c.£450/month as tech is moving so fast that 2 years form now the range will be improved and more manufacturers coming to the PHEV party.

 

[Dubbs]

Aside from that being an intro message also interested in opposing arguments to my logic before I hit the go button

 

[Fecn]

I purchased my PHEV 5H nearly 6 months ago for all of the reasons you listed, replacing my old 7-seater deisel van (22mpg). I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever about this purchase. I cover around 200miles/week commuting to and from my client's site pretty much entirely on electric (charging both at home and at work), so I only really burn petrol on longer journeys at the weekends. 6 months down the line, I'm still very happy with my choice and cannot think of any downsides.

 

[Dubbs]

Thanks for the reply fecn- much appreciated

Anyone else?

 

[STEVIAN]

hello , i have a 5hs from new in from january this year , and my road tax is free as it was registered before April and i would say you should if you can go for an ex-demo model that has been registered before the new tax laws came in ?
i am planning on keeping mine for 2 years too as i do believe the technology will have moved on much more by then and i would not require such a large vehicle as this (i own a caravan too which is why i went for this)

 

[geoffshep69]

I got mine on a salary sacrifice company car lease scheme, and it makes absolute sense for me.

With the low BIK, the overall net monthly cost to me (factoring in both lease cost and BIK tax) was about £100 per month cheaper than an equivalent diesel Qashqai, Mazda Cx-5, etc. That’s before factoring in any savings on monthly running costs, given that miles done on electric are significantly cheaper than miles done on petrol.

I pay for all petrol personally so can’t comment on the tax treatment of that, and the road tax is already factored into the lease cost.

All depends on your pattern of usage – if you have a smallish commute (mine is 13 miles each way) and you only do occasional motorway driving then it’s a no brainer. If you’re doing 1000 miles a week then most of that will be on petrol so it doesn’t make sense to get a PHEV. I do about 12000 miles a year and its working out perfectly after a year of ownership.

The car itself is great. Sure, there are some minor niggles like on any car, but to my mind it is spacious, comfortable, very smooth and easy to drive, has all the toys I need and is easily as powerful as I need a car to be.

 

[maby]

...

All depends on your pattern of usage – if you have a smallish commute (mine is 13 miles each way) and you only do occasional motorway driving then it’s a no brainer. If you’re doing 1000 miles a week then most of that will be on petrol so it doesn’t make sense to get a PHEV. ....

I think that is a bit of an oversimplification - even driven as a petrol car, the PHEV compares well enough on running costs with other cars of a similar size and capability. A couple of years ago when all the tax incentives were in place, you could buy one to use as a pure petrol car and it would not be a significantly bad decision. With the tax incentives eroding, it is probably more difficult to justify.

 

[geoffshep69]

...

All depends on your pattern of usage – if you have a smallish commute (mine is 13 miles each way) and you only do occasional motorway driving then it’s a no brainer. If you’re doing 1000 miles a week then most of that will be on petrol so it doesn’t make sense to get a PHEV. ....

I think that is a bit of an oversimplification - even driven as a petrol car, the PHEV compares well enough on running costs with other cars of a similar size and capability. A couple of years ago when all the tax incentives were in place, you could buy one to use as a pure petrol car and it would not be a significantly bad decision. With the tax incentives eroding, it is probably more difficult to justify.

Not sure I agree, if you are doing 50k+ miles a year then I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to buy the PHEV given the significant initial cost of either buying or leasing it, when compared to equivalent petrol vehicles. If you are doing that many miles, and want an Outlander, then surely the diesel makes an awful lot more sense on every level, as its cheaper to buy (or lease) and far cheaper to run ?

 

[AndyInOz]

It has been mentioned before that some of us bought ours to reduce the amount of pollution that we spew into the world.



No tax incentives for me.

 

[HHL]

It has been mentioned before that some of us bought ours to reduce the amount of pollution that we spew into the world.



No tax incentives for me.

+1

It seems many people forget just why some governments give quite substantial incentives for people to buy virtually emissions free vehicles... not here though

 

[geoffshep69]

True, but the original poster asked 'Is it Worth it?' and is clearly looking for info as regards the economic case for or against the PHEV.

The merits of it as a green car are an entirely different discussion.

 

[HHL]

The whole point of it is that it is a very "green" car, as with all EV's and Hybrids. The economics are secondary, and probably don't stack up in many scenarios at this point in time.

 

[geoffshep69]

The whole point of it is that it is a very "green" car, as with all EV's and Hybrids. The economics are secondary, and probably don't stack up in many scenarios at this point in time.

Sorry, have to disagree. For me personally, and I suspect a vast number of other PHEV owners (including the original poster who posed the question) the economics are way more important than any green credentials.

Not saying there's anything wrong with a car being green, and if thats important to people and makes them want to buy it then that's absolutely fine, but selfish as it may seem I'm far more interested in saving £100 per month than reducing the UK's CO2 emmissions by a tiny zillionth of a percentage. (and thats before we get into any debate about where the electricity comes from in the first place given that I dont have solar panels)

A car that is both green, and makes economic sense, is clearly ideal but I suspect that for most PHEV drivers your comment of "economics are secondary" is a long way from the truth. Obviously there will be a mix of drivers, some who want it for green credentials, and some who want it for the economics, but in my view the second category significantly outweigh the first.

 

[maby]

The trouble with the PHEV from the economy point of view is that it is a very expensive car for its specification and characteristics. The Seat Ateca in petrol is a similar size car with comparable capabilities and, arguably, a significantly better level of equipment - and can be had for at least £10,000 less than a PHEV. Even if the Ateca only does 40mpg (claimed combined is over 50), that will take you 80,000 miles - even used under ideal conditions, the PHEV has a pretty long interval before break-even.

 

[Tipper]

Very happy with ours run as a retired couple where most journeys are around town with occasional long trips to see family.

My only niggle is the irritatingly small petrol tank. It's really annoying to have to refill it on a round trip of less than 300 miles! Oh and the fuel gauge lies, it can go from 60 miles left to empty in a space of 5 miles. Disastrous when on the motorway although thankfully we've never run out of 'juice' yet!

 

[CherryRed]

It seems to me that the more vociferous owners/posters are those that have a PHEV for financial reasons.
Yes, I was able to afford mine because of the the advantageous BIK but the green aspects are important to me i.e. not diesel, no emissions in town, no petrol on my commute and shopping trips and when using the ICE on motorway runs I get a better mpg than I did with my preceding petrol Skoda Octavia.
I'll (even) use the Ecotricity network as I believe that every electric mile is better than a petrol one.

 

[greendwarf]

Even if you discount the fact that I pay no daily Congestion Charge and only £2.41 to park in Central London (Westminster) with an all EV commute, I am also able to reverse into my car port without filling the house (and my lungs) with car fumes when I open the front door! :mrgreen: