PHEV - would it work for me?

[sawman]

Last summer I borrowed a phev to see if it would be a good replacement for the wifes Jeep - her use profile would be perfect - she does about 25 miles a day and rarely any long trips. She didnt really gel with the car so we didnt pursue it any further. My work patterns is going to change over the next few months, such that I will be commuting 35 miles each way on A road and dual carriageway most days, there is the potential to charge at most of my work sites (I have noted electric car charging spaces - which are always empty)

I currently drive a 3.0 legacy which does about 27mpg on average. Is it likely that a phev is going to be significantly cheaper to run than the outback for this type of commute? Does anyone have a use profile similar to this for comparison?

cheers in advance

 

[maby]

If you never plug a PHEV in at all, it will do close to 40mpg, so you should be sure of a useful saving.

 

[jaapv]

I have a similar commute, (well, 25 kms each way but still mostly secondary road and a bit of motorway) I don't use petrol commuting in summer and just a couple of liters a week in winter.

 

[outlandish]

I do a trip once a month of 80 miles - 40 there and 40 back.

I usually average about 55 mpg on the days journey.

 

[offyoutoddle]

My current car is a diesel. I do mostly local miles these days, probably around 30 miles, at between 35 and 40 mpg because its a big heavy auto. On the occasionally longer trips for days out I get about 50 -55 mpg average.

I think the local miles I do would exceed the range of the battery slightly, especially in the cold, with the range coming down due to temp and the use of the heating. I don't want to drive around in scarf and gloves, I think a car should be a luxury if you are going to pay a lot of money for one. In my head I think most of the journey would be on battery, but if the heater is going it wouldn't would it? That being the case, can anyone tell me how much petrol is used with the heaters running on short journeys? Is it running for all of it? Or does it just fire up every now and then?

Appreciate any insight owners may have - thanks!

 

[MartinH]

I live in cold conditions, when temperature is arround -5´C my experience is this.
With fully charged battery, The Engine starts direct, runs for app 3km, then i get almost all the way to my job on EV, the jurney is 36km.
Charge at work, on my way back i get lower consumption, probably caused by warmer in the afternoon compare to moorning.
I use to get consumption of app. 1.3/100km to work, and 0,90 home again.
I have the cabin temp set to 16´C, as we have alot of clots on!
When i was skiing in Jan, i saw a PHEV in almost -30´C, I could not speak to the driver to get the experience of runing it in very cold conditions.

 

[sawman]

thanks chaps,

it looks like I can get a fully serviced and insured phev via the work lease scheme for about 20 quid a month more than my monthly petrol bill. So saving me insurance cost and the VED on the subaru I am 1k ahead, plus I can park for free when charging at one of my work sites saving me some parking fees.

looking positive so far, I am expecting that the last 10 miles or so of each trip will be petrol powered so a tank should last for ages.

Can you still get free charging points fitted at home?

 

[outlandish]

http://nuworldenergy.co.uk/ did a 32 amp supply for me for free in November.

Most seem to be 16 amp.

The PHEV won't take more than 16 but the 32 may be handy in the future.