I used to like hybrids, and obviously series hybrids are the coolest kind of hybrids, but now that I’m driving a budget EV, I honestly don’t see the point anymore. Just get the EV and skip the awkward half-way step that inherits the most expensive and complicated parts from both designs.
Seeing a sleek modern car pull away whisper quiet and then start the ICE 3 seconds later with a stutter and a puff of water vapor from underneath is the most schizophrenic sight, it somehow feels more dated than actual ICE cars.
Unless you live in bumfuck nowhere with expensive electricity, zero solar power and a daily 5 hour commute, an EV will likely work just fine for you.
>the most expensive and complicated parts from both designs
Hybrids are less expensive than EVs. They are complicated, I suppose, but the evidence is quite clear they are more reliable than pure gas designs, so this is not an issue in practice.
>Seeing a sleek modern car pull away whisper quiet and then start the ICE 3 seconds later with a stutter and a puff of water vapor from underneath is the most schizophrenic sight, it somehow feels more dated than actual ICE cars.
I have never seen a car behave like this and am fairly sure you haven't, either. It is telling that even your strawman argument is emotional.
>Unless you live in bumfuck nowhere with expensive electricity, zero solar power and a daily 5 hour commute, an EV will likely work just fine for you.
Even under circumstances ideal for an EV, a plug-in hybrid will win. Way cheaper, way more flexible, and just as efficient for the large majority of driving.
We bought an EV 1.5 years ago. Yes, hearing gas vehicles start up around you is definitely a thing, although where I am I think it's mostly not hybrids but cars equipped with start/stop feature that shuts off the engine at stop lights. You can also hear if someone punches the throttle around you - even at freeway speeds you'll hear their engine rev up as the transmission shifts, and if you want to you can put your foot down and accelerate before all that shifting is done and before they've even begun to accelerate.
Regarding fuel costs - it's much cheaper to operate our EV than a comparable hybrid but this absolutely relies on access to a home charger and is dependent on local gas and electricity prices. A comparable hybrid might get 35 mpg, we get around 2.5 miles/kWh (these are minivans) - and so our breakeven point in electricity cost (using $4.50/gallon gas cost) is $0.32/kWh. In my area, electricity is fairly cheap, around $0.14/kWh and I use a plan that lets me pay $0.07/kWh at night when I charge. That's offset by me paying slightly more for other things in the day so my effective cost might be closer to $0.10/kWh, which is still 1/3 of the breakeven point. On long road trips I will likely pay above that but that only happens a few times a year.
Our experience on long highway trips, which practically tend to be repeated cycles of 2 hours of driving and 20 minutes of charging is that they have been more comfortable and we felt better at the end of the trip despite it taking longer door-to-door. This is based on a couple 1400 mile round trips, one w/ 2 people in the vehicle and another w/ 4 and a full load of stuff.
The EV experience is superior to ICE or hybrid. Smooth, silent, quick, you can run the A/C in your garage w/o stinking up the place. The flip side to range anxiety (which is a real thing at first but goes away) is that our EV is always ready to go in the morning and I never end up smelling like gasoline. Yes, my lawn mower is battery powered too.
Given how Americans have not prioritized running costs in vehicle purchases in the past and trucks/SUVs heavily outsell cheap economy cars, I think as more folks see how good the experience is, they'll buy EVs over gas cars even without understanding the math above.
Toutouxc · · focus · HN ↗
Seeing a sleek modern car pull away whisper quiet and then start the ICE 3 seconds later with a stutter and a puff of water vapor from underneath is the most schizophrenic sight, it somehow feels more dated than actual ICE cars.
Unless you live in bumfuck nowhere with expensive electricity, zero solar power and a daily 5 hour commute, an EV will likely work just fine for you.
adfgaiu · · focus · HN ↗
Hybrids are less expensive than EVs. They are complicated, I suppose, but the evidence is quite clear they are more reliable than pure gas designs, so this is not an issue in practice.
>Seeing a sleek modern car pull away whisper quiet and then start the ICE 3 seconds later with a stutter and a puff of water vapor from underneath is the most schizophrenic sight, it somehow feels more dated than actual ICE cars.
I have never seen a car behave like this and am fairly sure you haven't, either. It is telling that even your strawman argument is emotional.
>Unless you live in bumfuck nowhere with expensive electricity, zero solar power and a daily 5 hour commute, an EV will likely work just fine for you.
Even under circumstances ideal for an EV, a plug-in hybrid will win. Way cheaper, way more flexible, and just as efficient for the large majority of driving.
klaff · · focus · HN ↗
Regarding fuel costs - it's much cheaper to operate our EV than a comparable hybrid but this absolutely relies on access to a home charger and is dependent on local gas and electricity prices. A comparable hybrid might get 35 mpg, we get around 2.5 miles/kWh (these are minivans) - and so our breakeven point in electricity cost (using $4.50/gallon gas cost) is $0.32/kWh. In my area, electricity is fairly cheap, around $0.14/kWh and I use a plan that lets me pay $0.07/kWh at night when I charge. That's offset by me paying slightly more for other things in the day so my effective cost might be closer to $0.10/kWh, which is still 1/3 of the breakeven point. On long road trips I will likely pay above that but that only happens a few times a year.
Our experience on long highway trips, which practically tend to be repeated cycles of 2 hours of driving and 20 minutes of charging is that they have been more comfortable and we felt better at the end of the trip despite it taking longer door-to-door. This is based on a couple 1400 mile round trips, one w/ 2 people in the vehicle and another w/ 4 and a full load of stuff.
The EV experience is superior to ICE or hybrid. Smooth, silent, quick, you can run the A/C in your garage w/o stinking up the place. The flip side to range anxiety (which is a real thing at first but goes away) is that our EV is always ready to go in the morning and I never end up smelling like gasoline. Yes, my lawn mower is battery powered too.
Given how Americans have not prioritized running costs in vehicle purchases in the past and trucks/SUVs heavily outsell cheap economy cars, I think as more folks see how good the experience is, they'll buy EVs over gas cars even without understanding the math above.