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Hybrid vehicle recommendations?

Looking to replace my 2005 Corolla with some sort of hybrid. Looked into a Subaru Crosstrek but I'd have to buy it out of state and have it serviced out of state so that's definitely not happening. My husband is thinking maybe we should look into something that handles snow and ice well hence why I checked out the Subaru. Looks like Toyota has a hybrid plug-in in the RAV4 so that's one I'm considering. Looks small enough for me to be comfortable driving. I am not interested in anything very big. Any ideas, experiences, etc. with hybrids?

7 comments

7 Comments

TheyShouldHaveVaxxed

May 20, 2022

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I drove a Honda Civic Hybrid for years and loved it. It was a mild hybrid that harvested braking energy and used that to accelerate. I really loved it. Not much benefit on the highway driving but added mileage in town big time.

Plug-in hybrids have different amounts of battery. Some just enough to drive short distances while others can go much farther before the gas engine is needed.

The bigger hybrids start moving into inefficient territory. They still need big gas engines, their EV range is limited, they are heavier, have less load capability, and when in either mode, you carry around all the weight from the unused other mode.

They are a great safety blanket, though. You can always drive them on gas and fillups are fast. No requirement to find charging stations. But they are compromises big time that aren’t that much of a benefit to the environment. You might be better off with a mild hybrid or just going with a very efficient gas vehicle.

Rosie: See, life goes on without you, AVers

May 20, 2022

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I just bought a non plug-in hybrid, Yaris Cross. I get 60 miles per gallon. My problem was, I needed a quick replacement and my patience is non existing. So my car has always be ready to drive, we have no wallbox and charging the battery over night is no option. For short trips you can go all electric (under 2 miles) it has 4wd and you can sleep in it, when you go camping with a tailgate tent.

It has a ton of savety features, so that I don't accidently kill anybody. (This was hubs' request)

vaxordemonsnax

May 19, 2022

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No. The dealership contacted me back and there is a short supply of all hybrid plug ins. He got back to me a week or two ago and said they were working on getting a shipment. Not sure how long that will take. Kind of sounded like they were literally being built. I have currently been looking at the Prius Prime. That's more the size I'm used to driving. If it wasn't for the fact all-electric would need more set-up at home and the fact we might want to occasionally take a longer trip with it, I could probably get by with all electric most of the time. Mostly, I stay within a mile or two of my house.

SadButTrue

May 19, 2022

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Replying to

Good luck with your search.

TheyShouldHaveVaxxed

May 20, 2022

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Replying to

You might want to download the Electrify America and ChargePoint applications to see just how many charging stations there are out there already. Those apps have maps that show you all affiliated charge stations near you. There’s a lot in most areas, too.Those are two big charging networks available and there are probably others. The Tesla charge stations are different and use a different connector but you can use an adapter if you need to. I wouldn’t recommend having anything to do with Musk or Tesla, though. Musk has gone full GOP now.

But everyone should keep in mind that public charging from the grid uses electricity from both fossil and green sources. You dilute the benefits to the climate by charging EVs from fossil fueled sources. Charging at public stations generally but not always costs. If you have home solar, or are thinking about it, charging your EV from that doesn’t impact the environment. Anyone considering home solar might want to design in some extra capacity for EVs as well as future growth. Permitting and design is expensive and time consuming so better to get all the power you will need up front. As you grow into it, you’ll be putting green power out on the grid. Even if you don’t benefit directly at first, you are helping.

SadButTrue

May 19, 2022

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Spouse loves his plug-in hybrid Jeep Rubicon. I'm also considering the Rav4. With the Jeep, we get into town, run errands (post office, grocery store, etc.) and return home all on electric. Love having gas for longer trips. Since we live near lots of steep mountain roads, love the regenerative breaking to partially replenish the battery.

Have you researched the RAV4 any more since your post? Test drive?

TheyShouldHaveVaxxed

May 20, 2022

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Replying to

About that regenerative braking - there’s a good side and a bad side to it in areas with lots of hills if people have routes that take them through that terrain daily - it uses battery life.

Most EVs are using Li-Co batteries these days and they are very much like the batteries in laptops and phones and age with sitting at full charge, low charge, and during charge/discharge cycles. The reason is there is a significant difference in size between charged and discharged forms of the battery chemicals so the battery flexes and moves as it gets charged or discharged. The other effect is at high charge states especially, voltages move high enough that other side reactions can occur that damage the battery components. It’s why Apple has a reduced overnight charge level until morning for their phones.

Lots of hills every day will age Li-Co battery packs, unfortunately.

LiFePO4 battery chemistry is almost the same size charged and discharged and those kind of batteries tolerate daily charge/discharge cycles for 10-15 years. They are heavier than Li-Co, though, and aren’t as high of capacity per volume.