Electic, hybrid or petrol/diesel?

Adeline

We're looking for a new family car and wondered if anyone has experience of driving electric or hybrid and if you rate it?
I noticed there are a number available on motobility now and just don't know where to start. 
With a hybrid do I need a charging spot at home?

OverlyAnxious

There are two main types of hybrid:

Plug in hybrid (PHEV) - can be plugged in at home and run short journeys on electric alone.  Great if you have easy access to a charge point, have a cheap electric tariff and do a lot of short journeys

Self charging hybrid - never needs plugging in, charges up when the engine is running.  Means you don't need access to a charge point but they will generally use more fuel than a PHEV.  (Mild Hybrid (MHEV) is also included in this section, but has such a small electric motor that they're really more of a gimmick than anything else).

Then you have full electric, which obviously needs plugging in to charge and drive anywhere at all.

They all drive slightly differently, so I would urge you to test drive a few if you can.  They all use regenerative braking, which means the car adds some brake force for you when you lift off the accelerator or press the brake, it feels weird to start with but most people adapt quickly.

poppy123456

I have a hybrid, which is self charging so doesn't need to be charged with electric, of course you need to put fuel into them as you would any other ICE vehicle. I've had mine since April last year. During the warmer months the MPG is higher because the battery can remain charged for a longer time. When it's colder the battery loses its charge much quicker, so less MPG. It will also depend on your driving style, if you're heavy footed then it will be less MPG.

Some hybrids are plug in and need to be charged from electric but the range of electric for these are usually very low and only for short journeys. Lots of information here. https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/tips-and-advice/303135/hybrid-vs-plug-in-hybrid-vs-electric-cars

Full electric vehicles need to be charged from either a charger point at home or from public charger points. If you have a drive at home then motability will cover the cost of the charger point to be installed. If you don't have a drive at home then the cost of EVs to charge will naturally be a lot higher.

The reason i didn't choose an EV was because i don't have anywhere for them to install a charger box. These vehicles run on electric alone, the range you will acheive will depend on the weather, your driving and the size of the battery. There's information here on electric vehicles through motability scheme. https://www.motability.co.uk/whats-available/electric-cars/

To join the motability scheme you must be receiving either Enhanced mobility PIP, high rate mobility DLA or high rate mobility for Scottish ADP. You must also have at least 12 months remain on that award to place an order.

For diesel then it will depend on the miles you do, if you only usually do short distances then a diesel may not be the right choice.

anisty

I haven't personally but a good friend of mine has a petrol hybrid (Ford kuga) and her experience has put me right off!


Up to recently, she was using the charger at a nearby public car park as it was free - but now you need to pay. She is currently just using petrol as it works out cheaper than electric now.


Her car's fuel tank is small because the battery is large. Being a large battery makes the car heavy so it is expensive to run.when she travels from Scotland to oxfordshire, she needs to stop 3 times to re fuel. It was just once with her old diesel.


She had a lot of bother with her car as it developed a fault whereby the small battery that operates the doors and electrics kept discharging - meaning she was locked out of her own car.

It took ages to get properly remedied - they kept fobbing her off by telling her she needed a new battery. They changed the battery but the fault was much more complicated.

During this time it was off the road for weeks, with her complaining heartily about what an awful car it was!!


However, all fixed now. Her current view is that she does enjoy driving her car but, knowing what she now knows, she would buy petrol if she was buying again just now as the infrastructure isn't good enough for electric just now.


As for me - i am hanging on to my diesel! Very good over longer distances.

poppy123456

tomm said:

I certainly would NEVER buy an EV or hybrid EV, within 5 yrs they will become worthless due to the  replacement costs of the  batteries, they are going to also start taxing EV's ,

OP mentioned motability so no need to worry about anything other than fuel and/charging. Everything else is covered with the motability payments.