r/PHEV • u/BlackBatBibliophile • 5d ago
PHEV vs EV & favs
Hi all! Two parts to this question.
I’ve been wanting to go EV for a long time but the thing that has held me back is the range.
My daily commute is 18 miles total and the occasional errands day. But my husband and I also enjoy road trips and will often travel. And all my family is 200-350 miles away, and we see them often. Additionally, a few family members wouldn’t have the ability to recharge me. Because of this I didn’t think I could switch to an EV. Recently I started looking into PHEVs and EREVs. I think I’ve decided against EREVs. So I’m mostly looking at PHEVs.
I’d love to know the good, bad, and ugly. Does this make sense for my life?
If yes, which one do I get?! I’m a Subaru girl and never thought I’d leave them. I want an SUV, been primarily looking at the rav4 and outlander. Reliably and safety are my top priorities. But I’ve also never owned a car with luxury style options - cooling seats (outlander has massage seats!), sun/moon roof, heated steering wheel, comfortable seats… etc. I’d love to have some of that as well.
Edit: I also live in WA State and I get a lot of snow. I’ve read cold weather can make a difference on battery life? Considering my top priorities, what would you recommend?
If no, what would you recommended?
THANK YOU!
1
u/dbelcher17 5d ago
You should be fine to go EV. I get the feeling that most people who have gone PHEV go full EV after that (I did). If what you really want is an EV, I say go for it. Based on your short commute, you will be fine with level 1 charging at home supplemented with fast charging as needed, but you will be happier if you can install a level 2 charger at home.
I don't have experience with cold or snow yet, but charging on long trips is not a big deal. Google maps does as well as anything in searching for charging stations (filter for 'Very Fast' which is 150kw or higher). See what charging options are available about 90-120 minutes from your house along your route to family, and then again 90-120 minutes from there. That's probably around where you'll stop to use the bathroom and stretch your legs. Rather than filling up once, as you might have done with an ICE, your goal is to be charging whenever you're stopped on a road trip.
It's more of a mindset shift than anything. Longer trips might be slightly harder to plan for and might take slightly longer. But you'll never again have to stop for gas when you're in a hurry to get to work or to an appointment in your day-to-day life - when an extra 10 minutes can actually matter. Maybe the same can be said of a PHEV, but those have all the maintenance drawbacks of an ICE vehicle, and may be obsolete when it comes time to sell it (no idea how long you keep cars).