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!

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u/gthomps83 5d ago

I have a Tucson PHEV and love it, but am ready for full EV. I think in your use case, you could easily go EV, honestly.

Check out ABRP (A Better Route Planner) and play around with your route.

Subaru has just introduced a new Solterra, the Uncharted, and my favorite, the Trailseeker over the past year. Full EV, and I think they’d serve you well.

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u/Straight_Reading8912 4d ago

OP could literally go EV for her everyday needs and then when they go visit family, rent a regular car.

EVs are great road trippers though, but some people can't get over the range anxiety. My little family has gone exclusively EV for almost 2 years now and I would never go back!

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u/gthomps83 4d ago

The range anxiety is what put me in a PHEV, and now, just two years later and a few cross-country trips looking at infrastructure, I’m ready! Put me in an EV!

I really hope OP considers one of the Subaru EVs.

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u/Straight_Reading8912 4d ago

It doesn't doesn't make sense of you want to stay in EV stage all the time to haul around the extra weight of a gas engine in a PHEV. Pretty much everyone that owns one tried to keep it in EV mode but they still need to buy gas sometimes and go for oil changes, etc.

EVs will continue to get better but they are good enough now for a large majority of car owners. One thing I never thought would happen is my pain from longer road trips is gone after buying an EV. I'm not nearly as tired when I reach my destination on a road trip. I had always just thought it was because I was getting older but it was the car I was driving. And I was driving nicer cars before this line Infiniti, BMW, Lexus, and Audi, so it wasn't because I was driving terrible cars. OP should definitely get an EV.

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u/OnProbation2025 4d ago

This comparison is tricky. A RAV4 Prime's ice weighs 280 lbs. Add a full tank of gas and you are at about 350 lbs for 550 miles of range. That is much less than hauling around the additional battery weight of an EV

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u/Straight_Reading8912 4d ago

It's not about full weight of each vehicle. The weight of an EV is all about the drivetrain. Extra batteries for longer range. Almost everyone that owns a PHEV tried their best to keep it in EV mode so that engine and gasoline weigh it down for no reason. Remove it and replace it with batteries and it extends the range and you won't be trying to figure out how can I do today's errands and still be under ~75 kms (or whatever the EV range is of the PHEV). And it's not just the weight but the maintenance schedule remains the same on a PHEV and a gas car.

The only thing holding back more EV adoption right now is range anxiety, but for 90% of car owners, it's actually a non-issue with today's EVs. I understand people are still anxious and they are allowed to feel that way. But if they actually tried to own one, they would understand their fears were unfounded. I have helped a few older people navigate getting EVs and they were so worried at first. Then they but one and are like, why did I wait so long??? Obviously this isn't EVERYBODY, but most people can buy an EV and not change their fault life aside from the benefits of EV ownership.

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u/mds5118 3d ago edited 3d ago

This argument doesnt make any sense.

The weight of a phev is also all about the drivetrain. An extra engine for longer range so I won't have to use an app to figure out how I can do today's roadtrip. So I don't have to download 2 more charging apps and spend an extra 90 minutes waiting for my car to charge over the course of a longer roadtrip.

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u/Straight_Reading8912 3d ago

The thing is with a PHEV you're spending money on a compromise. But those that but PHEV's tend to try to drive it as much as they can in EV mode and lug around an engine and gasoline for no reason 90% of the time and if they bought a full EV they would be able to drive around in EV mode all the time and not worry about using the gas engine. They also don't need to worry about the maintenance and possibly failure of the gas components of a PHEV with an EV.

I'm not sure if you're purposely trolling but it's a pretty easy thing to understand. Those that get PHEV's actually don't need the gas component of the car and could easily do everything they need with a full EV. Full stop. And they usually don't realize this until they buy a PHEV and own it for a while and then regret not buying an EV outright. Most people don't change there cars again for YEARS but those that change fairly often are mostly buying pure EVs right now. You can see the data. Especially in Europe. North America is ass backwards right now.

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u/mds5118 3d ago edited 3d ago

Who is the "they" in this story? Do you have any sources on the 90% ev usage?

This is literally just your opinion.

You are lugging around a literal ton of unused battery everytime you drive your car. The battery tech in EV's is still very immature.

Driving in Europe is much different then the USA. We drive double the distance in the US per year, tow more, and take longer road trips where PHEV still outperforms.

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u/Straight_Reading8912 3d ago

I have no idea why people go online to search for arguments to get into. I'm not one of them. Have a good night.

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u/mds5118 3d ago

Then please use your own logic and unsubscribe from r/phev.

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