What would be better for our type of use? Full Electric or Hybrid?

[Nicasio]

Thinking of upgrading the wifey’s trusty old Pontiac Vibe to an Electric or Hybrid. What would you get for her type of use? M-F she drives 35 freeway miles to work and drives to local patients throughout her day. Anywhere from 6-10 patients a day so the car is shut off and restarted quite a bit and a lot are short trips. Then home another 35 miles. Would this be good to convert or just stick to a gasoline car?

 

[Nick1994]

What's the total miles per day?

 

[ad244]

Has she driven an EV or hybrid?

 

[Wylie6G72]

It looks like she could potentially be driving 130-140 miles per day. Is there a reasonably priced EV on the market right now that can accomplish this? I honestly don't know, as I have not been in the market for one. I know a Tesla can do it with ease, but that may not be in your price range. If not, a hybrid would work great for all the inner-city trips.

 

[mightymousetech]

Kona EV could handle that easily.

 

[JeffKeryk]

If you choose an EV, how will you charge?
By the way, the cheapest Tesla is the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, 262 EPA range. $42K.
Est. delivery is July 2022 due to demand. There are also demonstrators available that will save a little.

Tesla does not offer a RWD single motor Model Y, so the cheapest is like $55K with a range of 326 miles. Sub 5 second 0 to 60 times, so she could get where she's going fast...

You can check for local incentives. CA has a $750 energy rebate, based on your income I believe.
Owners love these cars, but they are not for everyone. A nice CR-V or RAV4 hybrid might make more sense.

Good luck.

 

[joegreen]

get a hybrid. just having the ability to quickly gas up in an emergency is a god send. I think a full electric vehicle works best if you can be without the car and still have transportation in an emergency.

 

[PimTac]

Does she want to stick with the same size and type of vehicle? If so a Toyota Corolla Hybrid is rated for 50mpg plus. The Camry Hybrid is almost the same EPA rating but bigger.

In my opinion a hybrid would give her better flexibility in case she ends up driving more distance.

 

[Cujet]

I can't tell how many miles total, but you did say they are short trips. That really sounds like the ideal situation for a quality EV.

For it to be convenient, it would have to charge at home, and charge at a rate that will provide sufficient range by the next day (might have to wire in a 240V outlet if you don't have one handy by the parking spot). And with that many miles, it would be smart to choose something that has at least double the range she plans on driving. As some days may require a shopping trip some distance away (for example).

My points are this: Miles add up fast, range estimates may not be accurate, places to charge may or may not work for certain trips, and battery life is best when not depleted to nil constantly.


Whether a Hybrid is better for you, is really up to you. Heck, some plug in hybrids exist and they give some EV miles. From an energy use standpoint, hybrids can compete very well, despite the "internet" engineers that constantly claim otherwise. It really does take a certain amount of energy to push a car down the road. For a reality check on this one, try charging an EV with a (relatively thrifty) Honda EU7000 generator and see how many miles you can go on 5 gallons of gas. The answer is about 100 miles! Now before you bite my head off, I am aware that grid power is more efficient. But it's not 10x more efficient.

This guy gets 15 miles range from 1 gallon using a Honda EU2000 gen.

 

[ron17571]

The hybrid, if you ever want to go anywhere far away. Or not get stuck with no charger available. Something like a Prius.

 

[Rmay635703]

Neither is best for that usuage

If you have charge access nearly everywhere get a zPrius Prime

It is both a hybrid and plugs in and has room for cargo.

It is also quite reliable and if you work out the details and flight sub $20,000 brand new ordered from Rhode Island.


In detail An EV is technically workable if you have warm weather year round and have one with over 200 miles of range, a failure to charge could throw a wrench in things, whether you want the extra complexity of a BEV will depend on if you have charging nearly everywhere and time to use it. BEVs in cold weather are more frustrating if you are edging closer to the reduced winter range limit

A plain hybrid is fine for your use but short trips in cold weather will drop your economy car far more than a standard car and it likely will cost more than the PHEV Prius Prime

 

[ecotourist]

If you choose an EV, how will you charge?
By the way, the cheapest Tesla is the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, 262 EPA range. $42K.
Est. delivery is July 2022 due to demand. There are also demonstrators available that will save a little.

We got out Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus in about 8 weeks. We like it a lot. It would make a terrific commuter car.

We charge ours with a simple 240 Volt 40 Amp wall plug (like an electric stove plug) in our garage. Tesla sells a connector (about $40) to connect that wall plug with their (included) charging cable to your Tesla.

The theoretical range is just over 410 Km. The real life range is more like 350 km. But you should only charge a Tesla routinely to 80 - 90% and not let it go below 20%. So the routine real life range is more like 70% of 350 Km = 245 Km = 150 miles. So it's doable with a Standard Range Plus but with little margin to spare. If she is routinely driving 140 miles a day, you might be better off with an extended range model.

By sticking to the recommended charging routine there is said to be very little drop off in range over a practical period (eg 10 years, 200,000 miles). We'll see.

First thing I'd do is get some data. How any miles per day?

 

[Nicasio]

What's the total miles per day?

I’d say it could be anywhere between 120-200 miles on some long days, depending on how far each patient is from one another. Also, a lot of Saturdays she works too. I’m doing 5k OC’s like every other month. Another thing I should mention is during the hot Summers here she sits in the car between patients documenting with the AC blasting. This could be 10-15 mins sitting each time with the car idling/AC on.

 

[Nicasio]

Has she driven an EV or hybrid?

Nope she’s never driven one. I’ve only driven a Prius in a parking lot lol

 

[Nick1994]

I’d say it could be anywhere between 120-200 miles on some long days, depending on how far each patient is from one another. Also, a lot of Saturdays she works too. I’m doing 5k OC’s like every other month. Another thing I should mention is during the hot Summers here she sits in the car between patients documenting with the AC blasting. This could be 10-15 mins sitting each time with the car idling/AC on.

On 200 mile days a Standard Range + model of the Tesla Model 3 will be a stretch. Mine is rated for 253 miles but A/C cranked and realistic driving is probably 190.

I'd get a plug-in hybrid, part of the day will be electric. Or maybe use electric for the idle times and gas/hybrid for driving.

Here's the models you can get federal tax credits on. I'd get a Prius Prime or Hyundai Ioniq

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml

 

[Nicasio]

Does she want to stick with the same size and type of vehicle? If so a Toyota Corolla Hybrid is rated for 50mpg plus. The Camry Hybrid is almost the same EPA rating but bigger.

In my opinion a hybrid would give her better flexibility in case she ends up driving more distance.

Yes we would like to have the same size car if possible. The Vibe has been a great little, but roomy car.so versatile with the big hatch and fold down seats.

 

[Snagglefoot]

How would she feel about plugging an EV in everyday after work and to remember to unplug it in the morning, or would she expect you to take care of this mountain task. Is she in a rush in the morning and tired at the end of the day? Would she appreciate the novelty of an EV like all the geek fanboys? Also, does your house have a 200 Amp service and would it be difficult to install a 50 Amp 220 V charger in the garage. These are the types of things to consider.

 

[Cujet]

Way back when, We took a Model S P85 from Jupiter FL to Miami And back. The car was rated at 265 or so miles. We barely made 200 despite going slower then everybody else, and yes we made it home.

Fast forward a few years and a newer version of the car ran out of juice on the back roads of FL At 180 miles. It seems the speeds on the FL backroads equal highway speeds and the “around town” range specs don't really apply.

Knowing your daily mile requirement, choose the longest range EV for a good result.

Also consider how many hours of charging will be required after each day.

It does seem to me that the right EV (big battery) would work well for you. No more oil changes of fill ups.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I believe a Tesla Model 3 would work for you as long as you have proper charging at home. And you would enjoy the car. Owners tend to love them.
But the purchase price is high. I ask prospective buyers, "Are your sure you can afford this car?"
A Civic/Corolla is half the price. That buys a lotta gas.

 

[PandaBear]

I believe a Tesla Model 3 would work for you as long as you have proper charging at home. And you would enjoy the car. Owners tend to love them.
But the purchase price is high. I ask prospective buyers, "Are your sure you can afford this car?"
A Civic/Corolla is half the price. That buys a lotta gas.

I would recommend a hybrid instead of an EV mainly because of the unpredictable nature of her distance driven and up front cost. Nobody buy a Tesla expecting it to save money in short term, and it is hard to predict how much cost saving you may get because of electricity cost or depreciation. Regarding to other EV it is hard to predict but it can be anything between Leaf (super bad depreciation) to Tesla (seems to hold value good).

Chevy Volt (plug in hybrid with 40 miles EV range or so) would be a good compromise, so would a regular Prius (55mpg). They seem to hold up well and depreciate predictably. They can save a lot of gas, and if you switch job and don't drive that much anymore they are not a waste of battery depreciation over time without being driven like the more expensive EV.

One thing also: if you are on PG&E and you charge your EV, you cannot use tiered flat rate pricing or regular time of day pricing, you have to use their EV pricing. It may push your peak rate (during evening cooking time) higher but your charging at night might be cheaper. You have to run some math to see if it make sense to you.

Or, if you really want to you can get another Corolla or Civic and just accept 35 mpg average instead of 55 mpg or first 40 miles electric only.