A bit of clarification please on how a PHEV works - basically, does the engine charge the battery while you are driving along, just like a non-plugin hybrid? (While the engine is running, of course!)

Basically, yes. But the battery is much bigger/heavier than a self charging hybrid so a lot of weight to lug around. It only delivers its full efficiency if used as intended.

Lots of articles on line like this:

https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/choosing/what-is-a-plug-in-hybrid?

PHEVs are pretty pointless nowadays.

Worst of both worlds lugging around a heavy engine, tank full of fuel, and heavy batteries as well.

The original idea was to do the start and end of a journey on electric in urban areas & ULEZ zones. And the bulk of a commute on the motorway using the ICE engine.

However, full EV battery tech has come far enough to mean family hatchbacks can easily manage a commute on overnight recharges. And self-charging battery tech has come far enough to make PHEV completely unnecessary. Electricity prices will rise again in July, so you wouldn't save much, if anything, by plugging for a small number of miles per day.

Thanks Tom/Eric

We regularly do both short journeys and frequent longer trips in our retirement, and for the latter a full-electric simply would not do for our purposes (especially as the range will degrade over time), so this is why I'm exploring the PHEV option possibly using our solar panels (when we get them) as a source of electricity.

And not forgetting - if there's a power cut overnight, the car would not be "re-fuelled"!

Thanks again- Richard

PS I must admit, having seen this thread, I'm still unsure of leccy vehicles in general Kuga PHEV battery fault - Ford Kuga Club - Ford Owners Club - Ford Forums

1 minute ago, RMurphy195 said:

Thanks Tom/Eric

We regularly do both short journeys and frequent longer trips in our retirement, and for the latter a full-electric simply would not do for our purposes (especially as the range will degrade over time), so this is why I'm exploring the PHEV option possibly using our solar panels (when we get them) as a source of electricity.

And not forgetting - if there's a power cut overnight, the car would not be "re-fuelled"!

Thanks again- Richard

No problem. It sounds like a self-charging hybrid could be best for your needs.

Using solar power to charge a PHEV is an interesting thought though. Problem is you'd need to be charging it during the day...and that's when you're likely to be out driving it. Unless you're planning on getting large batteries to store the solar charge for use in the evenings, which would add additional cost to the installation?

4 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

No problem. It sounds like a self-charging hybrid could be best for your needs.

Using solar power to charge a PHEV is an interesting thought though. Problem is you'd need to be charging it during the day...and that's when you're likely to be out driving it. Unless you're planning on getting large batteries to store the solar charge for use in the evenings, which would add additional cost to the installation?

Not directly of course - my friend tops his ID3 up overnight from his mains leccy which, of course, is supplemented by whatever he has stored in the house's system during the day (his household installation does have a battery which, prior to the leccy vehicle, helped with almost zero summer costs due to the way he manages things)

The picture is now changing, but much of the benefit of PHEVs was to company car users/salary sacrifice schemes in lower BIK taxation rates.

I've seen several tests on EVs showing that range degradation from ageing is not as significant as was once thought, eg https://insideevs.com/features/757119/tesla-model-3-battery-degradation-after-200k/ and ranges are improving all the time. The new BMW i3 for instance, claims 560.

i've driven Toyota and Honda self charging hybrids and was struck by how little the engine seemed to operate in urban use, though it ran far more on the open road. Depends on your usage mix I guess.

The "what shall I get next?" question is becoming pretty complicated!