Looking to replace my 2005 Corolla with some sort of hybrid. Looked into a Subaru Crosstrek but I'd have to buy it out of state and have it serviced out of state so that's definitely not happening. My husband is thinking maybe we should look into something that handles snow and ice well hence why I checked out the Subaru. Looks like Toyota has a hybrid plug-in in the RAV4 so that's one I'm considering. Looks small enough for me to be comfortable driving. I am not interested in anything very big. Any ideas, experiences, etc. with hybrids?
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I drove a Honda Civic Hybrid for years and loved it. It was a mild hybrid that harvested braking energy and used that to accelerate. I really loved it. Not much benefit on the highway driving but added mileage in town big time.
Plug-in hybrids have different amounts of battery. Some just enough to drive short distances while others can go much farther before the gas engine is needed.
The bigger hybrids start moving into inefficient territory. They still need big gas engines, their EV range is limited, they are heavier, have less load capability, and when in either mode, you carry around all the weight from the unused other mode.
They are a great safety blanket, though. You can always drive them on gas and fillups are fast. No requirement to find charging stations. But they are compromises big time that aren’t that much of a benefit to the environment. You might be better off with a mild hybrid or just going with a very efficient gas vehicle.
I just bought a non plug-in hybrid, Yaris Cross. I get 60 miles per gallon. My problem was, I needed a quick replacement and my patience is non existing. So my car has always be ready to drive, we have no wallbox and charging the battery over night is no option. For short trips you can go all electric (under 2 miles) it has 4wd and you can sleep in it, when you go camping with a tailgate tent.
It has a ton of savety features, so that I don't accidently kill anybody. (This was hubs' request)
No. The dealership contacted me back and there is a short supply of all hybrid plug ins. He got back to me a week or two ago and said they were working on getting a shipment. Not sure how long that will take. Kind of sounded like they were literally being built. I have currently been looking at the Prius Prime. That's more the size I'm used to driving. If it wasn't for the fact all-electric would need more set-up at home and the fact we might want to occasionally take a longer trip with it, I could probably get by with all electric most of the time. Mostly, I stay within a mile or two of my house.
Spouse loves his plug-in hybrid Jeep Rubicon. I'm also considering the Rav4. With the Jeep, we get into town, run errands (post office, grocery store, etc.) and return home all on electric. Love having gas for longer trips. Since we live near lots of steep mountain roads, love the regenerative breaking to partially replenish the battery.
Have you researched the RAV4 any more since your post? Test drive?