New hybrid/electric car advice

[NW-Bound]

I think another reason EV and hybrid cars are not popular in Europe is because of the way they look at cars. An auto is mainly for transportation to the typical car owner there. They will not spend a lot of money as people would on a favorite toy or hobby, or an object of love. If an EV or hybrid car does not give them the bang for the buck, they will not pay it.

 

[Koolau]

Back to OP's original questions:

I have no personal experience in owning a hybrid/electric car. Our neighbor owns a Prius and loves it. I've ridden with him and he is AGRESSIVE in his driving in Honolulu traffic but still gets 45mpg or MORE. Our small Island is the perfect place for a hybrid in that it is essentially one big city with several suburbs. Not so perfect is apartment/condo living when it comes to rechargeable cars. We have a number of free plug-in places at shopping centers, but those won't help much as all electric/plug-in hybrids become more popular. In our case, we simply have no place to plug in - even if we were willing to pay for a plug in station.

So, first questions might be "how will you charge a plug-in?" "Do you have a 'safe' place to put in a charging station (such as a locked garage)?" "How many miles do you drive?" IOW "Can you justify the additional cost of a hybrid?" or "Can you do most of your trips in the all-electric's range?"

Next question I would ask is whether OP wants a hybrid/electric to "save money" or because it is such cool technology. Personally, I think the technology is half the reason to own such a vehicle. I would love to have a hybrid or, better yet, a plug-in, just to "play" with it. I'd keep records of mileage, try to see what drive-cycle gives longest battery life, etc. etc. I could spend hours just enjoying such a vehicle. But if it's just to save money, there may be better ways to do that - see below.

Right now, I think we can safely say that hybrids are a nearly mature technology. Owning one - even a used one - should not be too scary as there are a million of them out there working just fine.

All electrics have been around for quite a while as well, but still are not what I would call "mature" though I guess that's debatable. I personally would be less inclined to own one (vs a hybrid or ICE) except, in my case, Oahu is the perfect place in terms of range. Already mentioned lack of a place to charge one (for me, personally). Other than that, Oahu is small enough that I would be willing to own a Leaf, for instance. Most trips are under 25 miles and a "long" trip is a "day trip" of 80 miles around the Island. Someplace in that distance, I could find a recharging station (Typically limited to one hour - perfect for lunch).

If saving money is the main goal, then OP might consider a used ICE instead. Related elsewhere in these pages, I own three used cars (between here and the mainland). Total cost of purchase was about $20K for all 3. Repairs beyond routine (such as brakes) has been less than $4K for all 3 cars. In 9 years, that's a cost of ownership of less than $1000/year/car. Insurance is less because I have no collision coverage. Some states (not mine) offer lower tags cost for older vehicles (my mainland car costs about $50/year for tags.)

There are a lot of factors that go into purchasing a vehicle. My suggestion to OP would be to prioritize these reasons. Cool technology, cost per mile, fuel costs only, insurance cost, tags cost, yearly cost to own, unexpected repairs (used cars mainly), joy of ownership (my favorite car of the 3 is my land-cruising Buick LeSabre!), the list goes on. Once you decide why you want to own a "different" car than currently, your choices may become clearer.

Hope this treatise has been helpful. As always, it is worth every penny you are paying for it since YMMV.

 

[explanade]

I think another reason EV and hybrid cars are not popular in Europe is because of the way they look at cars. An auto is mainly for transportation to the typical car owner there. They will not spend a lot of money as people would on a favorite toy or hobby, or an object of love. If an EV or hybrid car does not give them the bang for the buck, they will not pay it.

I'm sure they have car enthusiasts, if not as many as in the US.

Italy defiantly has a motoring club with road atlases.

I once found a site with most scenic drives in the world and several are in Europe, a lot of high passes in the alps.

 

[ERD50]

... and found how difficult it could be to get a place with a parking spot. It is only in the countryside such as in Tuscany that such as a spot is guaranteed.

In the cities, it is rare that residents have private parking spaces. For them to use an EV, there will have to be millions of charging stations on the public streets.

Ahhh, I hadn't thought of that. Yes, without a garage, or even a fixed parking spot, you don't have the infrastructure for EVs. And it's not a small problem in the US, many people live in apartments, or only have street parking, or an old detached garage (typical in Chicago), that maybe had a single 110V/10A circuit for a light bulb - not enough to charge an EV.

That's why I think the series hybrids may become more common than pure EVs. They can run the engine as a generator only, either on or off, and running at peak efficiency while on. Being able to run a dozen or so miles in EV mode means saving the engine on/off times when you move the car from one store to another on some errands. And no range issues.

-ERD50

 

[yakers]

Biggest problem with the C-Max and Fusion Energis is the huge amount of space taken up in the trunk with the battery because the cars weren't designed as electrics. I mean it's just massive, half the trunk is gone.

I test-drove a C-Max Energi and was appalled at how dog-slow it was, would assume that the Fusion has to be better than that pig. The Volt is a way better car than either of the Fords for the same money, IMO. It is designed and well-built as an electic-first car and has a good amount of pep.

Disagree with need for 240v charging for plug-in hybrids at home, btw. They don't have enough capacity to warrant the expense given that an overnight 110v charge will usually replenish the battery. It's really only needed for full electic cars such as the Bolt or Tesla.

The C-Max Energi we teated did seem a dog, don't know why since it has a similar electric setup as the Fusion, I think. Both the C-Max & Fusion Energi do lose a lot of truck space, has not been an issue for us but our friends chose a Fusion Hybrid becasue they needed more trunk. Our neighbors had the ist Volt and now the second Volt. We agree that the Volts accelarate better and the Fusion is a better road car. It really drives well.
We had the 240v charging for our Focus FFE but it is more than convenient to be able to quick charge the Fusion, since we only get 25 mi on pure battery the charger lets us get recharging in during the day not just at night and there is less parasitic losses in a 240v system.