VW Tiguan, Plug-in-Hybrid or Diesel

Dhenalau

My mind is set on buying a new Tiguan. (Please do not tell me there are better or more efficient cars 😉)

I am still hesitating between an Plug-in-Hybrid (1.4TSI) or a Diesel (2L). (And I have read a watch lot of reviews)

I mainly do small commutes during the week and going to NI or Cork once or twice a month.

I have a diesel at the moment and enjoying been able to go from Dublin to Cork an back without having to refill the tank 😊 and the price at the pump.

On paper with the same specs the diesel car is cheaper as long as we do not have an increase in tax like this has happened in other countries.

On the other side, I will have to charge the Plug-in-Hybrid every other day to make the most of the fuel economy as the car weight 200kg more and will use more petrol if the battery runs out, but this does not look like much bother.

Any advice from drivers of hybrid cars?

Would you buy it again or go for the petrol or diesel version?

Thanks in advance for your help.

KCross

The extra weight wont make any difference really.

The things that I think you need to consider are

• The price difference. How much are the two cars on-the-road?
• The driving experience. Some PHEV's are nice to drive and some are horrible. Have you driven the PHEV?
• Are your daily small commutes within the range of the battery?
• And crucially can you get a home charge point installed. A PHEV is a waste of your money if you cant home charge it, so you need an off-street driveway where you can plug the car in.

Old diesel

If you can charge at home then lots of short drives with a longer journey once or twice a month is ideal Plug in hybrid territory.

Test drive both and see how it goes.

whippet

I would 100% say go for the PHEV if you can charge at home otherwise the battery will just be a big heavy white elephant.

Charging isn't a bother - a PHEV will charge to full in less than 3 hours and as you said the majority of your day to day driving will be on EV. The ICE is there to bridge the gap for the odd time.

I have both an EV and PHEV on the drive way and from coming from two Diesels a year ago. I don't really worry too much about the savings on fuel (the night rate looks after that for me) .. but I just don't like the idea of using petrol anymore. Even on a long journey in the PHEV I have it set so that when I am in urban areas I use EV only and it will save the battery until I get there.

We bought it as we didn't think a full EV would have suited us - plus there really wasn't any suitable options in BEV apart from the Model3 Tesla which I really don't like.

When it comes to changing the PHEV it will be for a BEV - more than likely something like the BMW i4

wassie

How long you keep the car may be a consideration also, especially if you are buying new as these cars are not cheap. I would expect in the years to come a hybrid/EV may will have a better resale value over the ICE equivalent as emissions regulations tighten up. This could easily wipe out any fuel savings achieved by an oil burner when it is time to change over.

Tenshot

We switched to a hybrid PHEV + full BEV about two years ago; no regrets. My Outlander PHEV gets me to and from work (~26km round trip) with about 10km range left over for evening shopping/activities. Recharge each night using a home charger. My wife's eGolf only needed recharging once a week when she was commuting regularly, and only every 2-4 weeks since lockdown kicked in. She drove (conservatively) from Castlebar to Dublin recently on a full charge, and had 30km range left on arrival.

As mentioned above, once you get used to driving on electric, you tend to resent whenever the petrol engine kicks in; the sweet spot is a short daily commute with occasional longer trips on petrol freeing you from the need to plan charging stops.

PaulRyan97

I have the new Golf GTE so they exact power train that Tiguan eHybrid is using and I love it.

I don't charge every single day if I know the battery range I have left is good enough to cover my next trip. I usually leave it in hybrid mode for rural areas and motorways and switch to e-mode when in urban areas.

I've managed a long term average of 2.8l/100km with relative ease, if I did make sure to use e-mode as much as possible than that would be a lot lower. I filled the tank (40L) there last month and got a shade over 1300km before needing to put fuel in. That included two separate 200km+ trips to West Cork (the last 100km usually being driven with a flat battery at 80-100km/h average but still getting ~5.0l/100km).

I would generally recommend that you get the PHEV, it will be more efficient than the diesel model for the vast majority of your trips. The only point it will match it is when you have an empty battery and are driving on a motorway. So your worst case scenario is the diesel's best case.

Plus you definitely won't miss the rattling of the TDI, all round much more comfortable driving experience.

Dhenalau

Thanks a lot to all for your comments, very helpful 👍️

the_amazing_raisin

I'm going to throw in the token EV comment and ask if you'd consider an ID.4? 😁

I've had one since May and it's brilliant, can go a week of commuting between overnight charges

I've done Dublin (Swords) to Waterford and back without needing a recharge

In theory the car can do Dublin to Cork or Belfast without a charge. If you're confident about having access to an overnight charger then you can do these trips without a midpoint charge

Realistically, you'll probably want to stop for a quick top up. 10-15 mins at a high powered charger to and from Cork should be enough each way.

Luckily there's several hubs along that route so you have options for charging 

I know you're looking at the Tiguan, but I wanted to give you an EV owners experience with a similar car before making your decision

zg3409

Do you know the real world electric range of the phev? A quick look says 50km, or 25km from home. I assume this is optimistic and would not be high speed range.

Does that cover your daily commute?

Do you own your own home with off street parking so you can get a home charge point?

Sometimes the boot size can be smaller in phev so check that and often fuel tank is smaller to make room for battery, so on very long trips you may need to stop to refuel every few hours due to small fuel tank.

Some phevs turn on engine if you floor the pedal, or turn on heater or a/c cooling so check that. This means engine runs in winter etc. Do lots of research and be warned depreciation is typically 20% in year one, and 10% in year 2, but may be higher or lower depending on supply and demand and the trend towards full electric. As said try test driving the ID4. It's about same size outside as Tiguan, but bigger inside. Easier to drive than automatic gearbox cars.