Hybrid Long Distance Fuel Consumption

Dublinandy3 · 24-06-2022 10:16am #1

Hi All,

This forum seems to be full of people with a lot more knowledge than me so hoping you won't mind this question. We have a 2012 car and we need to upgrade. We want a hybrid to help with the fuel consumption and also so we don't have to worry about charging.

Are hybrid cars no good if regular long-distance driving is needed? (A usual week consists of Dundalk to Dublin and back again 6 days a week).

I've tried reading up on it but I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not a car person and the jargon kind of baffles me somewhat. I do however think that what I'm seeing is a hybrid is only useful to save fuel if you do short, city trips rather than long motorway ones like we do. Are there any savings at all?

TIA

ELM327 · 24-06-2022 11:38am

There's no point in getting a hybrid for that use case. We had a 2008 MK2 prius and while I could get 70MPG around town with some effort, it drops to mid 40's at best on the motorway.

You should either buy an efficient diesel or a full battery EV that has enough range to do your trip. The diesel would be cheaper to buy (depending of course on what model and how new etc) but the EV would be much cheaper to run. A Kona 64kWh for instance would be perfect and theres a 2019 currently for sale for 29k on another thread.

Miscreant · 24-06-2022 10:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242826#Comment_119242826

Depends on the driver then. I had a hybrid Auris and regularly achieved mid 50s MPG on the motorway. I do the Dublin - Galway route every 2 weeks.

I have a PHEV now and get into the mid 60s MPG on the same trips.

Zurbaran · 24-06-2022 10:18pm

I’d have a hybrid over a diesel any day of the week. The Camry is supposed to get over 50mpg on motorways and would be cheaper running cost overall with better residuals.

JPup · 24-06-2022 10:30pm

Modern hybrids will more or less match diesel over long distances and beat them in town. They also have the benefit of being more reliable and cheaper to maintain. Throw in that they are automatic, quieter and much better for air quality then it's hard to justify diesel these days unless you're getting a bargain.

Dublinandy3 · 24-06-2022 11:36pm

Thanks all, we probably will get a hybrid, even if it only matches a diesel it's better than petrol and is more future proof than a diesel.

MightyMunster · 25-06-2022 12:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119246402#Comment_119246402

If you're doing big mileage and have home charging you'd be saving thousands a year in an EV vs a hybrid.

Diesel or petrol at 2Euro/L x 6L/100km= 12 Euro

EV at 0.1038 Euro/kWh x 16kwh/100km= 1.66 Euro

So you'd save €11.34 for every 100km you drive.

10,000 km/year, save €1,134

20,000km/year, save €2,268

30,000 km/year, save €3,402

That's every year...

Zurbaran · 25-06-2022 1:34am

Yeah if you have the ability to home charge bev is the way to go. I just checked and it’s only a 163km trip each day to Dublin and back. Most electric cars will do that and more in the depths of winter. As Mightymunster explains it would be far cheaper that way although the price of what you buy is not included.

PaulJoseph22 · 25-06-2022 9:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058251542/hybrid-long-distance-fuel-consumption

Are you looking at PHEV?

MightyMunster · 25-06-2022 9:55am

Don't think any PHEVs can do a 163km trip in EV mode, what's the point in lugging an empty battery around?

Lantus · 25-06-2022 10:12am

You might get some benefit in using mixed mode for a phev but it's an expensive option. You'd save by dropping your speed to 110.

PaulJoseph22 · 25-06-2022 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247219#Comment_119247219

You can in hybrid mode. I was just asking is it PHEV…..

Dublinandy3 · 25-06-2022 4:10pm

Hi All,

No at the moment a home charging station is not an option at the moment I'm afraid, which is why we're wanting to go hrbrid rather than EV or PHEV.

elperello · 25-06-2022 6:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119246081#Comment_119246081

And the Camry is a big car if that matters to the OP.

New model Camry's can be bought from 30k up to 40k for a nearly new.

However as it seems an EV is ruled out they should look at a diesel for the kind of driving envisaged if the budget is lower.

Dublinandy3 · 25-06-2022 8:41pm

Our budget would be between 30 and 35k, maybe a touch more if really special

whatever76 · 26-07-2022 12:00pm

I'm in more or less same scenario as the OP and same budget - Dublinandy3 - did you make a decision? I am currently debating new corolla hybrid.

Dublinandy3 · 27-07-2022 6:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119388747#Comment_119388747

Yeah we went for the chr hybrid for a few reasons.

Firstly we found a dealership that had ordered some previously so we managed to get a new one without a long wait, also after test driving it and speaking to someone in person who does a similar commute it's obvious the commute will be a lot more comfortable and it will also save money compared to what we're spending now.

whatever76 · 27-07-2022 9:19am

great thank you ! I may look into that model as well ... happy hybrid motoring :)

micks_address · 27-07-2022 9:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119246610#Comment_119246610

those ev figures look a little misguiding.. 10 cents per kwh charging at home? doable potentially if you have a night meter but then a higher standing charge? i just got an id4 and i reckon charging at home is about 20 euro per 400km versus 55 euro per 400km in my petrol tiguan... go to public ev chargers and im at 35/40 euro per 400km... still a saving but its not 1/10th of the cost..

MightyMunster · 27-07-2022 9:48am

Depends on the electric rate you're on. Still night rate if around 7c available I think. 20 per 400km would be 25kwh/100km at 20cents. Seems excessive, I've never seen over 20kwh even in the depths of winter in high winds and driving 120

ELM327 · 27-07-2022 10:25am

Night rate of 7c available with Energia

innrain · 27-07-2022 10:36am

My long term average for nearly 100k km driven, on two EVs, a Kona and a Model 3 is less than 15.5kWh/100km. My commute is on the whole M50 plus some around the exits. That would mean, for an average of €0.4/kWh on public charging a total cost of €6,200. The equivalent ICE for a 2 quid per liter of fuel would need to consume 3.1l/100km to break even. Every 1l above this figure means a thousand more. As a bonus for me, from the theoretical amount of 6.2k I paid less than 3k for charging due to some free charging I got back in 2019, at work, etc plus much cheaper rates in previous years. I know free charging is not sustainable and I don't plan around it but it impacts my budget. Before the EVs we had 2 petrol cars one would average 7.5l/100km for the same commute, the other 10+ l/100km and it was used only in emergencies.

Chris_5339762 · 27-07-2022 10:43am

I have a diesel and my parents have a petrol hybrid.

In my experience, their petrol hybrid is about the same in terms of fuel consumption as my diesel. Simple enough way to think about it!!

But then if you look into it, their hybrid creams my diesel in the city, but my diesel creams their hybrid on the motorway.

Gumbo · 27-07-2022 8:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119393165#Comment_119393165

+1

Our 520d is mid 20’s MPG with mostly city driving.

Our 530e is 51 MPG with all city driving.

Our EV is currently 19.5 kWh/100km with mostly city driving.

corks finest · 08-09-2022 5:55pm

I achieve this without any hassle 2012 insight

no lead foot

56 plus mpg

corks finest · 08-09-2022 5:57pm

Mid 20s🙄 I’d burn it

mc2022B2TF · 08-09-2022 8:31pm

Problem with phevs on long distance is they are carrying the extra weight of an empty battery for most of it and that impacts the consumption massively

Miscreant · 08-09-2022 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119592137#Comment_119592137

I routinely get over 60mpg from my PHEV on a long distance motorway journey so the extra weight isn't impacting all that much. My previous Toyota hybrid used to get into the 50s on the same journey so the PHEV is clearly doing something right.

alfa_aficionado · 08-09-2022 10:38pm

Just got a new XC90PHEV recently - averaging 3.1l/100km so far after ~2500km. It does tend to return upwards of 6l/100km once the battery is exhausted, although this is 40+ mpg which isn’t bad for the size of the car.

08-09-2022 11:29pm

How many kWh/100km on top of the petrol?

mc2022B2TF · 08-09-2022 11:45pm

https://youtu.be/PsQORFOUgTY

ELM327 · 09-09-2022 9:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119593278#Comment_119593278

Good question. This is overlooked for non plugin hybrid as the energy is "free". On plugins it's not.

whippet · 09-09-2022 10:30am

I've had to commute over the last few weeks due to a new job.

135km round trip - 80% M1/M50

The G20 BMW 330e - averaged 1.5l/100km

The Leaf40 averaged about 13.2kwh/100km

I can charge in the office which obviously helps the PHEV figures

ELM327 · 09-09-2022 11:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594364#Comment_119594364

But it's (1.2l + XXkWh)/100km, not just 1.2l

09-09-2022 11:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594190#Comment_119594190

The reason I asked is that I have seen some test drive reports where the PHEVs have used more electricity than my pure EVs have done + additional liquid fuel on top of that. Now that the electricity prices are on the raise it's also something to keep in mind when doing the apples and oranges comparison between ICE/PHEV/BEV.

whippet · 09-09-2022 11:43am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594629#Comment_119594629

Not sure what your angle is on this point - the thread is clearly about 'fuel consumption' meaning fossil fuels. Electricity isn't free but the cost to charge a PHEV is almost negligible in the context of petrol or diesel.

10kWh battery - costs shag all to charge on night rate and I've no idea what my employer pays for electricity.

Anyway - the 1.5kwh/100km is about the fuel consumption. Put it this way I can drive the PHEV for the week using a fraction of the fuel that my old 2.0l Diesel consumed on the same journey ... and at a much lower cost. Despite what some people think there are use case scenarios where PHEVs are not just oil burning lumps carrying around heavy batteries.

I also get the bonus of being able to enjoy a fairly decent ICE motor when I want a bit of fun

ELM327 · 09-09-2022 11:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594716#Comment_119594716

my "angle" is to include all fuel consumed.

It's all very well and good saying 1.2l/100km but if you've also used 33kWh for instance, the cost of the electricity would actually be more than the cost of the petrol.

whippet · 09-09-2022 11:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594731#Comment_119594731

yep - of course it would. Choosing to power a car by means of EV isn't always about the monetary cost savings.

kanuseeme · 09-09-2022 1:29pm

Electric consumption is about the same as a BEV, my Prius showed 15 kWh/100 km, my 330e is showing 19 kWh at the moment, I think the outlander, 20 - 23 if I remember correctly,

The extra battery weight is a myth if a Tesla 100 kWh battery is 625 kg then a 10 kwh phev battery is around 62,5 kg.

The above video is not comparable either if he wants to compare he should have driven a normal car around to get that consumption rate, his driving style is the difference, in other words, he would get the same crappy economy.

I remember getting around 40 mpg on the airport run in my outlander and talking to someone with a diesel they were getting the same mpg, granted I spent 1 euro on electricity and a little extra on the petrol price difference, but where as he was getting 40 mpg on every trip, most of mine were electric.

In fact, during covid the car ran a whole week non-stop on petrol to use it up as it was in the tank 4 months.

That week I got 30 mpg, the hybrid part never kicked in and even when waiting at traffic lights it kept running.

kanuseeme · 09-09-2022 1:46pm

Actually a little under 15kwh for the Prius. That was around 450 km on motorway Rest was local mostly on battery. Coming back from Dublin on 29th August I put 50 euro into it, previous 50 euro was 25 th June.

kanuseeme · 09-09-2022 1:58pm

IMG_20220829_150040.jpg

33.4 km per litre, 94 mpg, plus electric 12.5 kWh ecars, rest was night rate and some day rate.

PaulRyan97 · 10-09-2022 4:33pm

Here's a typical Cork-Dublin motorway run for me in a 2021 Golf GTE.

That's leaving on a full battery, I've done the same run with a low state of charge and it usually pushes the fuel consumption up to 5-5.5l/100km. Overall not bad considering these runs are my most uneconomical scenario. Most other driving is done on electric power alone.