Electric cars vs. plug-in hybrids: What's the difference?
I get this every time I discuss EVs. 聽Something along the lines of oh, you shouldn鈥檛 be including PHEVs in with EVs, they don鈥檛 count, or are not real EVs, just a stopgap etc.
I tend to think PHEVs may be better product. 聽At least for now. 聽And I follow the GM鈥檚 Chevy Volt vs the Nissan Leaf with interest.
The main arguments on each:聽
Plug in Hybrids
- No range anxiety
- Still need gasoline
- Can fuel up at either electric charging station, your home or gas station
- Depending on driving patterns, may not need MUCH gasoline at all
- Expensive because: 聽need both gasoline and electric systems, and batteries are still pretty expensive, even with a fraction of the amount that鈥檚 in an EV
- Get all the torque and quiet and acceleration punch of an EV without the short range hassle
- But not really an EV, after a few miles it鈥檚 鈥渏ust a hybrid鈥�
- Future is just a stop gap until EV batteries get cheap? Or just a better car with all the benes and no cons?
Electric Vehicles
- No gasoline at all (fueled by a mix of 50% coal,20% gas, and the rest nuke and hydro with a little wind聽聽)
- Amazing torque and acceleration
- Dead quiet no emissions
- Fairly slow to charge compared to gas
- Lack of charging stations is getting solved, but still somewhat an issue
- Switching one fuel for another, no extra flexibility on fuel
- Expensive because lithium ion batteries are still pricey and way a lot
- Future is cheaper better batteries? 聽Or they never get there and the future never arrives?
I tend to think the combination of plugins and EVs has actually worked together solved range anxiety. 聽As a consumer, I get to pick from a full basket when I buy, Leaf, Volt, Prius, Model S, lots of pricey batteries to deal with range anxiety, a plug in that gets me almost there with zero range issues, or a Leaf in between. 聽Whatever range anxiety I had disappears into consumer choice, just like it should. 聽I don鈥檛 think pure EV is any better or worse than a plugin, just a different choice. 聽They work together in the fleet, too, plug ins help drive demand for EV charging stations that are critical to electric car success, and EVs drive the cost down on the batteries that brings the plugin costs into line. 聽Unlike with the Prius over a decade ago, it鈥檚 not a single car changing the world, it鈥檚 the combination that鈥檚 working well for us.
