Hybrid Vehicle Thread

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

I'm looking at a 2025 Corolla Hybrid, non plug in. Anyone have something similar? I'm not sure what the actual price the Toyota dealers are asking, but is it worth it to pay more and get the hybrid version? I keep my vehicles for a long time, ten plus years.

IMO hybrid and PHEV is great if you have a lot of short trips/stop and go. If doing a lot of long drives, I don't know if you'll notice it much. Can the hybrid motor kick in at the same time as ICE and improve the performance?

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

Most service upgrades (100A to 200A) are going to cost much more than $15k with underground service to the home. With overhead wires in an alley it can be a $5-10k job, but most service upgrades with underground wires are over $30k minimum.

Putting a load manager (essentially what is in the Emporia charger) on a 100A panel is entirely sufficient and much much cheaper ($900ish plus labour). Allows you to charge your car but will shut off if load exceeds certain levels (i.e. you're running AC, washer/dryer and trying to charge at the same time). I work for a company that installs EV chargers and a service upgrade is never a recommendation unless its with overhead service to the home, and even then load management is the first choice.

Yeah, I was about to say, if only it was just $15K. I got a $45K+ quote from Enmax for 100A to 200A. The box is like 50-75 feet away, but need to trench the road to do stuff.

My buddy got his done for <$1K because Fortis in Cochrane. Had to dig up the road too, but Fortis didn't care/charge anything extra.

[Shazam]

On all the hybrids I tried out the electric motor always runs, and the ICE is turned off if you're going slowly (< 15kph).

Hybrid/PHEV is absolutely the way to go if most of your driving is in the city. You will save a lot in gas money because stop/start kills ICE fuel economy.

[Twitchy15]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

ITS is I think the practical choice if you want a driver's car. It's just not practical from the perspective of "you're spending an extra $20,000 for a marginally better interior and significantly worse fuel economy".

Edit: well, they call it an eCVT and it behaves more or less exactly the same as a normal CVT in practice regardless of the engineering involved. I've driven the regular CVT, the eCVT and the manual in the sport touring trims, so I would know.

exactly I use to have an acura rsx type s which was a sweet little car.

yes they programed it to have "gear shifts" so it feels like a normal car even without a transmission.

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by Wormius

When else can you enjoy a nice nap?

Speaking of trying to nap, anybody successfully disabled the pedestrian warning drone? I mean, it’s a little overkill. Even ICE engines aren’t that loud.

ha I have a hybrid f150... backing up is annoying

it seems great on the highway and city, will kick into electric on downslopes on highway and light approaches. If easy on the peddle will stay electric until about 60km/h, and if not gets to speed and maintains that in electric on fairly flat roads.

[Buzzard]

I was just looking at cars on the weekend. One thing that turns me off from buying a hybrid/plug in is the inevitable battery replacement. Paying five to ten grand, ten years down the road does not excite me. Of course that's only relevant if you plan to keep it that long. I'm curious what electric owners thoughts are on this? Are you thinking move it before then, or is the gas money you're saving going to cover that expense?

[TopChed]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I was just looking at cars on the weekend. One thing that turns me off from buying a hybrid/plug in is the inevitable battery replacement. Paying five to ten grand, ten years down the road does not excite me. Of course that's only relevant if you plan to keep it that long. I'm curious what electric owners thoughts are on this? Are you thinking move it before then, or is the gas money you're saving going to cover that expense?

I think the concern over EV battery life is vastly overblown:

EV Batteries Can Last the Life of the Vehicle
Geotab, a fleet telematics company, has good news. Studying nearly 5,000 fleet and privately owned EVs which have spent a cumulative 1.5 million days on the road, the company reports the average EV battery should last 20 years or more. The data shows the average EV battery studied degraded by just 1.8 percent per year, which is an improvement from five years ago when the average degradation was 2.3 percent per year. The best-performing EVs in the new study degraded at just 1.0 percent per year.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...ent-cost-study

I currently have a 7 year old EV with ~90% of the original range, though I haven't tested the actual battery capacity to know the exact degradation.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The issue is more about if you drive over a sharp rock and somehow damage the battery (since they tend to be low in the car for weight reasons)

[Calgary14]

Toyota just announced the new Rav4 plugin will have 320 horsepower and a 50 mile range

[chummer]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Toyota just announced the new Rav4 plugin will have 320 horsepower and a 50 mile range

Nice, can you get by with 120V or do you need 220?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Toyota just announced the new Rav4 plugin will have 320 horsepower and a 50 mile range

Thats about the same range as 2024 and 2025. Right now on full charge I get about 85km, but haven’t confirmed against the odometer.

The horsepower is deceiving. It’s basically if you’re using the electric and gas drivetrain in non-eco mode, but that peters out as soon as the battery is discharged.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thats about the same range as 2024 and 2025. Right now on full charge I get about 85km, but haven’t confirmed against the odometer.

The horsepower is deceiving. It’s basically if you’re using the electric and gas drivetrain in non-eco mode, but that peters out as soon as the battery is discharged.

What is the range like in the winter?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

What is the range like in the winter?

Pretty variable, but closer to 55 or 60 km IIRC, however it will run the ICE automatically if you use the defoggers or turn the temperature up. The seats and steering wheel are helpful, so you could rely on those if you wanted only EV, but the windows fog up really fast.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I was just looking at cars on the weekend. One thing that turns me off from buying a hybrid/plug in is the inevitable battery replacement. Paying five to ten grand, ten years down the road does not excite me. Of course that's only relevant if you plan to keep it that long. I'm curious what electric owners thoughts are on this? Are you thinking move it before then, or is the gas money you're saving going to cover that expense?

It hasn't been an issue for a while now. They've got it pretty well nailed down. Hybrid/plug-in tech is old now.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I was just looking at cars on the weekend. One thing that turns me off from buying a hybrid/plug in is the inevitable battery replacement. Paying five to ten grand, ten years down the road does not excite me. Of course that's only relevant if you plan to keep it that long. I'm curious what electric owners thoughts are on this? Are you thinking move it before then, or is the gas money you're saving going to cover that expense?

I don't think it'll be that at 5 years and it's a maybe at 10 with a possibility closer towards 15. Fuel savings easily go towards that.

For a 15+ year old ICE, I was pouring in maybe $500-1500 for innocuous stuff per year. A single replacement of $5-10K that you can basically see coming from a long ways off (and can be heavily affected by your habits) doesn't seem too bad.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Problem with buying a RAV4 is you will — by association — join one of the largest groups of people who drive like they’re asleep.

This.

Please at least ask the Dealer to disable the function that inhibits all Toyotas from merging above 70

[You Need a Thneed]

Love my little hybrid Hyundai Ioniq.

42L tank, my best tank to date in 994kms. No plug in (wich I had gotten the plug in when I got it though.

[WideReceiver]

Decision time. I thought we had months to decide but just got a call from the Toyota dealer. Someone ahead of us backed out of a RAV4 hybrid so ours is available. Problem is I don’t think I want it. Thanks to advice on CP I’d like to look at a Subaru SUV hybrid instead.

We don’t drive high mileage. Our 2009 RAV only has 195,000 km. This will likely be the last new car we buy. We mostly do city driving. We’ll start shopping Sunday at a Subaru dealer.

The Subaru lower cost is a factor but most important are reliability first and operational costs and I understand the Subaru rates high. Anyone know more about that? I’ll try to find a JD Power or Consumer Reports or equivalent ratings guide.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

IMO hybrid and PHEV is great if you have a lot of short trips/stop and go. If doing a lot of long drives, I don't know if you'll notice it much. Can the hybrid motor kick in at the same time as ICE and improve the performance?







Yeah, I was about to say, if only it was just $15K. I got a $45K+ quote from Enmax for 100A to 200A. The box is like 50-75 feet away, but need to trench the road to do stuff.



My buddy got his done for &lt;$1K because Fortis in Cochrane. Had to dig up the road too, but Fortis didn't care/charge anything extra.

My upgrade was $3500 all in with new panel, BC hydro service upgrade costs, and labour.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I don't think it'll be that at 5 years and it's a maybe at 10 with a possibility closer towards 15. Fuel savings easily go towards that.

For a 15+ year old ICE, I was pouring in maybe $500-1500 for innocuous stuff per year. A single replacement of $5-10K that you can basically see coming from a long ways off (and can be heavily affected by your habits) doesn't seem too bad.

I'd expect at least 15. But really, with a PHEV you still have a normal hybrid without the plugin aspect so it's not like it's dead on the road.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by WideReceiver

Decision time. I thought we had months to decide but just got a call from the Toyota dealer. Someone ahead of us backed out of a RAV4 hybrid so ours is available.

When a similar thing happened to me, I was told I could back out on this specific one because I didn't like the colour / trim, and still stay next in line.