Hybrid Vehicle Thread

[Jiggy]

I'm looking at getting a Hybrid vehicle and so far I've heard mixed reviews on whether I would save enough on fuel to justify the extra cost on buying one.

Right now, I'm looking at a smaller SUV or a mid size car.

Toyota Rav4
Toyota Venza
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Kia Sportage
Subaru Forester
Ford Escape

Share your Hybrid experience with these or any other make/model you have.

[Slava]

The plug-in is awesome. If you drive under 60-70kms a day you can use basically no fuel.

[Drak]

We bought a 2024 Honda CRV Touring Hybrid last year. We love it. But you might not save too much in the colder months running heat, heated seats etc.

[Wormius]

What is your daily commute like and how often are you filling up at the pump?


We have the Rav4 Prime, and are basically at the cusp of the range for our daily commute. In winter, the range goes down a bit but not much, however if you want heat in the car, it'll automatically switch over to the ICE engine. So far for spring we haven't used any gas. Our electricity bill however jumped by ~300kWh as we're driving every day. I might take the charger to work, but I was hesitant cause it's kind of expensive thing to leave unattended.

[the-rasta-masta]

Got the 2025 Honda CRV hybrid touring, another vote for it being great. It’s nice becuase it doesn’t need to be plugged in. We get about 850kms per tank in the warmer months, about $60 to fill. It looks great too.

[tony-soprano]

I've never liked the CRV, but I had the chance to ride in one of these new hybrid ones recently and they're surprisingly nice.

[bc-chris]

we bought my wife a rav4 hybrid last year. she absolutely LOVES it
i have no opinion becuz i've never driven it and only rode in it once as a passenger - i did threaten to attempt an all-wheel burn out so i never got a key (and i prefer trucks)
we figure it's costing about half for "fuel" for her to drive it over her previous car (mazda cx7). her daily driving is low enough that she uses the battery almost exclusively.
we got in last september and i think she's only had to add gas to it 3 times in 9 months

[WideReceiver]

I recently put down a refundable $500 deposit on a RAV4 hybrid. Now I’m likely to buy a Forester instead, thanks to the advice here.

[malcolmk14]

2025 Grand Highlander Hybrid
Same size as the VW Atlas
Averages about 7.2 L / 100 km
Pretty incredible that something so large can be so efficient

[Codes]

We were originally gunning for the Toyota RAV4 Prime, but after years on the waiting list, we couldn't wait any longer and went for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

We've had it for a couple of years now, and like it. The battery gets us 40-50km of range on a charge, which easily covers our daily commute. From the spring through the fall, we can often go weeks without really using fuel. The gas engine certainly gets more use in the winter since it is required for generating heat.

No real complaints thus far!

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by tony-soprano

I've never liked the CRV, but I had the chance to ride in one of these new hybrid ones recently and they're surprisingly nice.

I’d have never considered it but similar to you rode in my bosses. They’ve really become a lot nicer than previous models.

[Derek Sutton]

Toyota is the only one who has this figured out, I’d recommend going with them in this, seems every other manufacturer has abandoned the hybrids for terrible fully electric options. The people who own them (Toyotas) love them, friends have a Highlander and the niece has a Rav. We used a Sienna through Turo and it was awesome.

Do not recommend the Escape, worked at a Ford store for a while and there was issues with the starting battery constantly dying for two different customers.

[calgarygeologist]

We have a Fusion hybrid and it gets the job done really well for city driving. Most of our drives in the city can be done at around 70% electric. On the highway it is less impressive but still decent.

[fotze2]

How do you guys calculate the electricity costs. ITs the one thing I never figured out. When I add a 3,500 HP compressor in a field the power is massive.

Is it even noticeable on your bills? I know its HP x .744 = kW * $50 MWhr. I know with my phone or every other thing with a battery I start losing my mind when the battery starts getting crappy. Does that ever get annoying,

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Codes

We were originally gunning for the Toyota RAV4 Prime, but after years on the waiting list, we couldn't wait any longer and went for the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

We've had it for a couple of years now, and like it. The battery gets us 40-50km of range on a charge, which easily covers our daily commute. From the spring through the fall, we can often go weeks without really using fuel. The gas engine certainly gets more use in the winter since it is required for generating heat.

No real complaints thus far!

Ditto on wanting a prime, went with a Ford Escape plugin hybrid. Love it!

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by fotze2

How do you guys calculate the electricity costs. ITs the one thing I never figured out. When I add a 3,500 HP compressor in a field the power is massive.

Is it even noticeable on your bills? I know its HP x .744 = kW * $50 MWhr. I know with my phone or every other thing with a battery I start losing my mind when the battery starts getting crappy. Does that ever get annoying,

Just roughly based on the battery capacity and what charging it once per day is. 18 kWh battery.

Yes, it’s noticeable on bills if you’re charging nearly every workday.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Just roughly based on the battery capacity and what charging it once per day is. 18 kWh battery.

Yes, it’s noticeable on bills if you’re charging nearly every workday.

So 18 kW x 8 hrs x 0.05/kwhr x 30.4 days? $215/month?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by fotze2

So 18 kW x 8 hrs x 0.05/kwhr x 30.4 days? $215/month?

No, the 18 is already in kWh, which is the same unit you're charged in, so you don't multiply by hours.

Although slightly offsettinf I think $0.05/kWh is too low for a residential user - a bunch of the fees also go up with usage, I'd probably use at least $0.10/kWh.

So then even if you drove it to empty ans charged to full every day it’s:

18 kWh * $0.10/kWh * 30.4 days = $54.72/month

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by fotze2

So 18 kW x 8 hrs x 0.05/kwhr x 30.4 days? $215/month?

For EVs they spec the total battery capacity in kWh. So, it’s just 18kWh x price / kWh * however many times you charge it. So in your example, $27 per month.

[the-rasta-masta]

Originally Posted by fotze2

So 18 kW x 8 hrs x 0.05/kwhr x 30.4 days? $215/month?

You’re not factoring in the delivery costs. Most people pay about 20-22 cents per kWh all in with the delivery fees included. It’s a common misconception on how much the cost of electricity for their EV driving is, everybody inputs their fixed rate instead of the full cost of electricity they are paying to pull a kWh off the grid.

However you’re also assuming a full charge every day, which isn’t usually the case.