[dalyons]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/16/plug-in-...

“ The researchers attributed most of the gap to overestimates of the “utility factor” – the ratio of miles travelled in electric mode to the total miles travelled – finding that 27% of driving was done in electric mode even though official estimates assumed 84%. ”

Perhaps the rav4 prime @ 41ml max ev range is a better system than all the other low range PHEVs like it, and has better real world usage data than them. I doubt it though, but I don’t have the data on just the rav.

[wanderr]

0 mention of rav4 in this article which seems to be about European cars.

[dalyons]

European registered cars. The RAV4 PHEV is a popular car in Europe so is assuredly well represented in this data set of 800,000 phevs.

[rsynnott]

_If used correctly_, they're pretty good. Most people don't use them correctly.

[dalyons]

If you build a product that most people don’t “use correctly” then you have not built a good product suitable for that use. Blaming the customer and expecting them to change is a losing strategy

[tonyedgecombe]

So if you are too lazy to plug it in every night or your day to day driving exceeds the battery range you shouldn't buy one.

One of my neighbours has one but nowhere to plug it in. I have no idea why they bought it.

This wouldn't stop me from buying one.

[freetime2]

There are reasons to buy a PHEV even if you never plug it in. Their electric motors tend to output more power than HEV versions of the same model, leading to more performance and a quieter drivetrain (even with the engine running, it doesn't have to work as hard). You can also run climate control and infotainment while parked without having to idle the engine, which is nice when waiting around on a hot day. Or you can remotely start the air conditioner with your phone.

Basically you can get EV quality-of-life features on a gasoline-powered vehicle.

I probably wouldn't recommend a PHEV to someone who doesn't have a place to plug it in every day. But there are reasons to buy a PHEV beyond just fuel efficiency.

[Yizahi]

Not everyone is rich enough to live in a private house, where one could plug EVs daily.