You want to leave petrol behind, but now you can't decide between a PHEV and a full electric car. I get it, because everybody online says something different. One guy says electric is the future, and another says a plug-in hybrid is the safe choice. So I'll talk about PHEV vs electric cars in simple words, and only from the point of view of normal daily driving.
What's an electric car?
An electric car doesn't have a petrol engine at all. It runs only on a battery, and you charge it at home or at a charging station. You don't go to a petrol pump anymore, there's no engine oil to change, and the drive is really smooth and quiet.
The only thing is that the whole car depends on the battery. So you have to think about charging a little, mostly when you're going somewhere far.
What's a PHEV?
A PHEV has a petrol engine and an electric motor, both together. The battery is big enough that you can plug it in, so for your short daily drives it runs on electricity. When the battery gets low, the petrol engine starts working. That means you won't get stuck anywhere, because you can fill petrol at any pump.
What's it like for daily driving?
If you compare a plug-in hybrid vs electric car for a normal day, there's not much difference. Both can go to your office and back on electricity, and both are quiet in traffic. The difference comes on the days that don't go as planned, like when you forget to charge, or when you have to suddenly go to another city.
On those days the PHEV is easier, since you've got petrol to fall back on. On normal days the electric car is easier, because it costs less to run and there's less to break.
How far can they go?
Let's talk about PHEV range first. Most plug-in hybrids go about 30 to 80 kilometres on the battery, and after that the engine takes over. With a full tank the total can be more than 600 kilometres. Electric cars go much further on the battery alone, around 300 to 500 kilometres as per the company, but you'll usually get less in real life, especially when you drive fast or keep the AC on high.
So a PHEV has a small battery range and a big backup, while an electric car has a big battery range and no backup. If you drive 30 or 40 kilometres a day, both are fine. But when you go on a long highway trip once or twice a month, the electric car needs a charging stop, and the PHEV only needs a petrol stop, which is quick.
Charging
Charging is the part where they feel really different. A PHEV has a small battery, so one night on a normal socket or a wall charger is usually enough. An electric car has a big battery, so a home charger takes a few hours to fill it up, and on the highway a fast charger can do most of it in around 30 to 60 minutes, if you can find one that's working.
If you've got your own parking with a charging point, both are easy. But if you park on the road or in a shared place where you can't fix a charger, an electric car becomes hard to own, and a PHEV also loses most of what makes it good.
What it costs to run
Mostly the electric car wins this one. Electricity is a lot cheaper than petrol for every kilometre, and there's no engine or gearbox oil to look after, so servicing is cheaper and simpler. A PHEV has an engine and a motor both, so there's more to maintain, but you still save on petrol if you charge it regularly.
Where the PHEV loses is when the owner never plugs it in. Then it's just a heavy petrol car that drinks more fuel than a normal one.
Price, and what you can buy in India
If you want an electric vehicle comparison that helps you, then price is a big part of it. A good number of electric cars in India are now at normal prices, but PHEVs are mostly luxury cars. So if your budget is normal, you'll probably end up looking at electric cars and strong hybrids, and not PHEVs.
And what about Hybrid Cars in India? The plug-in ones are very few, and they mostly come from luxury brands, so you don't get a lot of choice. Strong hybrids are easier to find and you never need to plug them in. Charging points are coming up in the big cities, but outside the metros it's still hit or miss. Before you decide, Compare Cars for price, real range, charging and running cost, because the best one depends on how far you drive and where you park.
Which one should you buy?
Go for the electric car if you can charge at home, you drive about the same distance every day, and you don't often go far outside your city. You'll save the most money like that, and the car is very simple to live with.
A PHEV is better if you want electricity for daily use but you don't want to give up petrol for long trips, or if you're worried about finding a charger on the road. It's also safer when you're not sure about your parking or charging.
To sum it up
Nobody can say one is better for everyone, since everybody drives differently. The electric car costs the least to run if charging is easy for you, and the PHEV gives you less tension if your trips are not fixed. So think about where you park, how far you drive every day, and how often you go far, and you'll know pretty quickly.
