Not counting as a plug-in would mean it’s a reclaiming-only hybrid, not that it’s an EV.
The entire point of a plug-in hybrid is that you can use it as a straight EV in a non-trivial subset of cases.
> Maybe a whole new category electric cars with optional ability to use petrol.
That’s usually called a range-extended EV, but that’s reserved for “series” architectures, which is not something Toyota wants to do.
The Volt and i3 are probably the most well-known examples. The volt has a pretty short all-electric range (topped out at 50 miles on the second gen), the i3 was designed as an EV first so the range extended models had a more respectable 125mi all-electric, plus ~75 from the range extender (the straight EV model topped out at 150mi range).
It was very much a transitional model though, both successors are only available as pure EVs.
My point was that the standard of plug-in hybrids is 40 miles or less without using the engine. Which is great if you happen to have a regular 15-20 mile commute but for most people makes it more like a non-plugin / self-charging [sic] / full-hybrid [don't ask me].
100+ miles means it's, for a lot of people, basically an electric car.
Perhaps the defining line is that with 100 mile range you'd be likely to top-up the battery part on a long journey rather than just ignoring it. I do feel that makes it a different category, more like the range extended EVs.
The standard is what every other plug-in hybrid on the market offers. I'm pretty sure you are just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point. You haven't added anything useful.
> The standard is what every other plug-in hybrid on the market offers.
Ah so a strait up lie then.
> I'm pretty sure you are just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point. You haven't added anything useful.
Aside from giving you an example of a 10 years old hybrid with the kind of all-electric range you exclaim had never existed before, which you just decided to ignore entirely as you spouted a bunch of baseless assertions in not-support of your destruction of objective language?
Have you considered reading my comments? I didn't say it didn't exist before. I said it was the standard. Looking at a bunch of current PHEV models:
- Ford Kuga PHEV: 28-41 miles
- Mazda CX-60: 39 miles
- Volkswagen Tiguan PHEV: 30 miles
- Kia Niro PHEV: 33 miles
- Toyota RAV4 PHEV - 46 miles
- BMW Model 3: 32-36 miles
This whole thread started with me suggesting it needed a different moniker because it was so different to the rest of the market.
You yourself called the BMW I3 an range extended EV. Why does that deserve a different name but not a Prius with a much extended range?
A plug-in hybrid works differently. It has an engine as well as electric motors, a gearbox to make that all work together, a diff, etc.
A range extended EV doesn't have a gearbox or a diff. Just a generator attached to the battery. So they drop all that complexity and weight.
I always thought they were a brilliant design in that sense, as far back as 2010ish when the Chevy Volt was announced. I'm surprised they haven't caught on more vs hybrids.
Then you have something like the Nissan E-power range which also uses a generator attached to the engine. However, they have a very small hybrid type battery without the ability to plug in.
That is another type of car, yes. Do you understand the point of "range extended" now, though? Plug in and range extended aren't to do with how far they go on electric. They're to do with how the car works.
Your "now" implies that I didn't know before. That isn't the case.
A plug-in hybrid would hardy fit the definition if it had a 1kwh battery more typical of a conventional hybrid but with the technical ability to plug it in. No more so than the ability to run an old fashioned manual petrol on the starter motor for a few meters made those hybrids. Usain Bolt and a marathon runner both use their legs to move but they are hardly equivalent.
The entire point of a plug-in hybrid is that you can use it as a straight EV in a non-trivial subset of cases.
> Maybe a whole new category electric cars with optional ability to use petrol.
That’s usually called a range-extended EV, but that’s reserved for “series” architectures, which is not something Toyota wants to do.
The Volt and i3 are probably the most well-known examples. The volt has a pretty short all-electric range (topped out at 50 miles on the second gen), the i3 was designed as an EV first so the range extended models had a more respectable 125mi all-electric, plus ~75 from the range extender (the straight EV model topped out at 150mi range).
It was very much a transitional model though, both successors are only available as pure EVs.