Watched this video review from Harry’s Garage about his PHEV Range Rover Sport and he makes some really good points about PHEVs vs EVs. With the Pacifica we rarely drive on gas with 35 miles of EV range, but with this thing getting 65 miles and having better power out of the full EV mode, I gotta say he makes good points about a full EV being a tough sell from a practicality perspective give. 65 miles of EV range we would never use fuel except on a trip

 

Give me 80-100 miles and I'd be good 90% of the time and I would likely buy one. I can't get by on 35 miles/day like what I see out of the 4x4E Wrangler (I'd love to have a Wrangler at some point).

Stupid question: can PHEV's charge as fast as what I see out of my Tesla at home (about 15% of range per hour)? Or are they trickle charge since the range expectation is so low?

 

These things can supposedly only DCFC at “up to 50kW”. So basically old Nissan leaf quality charging or worse.

In a recent inside EVs charging test it couldn’t go above mid to high 30s kW. L2 peaks at 7kW before charging losses so even then it takes a while to charge despite the relatively small battery size.




They aren’t the panacea Harry suggests. Lesson - as much I like Harry, don’t trust people who don’t live with EVs to advise you what EV to live with.

 

I don’t see a reason to DCFC a PHEV personally. When the EV range is gone just drive it like a gas car.

To me the main benefit of the EV is the feel of the vehicle itself but from a practicality perspective I have a hard time faulting his thoughts.

 

Well I’d rather have a 38 kWh battery than no battery at all or a smaller one, and 60 odd miles of EV range is decent and more than most, but I’d wait to check out the full electric Range Rover (and Sport) before getting one of these.

The other thing is that with the battery depleted it effectively reverts back to being a detuned version of the P400 so less power carrying quite a bit of extra weight.

 

I made this point a year and a half ago and everyone's panties got all bunched up over it.

 

In Lexus/Toyota PHEVs when the EV range is depleted you still get full 100% power. 0% EV range or 100% EV range in hybrid mode = full power. That’s what I like about their hybrid systems. The hybrid battery is never fully depleted.

 

We may actually get some more PHEVs now that the government rebates don't heavily favor BEVs anymore. Better solution for many.

 

For people purchasing new and only keeping the vehicle for the warranty period / 5 years max a phev makes sense. However, I personally wouldnt want to own one out of warranty unless it's a proven system like Toyotas.

Long term though an EV makes more sense. As have been mentioned before, just do an EV and rent a vehicle for long road trips.

 

I like taking long road trips in my amazing car, that’s partly why I spend so much money on it. Don’t want to rent a car for a road trip. That’s the only thing holding me back from going full EV…owning it out of warranty isn’t a consideration as owning any car I would want out of warranty is going to be a concern.

I will have to drive one of these. Full electric Range Rover is awesome I’m sure but it will be max 300 miles of range

 

I have absolutely no need for a PHEV where I live, did a 390 mile drive to SoCal, have driven at least 100 miles a day since arriving here, and tomorrow will be heading back doing another 390 mile drive. Been living with full BEV since 2022 and have no desire to own or drive a Phev, and I actually feel sorry for those who lack charging because they are totally missing out on a superior driving experience. But thanks for sharing

 

There is almost nothing in the automotive world dumber than dragging around a gas engine that is hardly used.

 

ha, great to the point summation.

phev’s are a terrible solution. “we’ll drive with this tiny range but haul around this huge and heavy and complex gasoline engine and gasoline tank and all the other stuff, *just in case* we need to go beyond the tiny range” vs. just get an ice or ev vehicle to begin with. this way, we can have maintenance and failure risks on TWO power drivetrains vs. just one.

 

Yeah it seems redundant.

But, if someone does mostly local driving it might work.
And, gas for trips for people who need it. 🫸🫷

 

if someone does mostly local driving an ev is perfect.