Luxury Plug-In Hybrids

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Jan 3, 2021 | 09:26 AM

GS69

Thread Starter

Lead Lap

Joined: Dec 2005

Posts: 4,428

Likes: 10

From: NC

Luxury Plug-In Hybrids

I am starting the search for a new vehicle this year and have been satisfied with the MDX Sport Hybrid so as the next step I started looking at plug-in hybrids which made me notice that German brands seem to be all-in while the Japanese are no where to be seen despite Honda, Toyota & Nissan having some.

Am I reading this right? If I get the X5, it has a 30 mile range which means if I just go to & from work everyday (20 miles) and plug it in at night, I will never have to use gas?

https://chargedevs.com/features/bmw-...h-plugging-in/

I am not ready for an all electric vehicle yet but perhaps a PHEV is next ... does anyone have thoughts on why Acura, Infiniti & Lexus do not offer any?

Thanks!

Jan 3, 2021 | 09:27 AM

Toys4RJill

Lexus Fanatic

Joined: Nov 2011

Posts: 35,498

Likes: 389

From: ON/NY

Corsair all the way

Jan 3, 2021 | 09:42 AM

mmarshall

Lexus Fanatic

Joined: Oct 2003

Posts: 94,541

Likes: 264

From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs

Quote:

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

Corsair all the way

For the price of a typical 4Runner, you could have had at least a moderately-equipped Corsair, but, of course, compared to a 4Runner, it would have been a significantly greater reliability risk.

Jan 3, 2021 | 05:16 PM

kolokmee

Intermediate

Joined: Aug 2016

Posts: 361

Likes: 86

From: BC

Quote:

Originally Posted by GS69

I am starting the search for a new vehicle this year and have been satisfied with the MDX Sport Hybrid so as the next step I started looking at plug-in hybrids which made me notice that German brands seem to be all-in while the Japanese are no where to be seen despite Honda, Toyota & Nissan having some.

Am I reading this right? If I get the X5, it has a 30 mile range which means if I just go to & from work everyday (20 miles) and plug it in at night, I will never have to use gas?

[...]

I am not ready for an all electric vehicle yet but perhaps a PHEV is next ... does anyone have thoughts on why Acura, Infiniti & Lexus do not offer any?

Thanks!

If I'm not mistaken, the Euro brands had to build compliance PHEVs in order to meet the strict EU emission targets since most of them didn't have proper BEVs developed yet. Nissan, with the Leaf, and Toyota, with their hybrids already met the targets; while Honda ended up paying Tesla for the credits instead of developing more of their own PHEV/EVs. Note that Infiniti and Acura don't exist in Europe.

Toyota/Lexus is likely very battery-constrained, and being their usual super-conservative self; they are probably taking their time before releasing the Lexus versions of the "Prime" models. Rumour has it the next gen RX will have a PHEV option, so they are coming.

Not sure how reliable the current batch of Euro-luxe PHEVs are. You probably don't want to run on EV-only mode the whole time, as the ICE part needs to be run once in a while to get them lubricated.

Last edited by kolokmee; Jan 3, 2021 at 05:19 PM.

Jan 3, 2021 | 05:43 PM

pbm317

Lead Lap

Joined: Apr 2002

Posts: 4,892

Likes: 14

From: Virginia

Europe brands are pushing on PHEVs because of the Low Emissions Zones that are becoming increasingly stringent in Europe.

Can take upwards of 12+ hours to fully recharge even a PHEV on a standard outlet. Just a few hours on a level 2 charger.

On our Pacifica PHEV, we had driven nearly 95% of the first 800 miles on Electric mode until a recent longer trek. Has 32 mile range.

New X5 PHEV was high on our list to swap out our 2019 X5 a few months ago, but BMW wasn't doing any pass through of the federal tax credit at the time (may be different now). 30 miles is pretty good for the lux SUVs, most are still under 20 miles.

Last edited by pbm317; Jan 3, 2021 at 05:47 PM.

Jan 3, 2021 | 07:36 PM

GS3Tek

CL Community Team

iTrader: (8)

Joined: Jan 2003

Posts: 12,390

Likes: 184

From: so cal

Quote:

Originally Posted by GS69

Am I reading this right? If I get the X5, it has a 30 mile range which means if I just go to & from work everyday (20 miles) and plug it in at night, I will never have to use gas?

Yes, that is correct.
However, expect a 3-5 mpg loss discrepancy (on most days).
Once you go over, the ICE will kick in so you don't need to worry about range anxiety.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GS69

I am not ready for an all electric vehicle yet but perhaps a PHEV is next ... does anyone have thoughts on why Acura, Infiniti & Lexus do not offer any?

Yes, lexus have nothing in their current line up.
We all know how lexus works

You have a better chance at Genesis coming out with an electric before lexus.

Jan 4, 2021 | 12:15 AM

gengar

Lexus Test Driver

Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 5,285

Likes: 43

From: NV

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolokmee

Toyota/Lexus is likely very battery-constrained, and being their usual super-conservative self; they are probably taking their time before releasing the Lexus versions of the "Prime" models. Rumour has it the next gen RX will have a PHEV option, so they are coming.

RX450h+ has been registered with the EU patent office so it's likely that Lexus will introduce the RX soon, using the same drivetrain as the RAV4 PRIME.

TMC may very well release it first in Europe for reasons you and others have mentioned in this thread, and considering how much demand exceeds supply for the RAV4 version, who knows if/when the RX version will be widely available in the USA.

Jan 4, 2021 | 05:31 AM

gengar

Lexus Test Driver

Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 5,285

Likes: 43

From: NV

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freds430

Best Car is a completely unreliable source. It'd be crazy if Lexus didn't produce an NX using the RAV4 PRIME drivetrain at some point, but it seems extremely unlikely it'd be out this year.

Jan 4, 2021 | 09:57 AM

#10

Vladi

Pole Position

Joined: Jan 2004

Posts: 2,705

Likes: 6

From: Florida

If Lexus could push out NX+ at the same time as NXt and NXh it would be a huge thing for potential buyers. I certainly hope so they could do it and God I hope that RAV4 Prime shortage is not only due supplier consolidation but partly due to NX+ taking over majority of all the required components instead of RAV4.