Planning on getting a PHEV in the coming year.
Each one seems to have a drawback...and since I have not owned a PHEV before I'm trying to figure out what should be most important to me since it seems like I won't get everything i want in one car.
If you were buying one today, what would be the MOST IMPORTANT thing to YOU and WHY?
What would you recommend steering away from???
Thanks!
"I'm trying to figure out what should be most important to me since it seems like I won't get everything i want in one car."... That right there is key, what is most important to
you. I'm not sure I'd say each has a drawback, just that they are different (you can see them as a drawback, but they, well everything, is a product of compromise between competing needs).
The BMW- the 600cc engine/generator, and puny gas tank, can be seen as a drawback if you will often drive beyond the number of miles it can go on electric since it can't go far (and it would suck on a long trip). On the other hand, it is primarily an electric car, with the features generally seen on BEV electric cars (longer range, DC fast charging) while it still has a small (fairly unobtrusive) gas tank and engine that takes little space and adds little weight. Gas will separate out with long term storage so on a car that will be primarily driven as an electric car, a very small gas tank is a good thing.
Cars like the Prius Prime, Kia Niro PHEV and Hyundai Ioniq PHEV don't go very far on electric only. However, they are nearly as efficient when driven as a hybrid as the regular HEV versions. They are absolutely terrific if your commute is within their range, as is the case for many drivers, with good gas mileage (when you switch over) on a trip or if you have a long commute. Of course, they are a little on the small side for a family car, but as a 2nd car, a commuter, or a car for a single person or small family they are terrific.
The few family sedans with a plug in version (Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Fusion) and luxury sedans and SUVs (Volvo, BMW, etc) have the same range problem as above (and worse in some cases). However, it is still enough for many commutes. The sedans get slightly lower gas mileage than the regular hybrid versions when the range is expended (and much better than the 4cyl gas only versions), so you do get good gas mileage if you have a long commute or drive it on a long trip (not the case with the luxury brands). They are big enough for most American families. Though, all lose some (to quite a bit) of cargo space vs. the regular hybrid or the non-hybrid versions so you may be limited in what you can take (or have to pack very efficiently) if you have a family and you are taking a long trip.
The Volt and Honda Clarity and somewhere in between. The Volt is smaller like the Prius or Ioniq, but gives you more than 50 miles of range. The Clarity is a mid-sized car with 50ish miles of range (EPA says 47, but I've had mine do 50-54 miles regularly, and many owners report up to 60). The tanks are smallish, but big enough to be useful (I just got gas whenever I stopped for a bathroom break on my 2200 mile round trip to MN from MD). You have a real trunk with decent cargo capacity, and room for a family (in the Clarity, or a young family with the Volt). The main drawback is that they are on the expensive side. They also don't get the stellar (50+ MPG) of the Prius or Ioniq when running as a hybrid.
So, what do you want out of your car? Do you have a medium to long commute and want a primarily electric car that saves you the range anxiety? Then the BMW may be the way to go. If your commute runs more medium and you want a mostly electric car, go Volt or Clarity. Do you have a short commute but often take long trips so a decent range and the highest possible MPG on hybrid mode matter to you and it is usually just you, or you are a couple (or only have small children)? Then get the Ioniq, Prime or Niro. Need room for your family, go with the PHEV versions of traditional mid-sized sedans, or get the Clarity.
When I made the choice, I mainly shopped the Ioniq, Niro, Prius Prime, and Clarity. I bought my Honda Clarity. Why? I didn't think about the Volt (I wanted the best reliability I could get so I was leaning Hyundai, which also owns/makes Kia, Toyota or Honda whether I went PHEV, HEV or regular gas car). The Ioniq was near impossible to find around here (most dealers here had one or two HEVs, a few had a PHEV version on order, one about 60 miles away had one in stock). I drove the Niro, but with the just under $5K tax credit and the unwillingness of local dealers to deal on it since it was high demand vs. the supply here, the Honda was cheaper (about the same quoted sales price since they took a lot more off the sticker price, but a $2500 larger tax credit). The better non-electric MPG of the Niro might have been nice (though it is only by a couple MPG, it wasn't as drastic as for the Ioniq or Prius Prime), but that was outweighed by the longer EV range since I'd likely use that more. When driving them both, there were some things I liked better about the Niro and some I liked better about the Clarity, but overall it was a wash. Between the Prime and the Clarity, I simply liked the Clarity better after driving both, and with the larger rebate (but higher price) it was only $1-2K more than the Prius Prime so it wasn't enough for the price to outweigh what I liked better about the Clarity.
So, I can't really say what you should do (at least not without more info about what you need). But I tried to lay out some of the pros and cons, and I told you why I bought what I did. I hope that is helpful.
).