They can have it.... Great for them, worthless for most of us...
Who is this "most of us" you are referring to exactly? Most people live in urban centers and somewhat dense suburbs. They drive to work, get groceries, and haul their kids around. All of which the vehicle referred to in the OP is quite capable of.
I have a 4x4 truck too. I use it to haul hunting dogs, fishing boat, ATVs, and water to the cabin. Yet a little more powerful plug in hybrid drivetrain in that truck would accomplish all that and save a great deal on fuel.
A whole lot more mechanically and electronically complex.
I have a 270,000 mile Corolla sitting in my driveway, starts right up every time I turn the key. Lots of people like me drive a vehicle until the wheels fall off, I dunno if all this new technology is gonna lend itself to that.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
My sister has been driving Prius's for years and it works well for her. She buys them with a warranty and gets another before she has to replace the battery pack. She lives near Cottonwood and my mom lives in Phoenix so she makes the trip once or twice a month. Claims she gets as much as 70 miles per gallon going to Phoenix because there is a long downhill grade. Gets about 40 going the other way. So an average of 55 mpg. From what I have seen, Toyota was ahead of the curve with their hybrid concept. They get good fuel mileage and won't leave you stranded if you run out of battery power. Toyota is expanding their line of hybrid vehicles. Until battery technology improves, all electric vehicles are going to have a limited audience.
Got to wonder how companies that compensate employees using their personal vehicles for work assignments via mileage allowance will determine fair mileage reimburse formula for employees with electric vehicles...
Why would that matter? I’d fight for it to be the same. RIght now I figure my fuel cost is about 15% of my mileage allowance. If I decide to go with a hybrid it’s no one’s business but mine.
Agree, I manage the program for my company’s sales team and some have trucks and others have Teslas. They all get the same mileage reimbursement and I use it as an intelligence test. It’s an individual choice.
Okay, makes sense that mileage allowance should be no different than as it is now, regardless whether gas or diesel guzzler or a high MPG economy vehicle, ...it's all about the miles.
What brought that question to mind is I've read that electric vehicles don't use oil so no oil changes/oil filter, a few may use liquid coolant, and only a certain model Tesla requires transmission fluid.
Hybrids get gooood gas mileage. 13 gal tank should last a long time.
Sometime around 2008-2009, my personal car broke down and I rented the cheapest thing Enterprise had. I needed to drive about 70 miles RT to get a truck and trailer to haul the car home. I got a Prius Hybrid, drove it 70 miles, and it never came off the full mark on the gas gauge. The only time the motor kicked in was going uphill or when I accelerated. The rest of the time it ran on batteries and when going down hill (basically coasting) or braking, it was charging the batteries.
A Prius of that vintage would go ~3/4Mi @ highway speed on just the hybrid battery. In that generation Hybrid the battery was for a "go-aid" for stoplights/signs, merging into traffic, adding power going up-hill to reduce fuel usage, etc. Other than that they ran on a quiet little dependable 1.8L inline 4-cyl hooked to a CVT. They were rated @ 48-49Hwy and 51-52 in town. I put just shy of 100K on an employer-provided 2011 Prius. I know for a fact that the 3/4Mi on a full charge is accurate because the one and only time I've ever run out of fuel entirely of my own doing was in the '11 Prius. I was helping a friend through a minor homeowner crisis over the phone and missed several chances to fill up.
Last edited by horse1; 03/19/22.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
Always thought the idea of a hybrid pickup to pull a small camper for off road camping was intriguing. Larger battery of the truck and ability for it to idle and recharge battery to power camper seems like it would work well. Just not sure if the technology is reliable yet. The all electric trucks with no backup gas engine hold no interest to me.
Last edited by cv540; 03/19/22.
"Put none but Americans on guard tonight." -George Washington
Rock Chuck; Good morning sir, I hope the weather's behaving for you folks and you're all well.
As I've mentioned a few times, the brains of the outfit here bought herself a 2019 Rav 4 Hybrid. Even in those pre-beer flu times they were so popular up here that the Toyota dealership couldn't give her a firm delivery date.
Her coworker has had a plug in model on order for just over a year now.....
Anyways the good wife's Rav 4 has averaged 5.4 liters per 100 km since she bought it and that's all local commuting which is a 20 minute run where there is some elevation change as we're in the mountains, but mostly speeds not exceeding 60mph.
Based on her mileage, I'd think that even with a heavy foot that your SIL should be able to make 400 miles on a tank of fuel without too much grief.
I'll also say that while it might not beat my '03 Cummins up a mountain pass - well actually it might? The thing sort of goes pretty good when you step on it, but she doesn't do that often.
Before leaving this all, when I fueled up said Cummins yesterday, with our diesel prices on this side of the medicine line I see that it costs me exactly $0.50CDN per mile for fuel alone.
Oh, lastly she has had zero problems with it since she bought it. As in not one. Based upon working at a big 3 dealership for nearly a year back when she bought the Rav, that's pretty good.
I wonder about a very small turbine engine who's only purpose is to run a high voltage/amperage charging system, not even tied into the EV drive system. I did a little looking earlier this week and a 50HP turbine is ~70#, 21" long and 11.5" in diameter. Uses 4.-.5# of Jet A/hr. 100Amps @ 240volts takes ~45HP. You'd greatly increase the range of an EV as you'd be able to keep/add some charge and you'd only need maybe 5Gal of fuel as that'd be about 60hrs of run time.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
Toyota is now building their third generation of hybrids. How they work is beyond me - but the owner of our local dealership tells me they have not had to replace a single battery since Gen Two. They are good for at least 100,000 miles - probably for the life of the vehicle. They just don't know yet because none have failed.
If I grasp it, and based on how ours works, the VERY high-tech little 4-cyl engine runs all the time turning the generator. That in turn powers the drive motors and/or charges the battery depending on load. The wheels are powered by electric motors only. There is no direct connection of the 4-cyl to the wheels. All I know for sure is that it runs smoothly, quietly, and with plenty of gusto when I need it. I don't know of any other six-passenger mid-size SUV that gets 36 mpg.
We drive it to Arizona once or twice a year to visit daughter's family. It is mountainous all the way. We go 300 miles or so between gas stops, and need only eight gallons or less to fill up each time.
Yeah, 17 is pathetic. The OP’s 42 miles is even pretty pathetic.
Tesla’s go something like 300 to 400 miles depending on model and conditions.
You're comparing an EV to a hybrid, it's apples and oranges.
When that Tesla runs out of charge it's dead on the side of the road. When the Toyota runs out of charge the engine comes on and he keeps driving until he gets low on gas, then he fills up and keeps going.
Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
The problem there is that it only has a 13 gal gas tank so he has to keep an eye on the gas gauge.
I don't see how a 13 gallon gas tank is a problem on a vehicle that should get in the high 30's when it's running off of gas. It should easily go 400 miles on a tank which is farther than most pickups. My 2018 (non-hybrid) Camry gets 38 mpg and it's got a 15 gallon tank. I typically go about 500 miles between fill-ups. That's farther than my Tundra will go on it's 38 gallon fuel tank.
Our SIL recently bought a '21 Toyota Rav4 plug-in hybrid. It varies from a normal hybrid in that you can plug it in to have fully charged batteries. He says he can go 42 miles on full electric before the gas engine kicks in. He can charge it in the driveway from a special 240v outlet he had installed. It takes 3.5 hrs from empty to full charge. When he used 120v, it took 12 hrs. For them, the 42 mile range works very well as he can easily get to and from work and do some running around. When they travel, they just plan on using gas. The problem there is that it only has a 13 gal gas tank so he has to keep an eye on the gas gauge. It's working for them and it's a LOT better than a full EV.
Wow! 3.5 hours charge for 42 miles! That really is worth all the trouble.
Our SIL recently bought a '21 Toyota Rav4 plug-in hybrid. It varies from a normal hybrid in that you can plug it in to have fully charged batteries. He says he can go 42 miles on full electric before the gas engine kicks in. He can charge it in the driveway from a special 240v outlet he had installed. It takes 3.5 hrs from empty to full charge. When he used 120v, it took 12 hrs. For them, the 42 mile range works very well as he can easily get to and from work and do some running around. When they travel, they just plan on using gas. The problem there is that it only has a 13 gal gas tank so he has to keep an eye on the gas gauge. It's working for them and it's a LOT better than a full EV.
That's awesome, the technology has been around some time for this and it should have been the industry standard for the last decade or more on all commuter type vehicles. Just goes to show it's not about saving gas/fossil fuels/environment etc.
Too bad a lot of people here don't realize the different in hybrid and electric only vehicle or they don't appreciate the value of having two potential fuel sources to make it go.
I think propane hybrid would be something else that should be considered. Diversify fuels that are really available. It's really not that hard of a concept.
Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.
They can have it.... Great for them, worthless for most of us...
Great idea what is the towing capacity LOL.I have to take my camper in for service in a couple weeks think I will ask the dealer where his charging station is for all the folks with EVs. Campers, boats, work trailers etc. can't wait to hear the spin on that from the greenies.
There are no problems that cannot be resolved by the suitable application of high explosive.
It is bleedingly obvious that some people do not know the difference between an electric vehicle and a hybrid.
Nailed it! EV technology is improving but we're not there yet and won't be for a long time. Hybrids and passive solar in new construction are two things that would be stupidly easy to implement that no one talks about.
Beware of any old man in a profession where one usually dies young.
