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Max Earey

Hybrids vs plug-in hybrids - what's the difference and which are cheaper?

We run the numbers to find which variety of hybrid could save you money.

HYBRID AND PLUG-IN hybrid refers to vehicles that have a combustion engine and electric powertrain. These vehicles use a combination of electricity stored in batteries and internal combustion (usually petrol), to create the energy to propel the car forward.

However, there are differences between the two.

Hybrids:

Hybrids have smaller batteries which are recharged via regenerative braking and when you take your foot off the accelerator and coast. The vehicle’s momentum (kinetic energy) is turned it into electricity that recharges (regenerates) the battery.

A regular hybrid vehicle can operate in electric-only (commonly referred to as EV) mode when there is fuel in the tank, but it is not designed to run without it.

The EV mode is very limited and you can usually only drive for around 2km before the engine automatically kicks in. The engine will also start when a greater amount of power is needed, for example when overtaking or once you get up to a certain speed.

Plug-in hybrids:

A plug-in hybrid combines the benefits of a traditional hybrid and a battery electric vehicle or BEV. Plug-in hybrids have larger batteries and as a result, you can drive in EV mode for greater distances – usually around 20 to 60km depending on the model.

The plug-in hybrid’s battery is charged via regenerative braking as well as by plugging it in. Currently in Ireland it is free to charge your car up using public charge points – otherwise, most people charge their car’s battery at home overnight using the cheaper night rate.

When the battery runs out of charge the engine kicks in, although not all plug-in hybrids use their engines the same way. Some are only activated after the battery drains and some kick in when extra power is needed even if there is charge in the battery.

So which is better?

The plug-in hybrid’s use of a larger battery lets you go farther on electric power alone, which generally speaking offers a cost advantage as you use less fuel.

However, plug-in hybrids are also generally more expensive than traditional hybrids because of the cost of the batteries. There is a grant of €5,000 available for qualifying plug-in hybrid vehicles when purchased privately and a €2,500 VRT rebate.

Even though the size of the battery, measured in kilowatt hours, is important – the bigger the battery capacity the longer the range – the fuel economy figures are also important as when you do burn fuel you want it to burn as little as possible to save money. Most plug-in hybrids are generally more efficient than regular hybrids.

Let’s take an example:

Let’s compare the regular Toyota Prius Hybrid with the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (read our review here).

The Toyota Prius Hybrid costs €31,450 has a CO2 figure of 70g/km and it costs €170 a year to tax. It has a combined driving fuel economy figure of 3.0 litres/100km (94mpg).

The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid costs €37,125, has a CO2 figure of 22g/km and costs the same in tax. It has a combined driving fuel economy figure of 1.0 litre/100km (282mpg). It can travel in EV mode using only battery power for around 50km up to a max speed of 135km/h.

Taking the average mileage as 25,000km (480km a week), if you only drove the Prius Plug-in in EV mode – which admittedly is highly unlikely – it would cost you around €0.79 to charge the battery. That works out as an average of €395 a year plus road tax. Of course if you used only public chargers you would pay just the tax.

If we look at the fuel economy figures of both cars and assume it costs €1.33 per litre for petrol, it would cost €997.50 in petrol for the Hybrid and €332.50 for the Plug-in.

It is €665 cheaper per year to run the Plug-in Hybrid but it would still take just over eight and a half years to make up the difference in the price of the two vehicles.

Outcome:

If you hold on to the cars for 8.5 years, which is roughly the length of the warranty covering the battery, the hybrid and plug-in hybrid Prius will cost about the same in the end. So really the answer depends on your needs. If you cover a lot of miles, running costs will be more of a factor so the plug-in may deliver savings. If you hope to sell the car on after just a couple of years, the regular hybrid may be more economical for you.

READ: We preview some of the exciting cars expected at the Frankfurt Motor Show >

READ: How to cut the risk of being injured by your airbag >

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7 Comments
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    Mute Mareesa O Dwyer
    Favourite Mareesa O Dwyer
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    Nov 24th 2011, 12:02 PM

    I am an Irish woman working in the UK researching physical activity trends, motor skills and play behaviours of preschool age children. The statistics are frightening. The bottom line is children are not active enough to benefit their health, they do not have the fundamental movement skill development they should have by the age of 5-6 and their parents are under the impression that they get their physical activity from school – this is most definitely not the case. In the same way children learn their ABC’s to read and write, they must learn the ABC’s of movemnt (catch, throw, hop, strike). This will contribute to life long participation in sport and physical activity. I am delighted to see Eamonn Coghlan take a stance and raise awareness during a Seanad sitting, especially given the research produced by the ERSI this month from the Growing up in Ireland study.

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    Mute BustingMyAss
    Favourite BustingMyAss
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    Nov 24th 2011, 12:20 PM

    In terms of bang for your buck, I think field sports are well catered for in Ireland. If the Government are serious about improving health, then they need to focus on the people falling thru the net, i.e. the non-sporty types. Money should be spent on developing walking/jogging tracks, more swimming pools and gyms (outdoor and indoor) to capture the percentage of the population who want to be active but don’t like competitive sport.

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    Mute Cormac Flanagan
    Favourite Cormac Flanagan
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    Nov 24th 2011, 1:13 PM

    I agree. Was lucky to have both field sports (hurling) and an athletic club and a (outdoor) swimming area. Most don’t. With the growth of the GAA, rugby and women’s football the government (as stated above) should put money into pools, tracks etc. also encourage more cycling to school.

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    Mute David Paul Beehan
    Favourite David Paul Beehan
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    Nov 24th 2011, 5:12 PM

    Look how few of them are there at work!! Why are we bothering to pay these people??

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    Mute Conor Graham
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    Nov 24th 2011, 7:06 PM

    It’s pretty bloody tough to stand on one foot with your eyes closed even in good physical shape!

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    Mute Paige C Harrison
    Favourite Paige C Harrison
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    Nov 24th 2011, 6:50 PM

    Great opportunity for Enda if he wanted to show a new politics. On his next cabinet reshuffle replace James Reilly with Eamonn as minister for health.

    In one action you would put someone who believed and lived health promotion into office; would show non-partisan politics and the relevance of senate.

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    Mute Colm Fitzpatrick
    Favourite Colm Fitzpatrick
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    Nov 24th 2011, 5:09 PM

    Its funny looking around the room at politicians and senators who look like the least healthy people in the country trying to get us to do the right thing. I have to say in my experience if you’re trying to convince people to make what are big behavioural changes you need to lead by example.

    Why do we have the least healthy looking cabinet member as Minister for Health?
    Why do we send overweight people to give advice to the public at healthy living classes or clinics on Diabetes or indeed anything to do with diet?

    Answer : Because its just all a game. We don’t believe it ourselves so we don’t do it.

    Thanks Eamonn for raising the subject. You have the look of the right person to tell us to how to do the right thing but you need to put on about 50kg before you can be ever a candidate to work in Health Promotion.

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