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Comment by crisdux | Hacker News Reader

I’m happy Toyota will continue to invest in hybrids. I want a car with sufficient range. Maybe other folks don’t take a lot of road trips, but that’s something I do in the Midwest and it brings me a lot of joy. Honda Accord hybrid can get nearly 600 miles range and is an absolute pleasure to drive. I’m hoping my next car is a PHEV.

I don’t want to think about charging. I’m worried it would cause delays and affect my route. Hybrids allow more flexibility.

This board goes really hard on EVs. I don’t understand it.

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Most EVs have 300 mile range. You can drive for 4-5 hours between charges, and recharging takes under an hour. In a few years, you won't need to worry about range or charging.

Also, EVs are way more fun to drive. For instance Kia likes to point out that their 2023 EV6 ($41k) hatchback has better acceleration than a top-end 2023 Porsche Cayenne coupe.

Infrastructure concerns are way overblown. I charge my commuter car with a 110v outlet. It draws as much as a space heater or electric kettle.

I read that the average range is closer to 250 miles. Taking an hour to charge is still too long for my preference. The images of long lines at charging stations during peak travel seasons give me anxiety. This will be solved, no doubt.

I also have no doubt charging technology will continue to improve. I will switch when it’s closer to 10 minutes to charge and chargers are everywhere.

I think its subjective to say which car is more fun to drive. It’s about preference. I had the most fun driving early 2000s v6 sports sedans that could do 0-60 in 6 seconds, compared to an EV that could do that in 4 seconds. Mainly due to the handling characteristics when cornering.

I’m not opposed to owning an EV. It just can’t be worse along the metrics I care about.

An hour is kind of worst case. My five year old car clocks in at 40 minutes.

Range is sort of bi-modal. If you want a 150-200 mile car, they exist. The same model will usually do 300 miles for about $7000 more. Personally, since we have two cars, I'd probably go with one low range and one long range vehicle.

I'd further try to arrange for the low range one to be a sports car; smaller battery = better cornering, etc.

I haven't really looked to hard, but does a hybrid exist that's battery first and then has an ICE to fall back on for charging the battery / supplying electricity to the electric motors?

All I want is to be able to have an electric car, that if I'm in a real jam and need to run it on petrol I can fill up a 20 litre tank and make a few hours of driving, even if it's in 'limp home mode' until I can get a charge again. My range anxiety is real! The Australian outback is big.

Nissan's e-Power line is exactly that. The ICE only exist to charge the battery and is not connected to the drive train. I think they call these "series hybrid"?

> does a hybrid exist that's battery first and then has an ICE to fall back on

That's what PHEVs are (Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles).

Relevant to the article, those include the (Toyota) RAV4 prime and Prius prime. I think the one I see the most is the Chevy Volt, which unfortunately is discontinued, but seemed like a good PHEV.

It's called a range extender. The BMW i3 REX and Chevy Volt / Opel Ampera are the biggest examples of it. Both are still in use and very popular.

The Honda Accord hybrid gas engine has 3 modes. It can power the wheels, power the generator to drive the electric motor and it can charge the battery.

Basically all PHEVs work this way.

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