Most PHEVs have an electric mode, a hybrid mode and a combustion mode. You can read about the longest-range PHEVs by clicking these blue words. Depending on the model you’ll typically get between 20 and 60 miles from a full battery, but expect about a third less than the manufacturer claims on paper. Once full, the battery will give you a certain amount of electric range so that the car can travel without needing the engine at all. Most people will get an external home charging unit (often called a wallbox) fitted to their house or garage to allow this, though some get by with an extension lead. So how does a plug-in hybrid work?Įasy, you fill up with petrol or diesel (most PHEVs are petrols, don’t ask us why) as normal, but when you get home you plug the car into the mains using a special socket and cable. These can’t be plugged in as the car charges the battery itself with power from the engine or braking, and while that’s more efficient than a non-hybrid combustion car, all the energy still ultimately comes from the fuel tank. Other hybrids (you might have heard of ‘mild hybrids’ or ‘self-charging’ hybrids) are simpler because they use much smaller batteries, which means they can usually travel no more than a mile or two without the engine. It’s a bit like how all thumbs are fingers but not all fingers are thumbs: you can call a PHEV a hybrid but not all hybrids are PHEVs.Ī plug-in hybrid is the most sophisticated type of hybrid car there is.

And this is different from other types of hybrid, yes? So for short distances you’ve got all the benefits of driving an electric car without the drawback of having to worry about charging when you travel further afield. Once the battery runs out, the engine seamlessly kicks in and you’re back to driving a normal car again. It’s called a plug-in hybrid because you have to plug in a cable to charge the battery: this is what gives you a certain amount of zero-emissions range, for which you can drive around without using the engine and with nothing coming out of the tailpipe.

What is a plug in hybrid vehicle