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Plug-in hybrid

A plug-in hybrid is two cars in one body, and which of them you get is decided purely by the socket. Charged daily and driven short, it is an electric car with a petrol reserve for the holidays. Never charged, it is a heavy petrol car carrying a battery it never uses. Both versions sit side by side in the used market and look identical in the listing — the difference lies in how the previous owner used it, and that is exactly what can be checked.

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What matters

  • The precondition is a charging point where the car stands overnight. Without one the plug-in is the worse choice against a full hybrid: it carries the battery's mass without ever using it, and consumes more than the simpler drivetrain as a result.
  • The long-term consumption figure in the trip computer tells you which of the two cars is in front of you. A figure well below what an equally heavy petrol car uses means it was charged. A figure above means the opposite — and then the engine covered every kilometre on the odometer itself.
  • The battery usually sits under the boot floor. That costs boot depth, often the spare wheel, and on an estate the flat floor with the rear seats folded. Measure it before trusting the litre figure — it often comes from the version without a battery.
  • Most plug-ins charge slowly on a single phase, and many cannot take DC at all. For a night on your own socket or wallbox that is entirely enough; for topping up on a long journey it is not — there the engine takes over, and that is the intended division of labour.

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Common questions

Plug-in or full hybrid — which suits me?
Two questions settle it. First: can you charge where the car stands overnight? If not, the full hybrid is the better choice, with no caveats. Second: how long is your usual daily distance relative to the car's electric range? Below it, you drive effectively electric and refuel only for the exception. Well above it, you carry the battery around for most of the day and still paid for it when you bought.
What happens when the battery is empty?
The car keeps going, as a hybrid: the engine takes over and a small reserve of the battery stays back for recuperation and pulling away. Two things change, and both belong on the test drive. Consumption rises noticeably, because the battery's weight stays, and on some models full system output is only available with the battery charged — you notice that overtaking on a climb. In winter there is the further point that the heating draws on the same battery, so the electric range is shorter to match.

By drivetrain