I have a 2022 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE, which gives me 54-60 MPG. It is sluggish and I've been learning to drive with less of a lead foot. It is great to have a nearly 600 mile range for local and regional driving. My other car, a Hummer H3, gets just 14-18 so his relegated to when I really need a real vehicle--off-road, towing, etc.
That Mazda looks nice but 70 miles?! I'd have to plan out my trips around town. And then have the power company turn off charging stations or have them unavailable, leaves little margin.
I read that up to half of electric charging stations are off-line at any given point in time plus electric companies are rationing them, turning them off during peak times like when you are going to the store!
Hybrid seems better bet...
I agree hybrids are a better bet if one must have an EV of some sort, but a small gas car can do everything a hybrid can do. Why operate a more complex car based on two technologies rather one? A hybrid’s higher price isn’t a great trade off for an extra 10-15 MPG.
Gas car: 100,000 miles driven at 40 MPG and $4 per gallon costs $10,000.
Hybrid: 100,000 miles driven at 60 MPG and $4 per gallon costs $6667.
So the hybrid only saves about $3333 per 100k miles driven, but most hybrids are at least $10k sticker price more than similar ICE cars. A higher price typically means higher insurance and tax costs, too.
BTW, electricity isn’t free, either. Comparing only fuel costs, a 100kWh battery costs $15 to recharge at 15 cents per kWh. That’s 7.5 cents per mile (200 mile range). An ICE car 40 MPG at $4 per gallon costs 10 cents per mile.
And now you know why our illustrious leaders want to drive the price of gas much higher, because cheap gas makes electric vehicles even better from a purely economic perspective. They do not want us driving big cars, commuting from suburbs, living in large, single family homes, eating beef, etc.. It’s all about saving the planet.
What they don’t tell you is it is designed to be a PHEV and the extricate only vehicle is for the CA market. The hybrid will have a small rotary generator and be powered by the electric drive. Range yet to be proven but more in the 250 - 300 if I recall correctly.
Mazda must have peaked in the last few years then. Scotty was saying that Mazda was becoming the best car company these days. I have a 2016 Mazda CX5 and it is the best vehicle I’ve ever had. I know that Mazda used to be mediocre in some aspects like body paint, and now seeing what they have done with the E CX30, makes me wonder if my next car should be another Mazda.