Are plug-in hybrid cars really efficient or just overhyped?
One of our Malaysia Car of the Year judges was singularly intrigued by the new generation of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV) and their stated 1,000+km driving range.
This judge has probably clocked more miles test driving some of this year’s nominees in the PHEV category than the remaining 10 judges put together.
He tells us he learned an important lesson driving one of Malaysia’s top selling PHEVs models — never run a PHEV down to zero battery charge and zero petrol.
This is because the car is designed to shut down completely and protect itself. You won’t be able to restart it with a jumper cable or a jerry can of petrol. Instead you will have to transport it on a car carrier to a designated service centre or have it reset by a professional PHEV technician.
So, always make sure that your PHEV never runs out of petrol.
He also learned that fuel consumption increases significantly when the traction battery is depleted and the car runs solely on its petrol engine.
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