I've chronicled my attempts to find a decent-sized (by European standards) all-wheel-drive family SUV that's either partly or fully electric, and that doesn't cost close to £100k, a couple of times before, but in case anyone's still interested, I've ended up settling for a "self-charging hybrid" in the form of the 2020 Toyota RAV4. It's not exactly what I wanted, but as I'll explain, I don't think that what I want actually exists yet.
First off, the car looks ok. It's not gorgeous, but neither is it actively offensive to look at. My wife took a while to warm to it in the showroom, but she liked the way it drove on a test drive and she's on-board with using less fuel, so we got there in the end. Second, it's not horrifically expensive. I'm getting it on a four-year lease for business reasons, but £35k isn't horrendous for a decent-sized family car with a hybrid engine. Third, it now has Android Auto. I'd previously discounted this car because I'd have been stuck with Toyota's rubbish infotainment, but that's not an issue any more. Fourth, it has AWD - not mechanical, but it'll be sufficient to deal with the snow we get up here.
Fourth: I think self-charging hybrids are in a good place for most people at the moment, and here's the thinking behind that.
- If I want a pure battery EV, I either need to step down in size to a Hyundai Kona, or double my budget to approach a Tesla Model X or an Audi e-Tron. Neither of those was really an option. Plenty of automakers have more compelling EVs coming, but not until 2021 or later. I have a driveway and a garage, so charging at home isn't my reason for not going fully electric. Oh, I guess the MG ZS EV exists, but that's a bit unproven in terms of reliability so far.
- Plug-in hybrids sound good, but their benefits are only going to be felt in a very narrow set of circumstances, which our daily pattern of driving falls outside of. My wife drives the car about 40 miles a day (to school and back, twice). Something like a Mitsubishi Outlander, which is by far the most popular PHEV in the UK, would do that journey on electric power in the morning, probably, then again in the afternoon - provided it was fully charged in between. That would be fine, except that any other journeys she'd need to do would then be using the petrol engine... and the added weight of the battery drags down the petrol fuel economy.
- We use a sustainable electricity supplier, which means our electricity isn't massively cheap compared to petrol... which kind of negates the cost advantage of a PHEV. The same 40 miles in a PHEV would cost us £3.10ish versus £3.15ish in a self-charging hybrid. It's not exactly life-changing.
- There's no need to charge the RAV4. Like I said, we could easily install a charge point on our driveway, but my wife (who routinely forgets to charge her phone) is never going to remember to plug a PHEV in twice a day. With a self-charging hybrid, she can just drive sensibly, not need to modify her habits too much, and get better fuel economy than in even a similarly-sized diesel.
So here we are. The new car will be delivered in May / June. I've talked about my wife a lot there, but she's our main driver; I work from home, so I only use the car on weekends or for occasional day trips for business.
I think when this lease ends - in four years' time - we'll be spoilt for choice in mid-to-large battery EV SUVs, but right now the sweet spot seems to be in more traditional hybrids. And honestly, I think PHEVs are only attractive if you fit a very niche usage profile or want to save on company car tax.