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Plug-in hybrid vs Mild hybrid – which is REALLY cheaper?? VW Golf vs VW Golf! | What Car?

Does a plug-in hybrid actually use the best of both worlds? Or are you much better off with a moderate hybrid? We drive 200 miles to discover!

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68 responses to “Plug-in hybrid vs Mild hybrid – which is REALLY cheaper?? VW Golf vs VW Golf! | What Car?”

  1. @matthewnightingale4675 Avatar
    @matthewnightingale4675

    It would be nice to see more real world average commute driving, say 50 miles of A/B roads and city centre to get a different comparison. The long journeys are good, but for most people aren’t daily driving and only really for the odd weekend trip – which I’m happy to compromise on if my daily commute is most efficient and comfortable

    Reply
    1. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      If you do short trips regularly, why bother with PHEV in the first place? Get an EV; every EV on sale today will cover 50-100miles with ease. And for the few weekend trips you do, you can always DC charge, if necessery. At the end, you get a better car with less maintanance (basically zero if we’re honest) and much lower operating cost, as you can cover more distance on cheap home electricity.

      Reply
    2. @robciksj Avatar
      @robciksj

      For daily trips PHEV should be as economical as full EV (If you can charge it at home and ideally at work too if distance is bit longer). Things my vary from outside temperatures too.

      Reply
    3. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      @@robciksjits not, a good ev is more efficient. If you factor in maintenance, its even better for ev

      Reply
  2. @xntrix Avatar
    @xntrix

    Just me, or was that utterly pointless? Who just drives on the motorway? And crawls along it in the slow lane ….. you are suggesting this is a real world comparison test, even a sales rep does loads of mixed driving, ill conceived. I am not advocating PEHV but if I drove it, the engine would never need to come on, I have solar, so theoretically could drive for free, but lug a petrol engine around as an ornament,. The fact is, if like you just did, you plod the motorway all day, every day, it’s a diesel you want, if like me you do naff all, its a ev you want, the PHEV is really a very select choice, if you really look at what you need and how you use it. a PHEV is for someone who does a daily trip higher than the electric range, but not on the motorway 🫵🏽 can charge on a low tariff at home or free at work, plus drives like a nun 😂

    Reply
    1. @sssssneaker Avatar
      @sssssneaker

      100%. Somehow we just decided to ditch diesel for even more complicated, expensive and heavy plugins. And it’s quite ironic too since current gen diesel emissions are just about on par with petrol, but in real life lower because they use less fuel… There is a place for plugins I’ll admit, but it’s a pretty narrow segment as it only makes sense if you can charge cheap at home and drive mostly around town so you only ever need the petrol engine for a few longer trips.

      Reply
    2. @steve_frampton Avatar
      @steve_frampton

      My daily drive to work is 37 miles, and of that 34 is on either motorways or dual carriageway so despite what people are saying about this not being a suitable test it is for me. Remember tests are aimed at people with different needs, dont be so narrow minded.

      Reply
    3. @Sweety1915-nono Avatar
      @Sweety1915-nono

      I am that person who drives just on the motorway. WFH when not on the road, walking distance to the shops. An EV (i4 in my case, designed for long drives) makes more sense than the diesel alternative if you’re buying used and driven high annual mileage these days. Phev is useful if your drives are mostly short and your annual mileage is low so the purchase cost is more of a factor. Mild hybrid or ice if you can’t charge at home!

      Reply
    4. @alfamonk Avatar
      @alfamonk

      yeah it’s just you – plenty of us have motorway commutes

      Reply
  3. @ricco123tube Avatar
    @ricco123tube

    When evaluating hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, it’s essential to test them on mixed driving roads, such as city streets, suburban routes, and rural roads, rather than exclusively on motorways. These vehicles are designed to maximize fuel efficiency by using electric power at lower speeds and during stop-and-go traffic, where regenerative braking and electric-only driving are most effective. Motorway driving, which involves sustained high speeds, relies more on the internal combustion engine and doesn’t showcase the vehicle’s electric capabilities or real-world efficiency. Testing on varied terrain and driving conditions gives a more accurate picture of how the vehicle performs in everyday use and highlights the true benefits of hybrid technology.

    Reply
    1. @Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars Avatar
      @Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars

      …..and I would suggest a test throughout the year with the 4 seasons taken into account.
      A PHEV will use more petrol during the winter, and the range will be one third less, not only that, the drive train will default to HYBRID mode in cold weather rather than ELECTRIC default mode when its warmer.

      Reply
    2. @DammyJoger Avatar
      @DammyJoger

      It essential to test or evaluate them according to YOUR use case.
      I’ve got an older PHEV. Gets barely 10 miles electric range in winter. But my commute is 10 Miles in West London traffic, all stop start. Can charge at work, so all electric commuting and local shopping etc. Yeah, when I do longer journeys the engine runs, and I get approx 45mpg. I can live with that.

      Reply
    3. @cornishdarrenfewins3778 Avatar
      @cornishdarrenfewins3778

      My Phev is consistent through out the year. Mainly because most of our winters are mild.​@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars

      Reply
    4. @drunkenhobo8020 Avatar
      @drunkenhobo8020

      It’s the same when testing pure EVs too.

      Reply
    5. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      Yeah, toyota hybrids maybe. VW phev system isn’t the most optimized system, if you actually want to use the car as a hybrid.

      Because you see, VW doesn’t use a hybrid split device, but a regular DSG tranny with electric motor sandwiched inbetween. And the motor isn’t an atkinson cycle, so it would be optimized for max efficiency, but just a regular turbo. And without the clever planetery gearset like toyota has, you can’t efficiently combine electric power and engine power like toyota can. And this shows in flat battery efficiency test.

      So in the end; if you use it as a hybrid, it’s not going to get the best possible fuel economy (compared to more serious hybrids), especially if you never charge it (as phev people tend to do). If you want to use it as an EV, it’s not a very good EV either with its limited power and small(ish) battery. Not to mention cycle life you’re going to go thru if you use it exclusevly as an EV.
      Another weak spot of the ehybrid; it’s 280!!! kilos heavier and has 110!!! litres less trunk space. That on a small car like the golf is a lot. Also 10litres less fuel tank.

      PHEVs rarely make sense. If you want to save on energy cost, you either go for a proper hybrid (like toyota HSD) or a pure EV with big enough battery. Everything else just makes little finacial sense for most people.

      Reply
  4. @pd1596 Avatar
    @pd1596

    So once again, Toyota have been nearly a decade (or two actually) ahead of the game. I think we as an industry need to pay more attention to what they are working on and their vision for the future of cars. They seem to understand how we use cars better than most other car brands and therefore develop the right technologies!

    Reply
    1. @miraphycs7377 Avatar
      @miraphycs7377

      Regular hybrid not mild or PHEV is the best for most people. I only see the use case of PHEV on luxury cars and such where you need more power.

      Reply
    2. @pd1596 Avatar
      @pd1596

      ​@@miraphycs7377 plug in hybrids are the worst of both worlds!

      Reply
    3. @aaronb6390 Avatar
      @aaronb6390

      @@miraphycs7377 Phev has nothing to do with power, it just means it carries a bigger battery and that it can be plugged in to charge the battery. Hybrids and Plug in Hybrids (PHEV) typically have engines which are not turbo charged and combine the power of both the engine and motor. They typically have larger engines because they’re not normally turbo charged, this ensures they provide enough power to drive the vehicle, the extra weight and achieve similar levels of performance as a smaller turbo charged engines.

      Reply
  5. @Jo_Yah Avatar
    @Jo_Yah

    Guys, your videos are so good that someone can directly go and buy a car based on your in depth analysis of a matter. Congrats!

    Reply
    1. @whatcar Avatar
      @whatcar

      Much appreciated!

      Reply
  6. @conradmilson6654 Avatar
    @conradmilson6654

    Problem with these “tests” is that they are loaned the cars and always have to give a good impression of them. Thrash around in PHEV and it will cost far more than a self charger hybrid. My BMW 530e was hopeless on fuel once the battery had run out. Changed it for a self charging Lexus ES300H. Far more economical to run and a big car. 70 mpg in summer 56 mpg in winter.

    Reply
    1. @Adam-pt3cb Avatar
      @Adam-pt3cb

      Isn’t the main point of them that the vast majority of trips are less then 10 miles and so the battery doesn’t run out?

      Reply
    2. @Sweety1915-nono Avatar
      @Sweety1915-nono

      I’d love to understand why there would be a difference between a phev and a hybrid when the phev isn’t plugged in, other than some small losses because of weight of battery?

      Reply
    3. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      @@Sweety1915-nono Efficiency. PHEV just isn’t designed for pure efficiency on gasoline. PHEV relies on a big battery, so they don’t have to bother optimizing the whole system for low fuel use in real world.

      toyota hybrid uses atkinson style engine, that is very very efficient in it’s sweetspot. And becaue it has clever planetery gearset, the system will keep the engine in it’s sweetspot prettymuch all the time, maximizing fuel use. And it has a powerful electric motor, so it can run on electricity and regen quite efficiently. And because the battery is small (as it doesn’t need to be big, since its just covering the engine to not run in its weak spots and catches regen) it’s light and doesn’t cause additional fuel use.

      That’s why toyotas are much more efficient compared to phevs.

      Reply
    4. @Sweety1915-nono Avatar
      @Sweety1915-nono

      ​​@@hojnikbso I’d say you’re conflating one company’s design of a hybrid with the concept of PHEV Vs hybrid in general. You can get a Prius as a plugin right? So does a plugin Prius Vs a standard hybrid differ in the mileage it gets after not being plugged in? (Notwithstanding the point on weight which I acknowledged in the original post)

      Reply
    5. @aaronb6390 Avatar
      @aaronb6390

      @@hojnikb Toyota do make plugin hybrids. They just up the motor power to compensate for the additional battery weight. If your entire journey can be conducted on battery power alone, then PHEVs can make sense. Toyota’s can also charge back up the PHEV battery on longer journeys, while still acting as a hybrid.

      Reply
  7. @NorfolkRachel Avatar
    @NorfolkRachel

    The test makes no sense. It doesn’t represent the type of journey people do most regularly – that of fewer than 50 miles.
    I have the new 8.5 GTE and it will happily turn out 70 mile range purely on electric and I can charge that for a fraction of the cost of petrol.

    Reply
    1. @ouethojlkjn Avatar
      @ouethojlkjn

      Did a similar 200 mile trip to this going up to York and then back courtesy of the vagaries of the M1 and the Tesla model Y we were in did 4.6 miles/kWh. And that was 30° heat with the air-conditioning on et cetera. As we charged at home for 7p per kilowatt hour this gives a cost per mile range of just. 1.5 pence per mile. Coming back a couple of days later in similar heat but on the A1 we achieved similar efficiency but as we used a public charger the cost was more.. 10.9 pence per mile. Making the 400 mile combined trip a cost of 6,2 pence per mile.

      Reply
    2. @Lebanosnithee Avatar
      @Lebanosnithee

      The test makes perfect sense. Why would you say it doesn’t just because it doesn’t apply to you? Myself, like many others, have a company car and at times can do up to 300 miles a day travelling from project to project. This test is totally relevant to mine and many other industries that run a fleet of company cars. Most of these cars will start life as company/fleet cars. The whole point of the video was to draw a line on when (at what miles per day) does the PHEV not make sense, and they answered that question. It’s 200 miles.

      Reply
    3. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      @@Lebanosnithee Honestly, PHEV only makes sense as a company car with tax incentives and if workers do lots of long journies frequently. Otherwise EV or a regular diesel makes more sense.

      Reply
    4. @bikeman123 Avatar
      @bikeman123

      If all your journeys are less than 50 miles why would you need to lug that engine around? You say you have it for longer journeys, when you’d have the expense of public charging. Doesnt make any sense.

      Reply
    5. @NorfolkRachel Avatar
      @NorfolkRachel

      @@bikeman123 because i don’t need to put any electricity in it at all on long journeys when its not cheap. Then, its just a 75mpg fairly quick car

      Reply
  8. @eaglemihnea Avatar
    @eaglemihnea

    That eTSI has no business looking like a Golf R

    Reply
    1. @siblej1 Avatar
      @siblej1

      Agree. Too sluggish.

      Reply
  9. @SailICfast Avatar
    @SailICfast

    I own a Kia Niro PHEV. I can do my daily driving on home charged electricity, If I estimate I do 2/3 of my yearly driving on electricity, the rest as a HEV, I save about 500 Euro per year compared to a Niro HEV. To me, the PHEV makes sense as I really appreciate the quietness of urban electric driving, and the PHEV is probably cheaper over the lifetime of the car.

    Reply
    1. @henrikhoppe8607 Avatar
      @henrikhoppe8607

      Now, I don’t know if there a non PHEV version of the car you have but take their example of 5k pounds difference in price, I’d take 10 years to recuperate the cost of the car at 500 pounds savings a year. You probably save more than that yearly in reality though? But regardless it is same problem that EVs have. They are too expensive up front, which makes it not worth it for many people (never mind factoring in the steep depreciation on non-ICE cars).

      Reply
  10. @cristianapplegarth3948 Avatar
    @cristianapplegarth3948

    I drive a new Golf GTE as a company car driver. I’ve done 6500 miles in it as I can charge at work locations and also charge at home with solar PV. So far in the 6500 miles I’ve only put £40 of petrol in it so a massive saving and well worth buying the PHEV if you can use mostly battery.

    Reply
    1. @NorfolkRachel Avatar
      @NorfolkRachel

      Same here. I hardly ever put petrol in it. Just looked at the stats and it is, apparently, 900 miles since I last put petrol in. There’s half a tank left…

      Reply
    2. @ibrahimnalbant7635 Avatar
      @ibrahimnalbant7635

      @@NorfolkRacheldoes the petrol go “bad” if unused for a long time?

      Reply
    3. @NorfolkRachel Avatar
      @NorfolkRachel

      @@ibrahimnalbant7635 yes, though that’s months not days

      Reply
    4. @visionmodernclassics Avatar
      @visionmodernclassics

      Same with me Mercedes A250e with the upgraded battery (Mercedes does not advertise this update official)
      Useable energy rises from 11,5 kWh to 15 kWh.
      In summer condition the e Range a bit less than 60 miles. Autobahn <= 80 mph included. Amazing powertrain, charging at home the combustion Engine Kicks in only at long travels. Best combination of my usage if i only want to have one car

      Reply
    5. @davidhayes4814 Avatar
      @davidhayes4814

      You are getting freebies from your company…

      Reply
  11. @vhol93 Avatar
    @vhol93

    Charging a Hybrid on public infrastructure is like setting your money on fire

    Reply
    1. @NorfolkRachel Avatar
      @NorfolkRachel

      My local Tesco has a fast charger at 0p. Yes, free. I just plug it in and charge whilst I work in the local coffee shop.

      Reply
    2. @vhol93 Avatar
      @vhol93

      ​@@NorfolkRachelWow! This is great, wish it would be a normal thing!

      Reply
    3. @sargfowler9603 Avatar
      @sargfowler9603

      Any EV really! Apart from a Supercharger!

      Reply
    4. @vhol93 Avatar
      @vhol93

      ​@@NorfolkRachel Wow this is great! And wish it would be the normal thing

      Reply
    5. @vhol93 Avatar
      @vhol93

      ​@sargfowler9603 True dat !

      Reply
  12. @rob_lightbody Avatar
    @rob_lightbody

    I wish you’d tested a FULL hybrid too. The Corolla for example. Colleague has one and on his 45 minute commute to work it constantly gets well over 60mpg. Another factor here is that the plug-in Golf’s boot is absolutely tiny, that would be a deal-breaker for me. ** don’t look at the camera while driving ** Did you do the whole test on the motorway? Why? What about CO2 figures and therefore tax costs?

    Reply
    1. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      yeah, golf has 110litres less trunk space and is 280 kilos heaviers. It’s bonkers how compromised the car is for being a compromised EV on occasion.

      Reply
  13. @cornishdarrenfewins3778 Avatar
    @cornishdarrenfewins3778

    I have a Phev. It only has an EV range of 37 miles. But guess what… I live 15 miles away from where I work. Which means I’m home charged low cost electricity for all my commuting. Then, when I make longer journeys, my car can go over 650 miles on a tank of petrol.
    Phevs are clearly not for everybody but I’m fed up with these “real world tests” that are not reflective of most people’s real world (in that most people don’t have a 200 miles round trip for every journey).

    Reply
    1. @bikeman123 Avatar
      @bikeman123

      Doesn’t it grate when you pay for an annual service on the ice engine knowing you’ve not done many miles?

      Reply
    2. @Hustwick Avatar
      @Hustwick

      Isn’t that the same argument as having an ICE car anyway?​@@bikeman123

      Reply
    3. @M45KY Avatar
      @M45KY

      They literally talk a little about that at the end though….

      Reply
  14. @TheBlitzsnake Avatar
    @TheBlitzsnake

    Thank you for making this video. It confirms my beliefs that plug in excels when your daily commute is within electric range AND you can charge for cheap. If those don’t apply then you’re better off with either cheaper hybrid or a full EV. I have a plug in Kia Niro and like it alot. Its electric range is enough for most daily commutes. I don’t need to stress the petrol engine and next to zero emissions. But if you can’t charge at home, plug ins are a tough proposition over regular hybrid. And if you CAN charge at home, one might wonder why not go full EV. Maybe if your options for out-of-home charging are very poor or you hate charging or EV is too expensive for your preferred kind of range.

    Great video!

    Reply
  15. @adrianchatto1 Avatar
    @adrianchatto1

    You’ve missed the point lads. The PHEV would make sense with a home charger and using it for my day to day short journeys. I’d have the added advantage of being able to do long journeys when I need to.

    Reply
    1. @drunkenhobo8020 Avatar
      @drunkenhobo8020

      That’s the thing with PHEVs though. If you use them properly, almost all of the time you’ll be using them as EVs. So you’re lugging around a complicated ICE everywhere for maybe the 5% of journeys you’ll use it in. Why not just go full EV and take an extra 15 minutes break in a 400 mile journey?
      The use case seems slim.

      Reply
    2. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      @@drunkenhobo8020 Exactly. And you will degrade the battery faster than an EV (as its smaller) and takes all the regular maintanance as ICEs do. It makes no sense.

      Reply
    3. @carrickrichards2457 Avatar
      @carrickrichards2457

      You pay alot more than you can save (purchase and maintenance) for that flexibility: £36-40k (many ~£45k)

      Reply
    4. @andrewlongden-thurgood7139 Avatar
      @andrewlongden-thurgood7139

      they talked about all that at the end so what do you mean they missed the point?

      Reply
    5. @markmicallef4367 Avatar
      @markmicallef4367

      ​@@drunkenhobo8020 sure, realistic ranges of EVs is 400miles! In any case, freedom means that i can charge or use fuel as i want. I don’t need to plan my pee around my chargers. What maintenance are you talking abiut if your engine us pristine. Jusnt an oil change once a year. With chargers at 95p/kwh, I’ll skip your charger, thank you.

      Reply
  16. @dinckelman Avatar
    @dinckelman

    I really appreciate these videos. They’re done well, down to earth, talk about things a normal person can afford, instead of flexing the wallet with borrowed bs, and actually show the numbers that matter

    Reply
  17. @ianelliott229 Avatar
    @ianelliott229

    Without home charging, which is the case for most of us who live in old British cities, EVs and PHEVs are non starters just on running costs let alone purchase price.

    Reply
    1. @hojnikb Avatar
      @hojnikb

      Toyota (or any other good regular hybrid) is your best bet.

      Reply
  18. @952a259 Avatar
    @952a259

    Pretty interesting, thank you! 👍 And amazing British pronunciation that I enjoy! 🤗

    Reply
  19. @RonE_UK Avatar
    @RonE_UK

    If doing 200 miles often go and get a petrol car or full EV. Hybrid or PHEV are really for short journeys or stop start traffic and not 200 miles motorway driving.

    Reply
  20. @philliplee9737 Avatar
    @philliplee9737

    This answers a lot of my questions regarding plug-ins vs mild hybrids. Thank you for doing such an in-depth review and immaculate attention to detail. Keep up the passion. ❤

    Reply

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