Thanks all. I wasn’t quite getting the full/mild bit but that all helps.
Can’t understand why you should be having a ‘rant’ at self charging vehicles. What’s not to like? I have a Toyota Corolla Touring Sport and really like it, for me it’s the best of both worlds. My average consumption is currently 58 miles to the gallon but that will go up even further now the warmer weather is here. As ridiculous as it sounds, I have had figures of over 300 MPG during a 8 mile run.
I would be fine if it wasn’t for Toyota’s advertising campaign trying to tell the world that anything with a plug is a mistake and self charging is the future. It clearly isn’t. To be fair (and I’m sure Kezo would back me on this) I’m pretty much live and let live. I believe that a BEV is perfect for me and my next car and all after will have a big battery in it. That doesn’t follow that I insist that all drivers should be looking to switch within the next months, more I acknowledge that there are instances where technology has a long way to go to meet the needs of some people, whether it’s range or the ability to charge at a reasonable price when home charging isn’t an option. It’s just that Toyota’s campaign really annoyed me, self charging is a fallacy it might have the capability to charge using energy it converts itself and there will be a opposite effect from that (absorbing energy into the battery takes it either from the propulsion system while you’re trying to go forward and therefore costs mpg or a form of regenerative braking, which beats heat loss, which is a more useful form of energy capture but isn’t highly efficient so will take miles to recoup the energy required for a few metres).
For me it’s about the distance you can drive without using the engine. If you’re supposed to be making the immediate surroundings more pleasant then not chucking out exhaust emissions is a good thing. A full hybrid that can run for half a mile can easily get you out of a multi-story carpark without gassing everyone else. A PHEV that can run 20 miles might be able to get you home without using the engine, that’s even better for those people you pass.
A Range Extended BEV will have all the weight of a PHEV but will power the wheels with motors rather than any form of combustion engine sourced mechanical power. The engine acts as a very large generator and either puts power into the battery or powers the motor. This has the benefit of running like a PHEV but with the characteristics of a BEV, ie full torque from the first second. Nissan’s E-Power is almost this theory in a MHEV variant, it’s battery is far to small (and there’s no plug) for it to run any great distance but the benefits of powering the wheels from an electrical motor and slowing using regeneration can still be used.
Thanks all, I’ve got it in my head exactly what the differences are now.
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I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.
Mark