This has resulted in me learning that PHEVs are not suitable for very short drives, nor very long drives. I’ll be doing a round trip of around 38miles in a few minutes and that is the sort of journey where this set up excels.
I would agree. Not having to worry about range or recharging on public chargers is a big plus when on longer journeys, but the big negative is that fuel economy plummets once the battery is depleted due to lugging around a very heavy car.
PHEVs were primarily designed with company car drivers in mind, due to the lower benefit in kind taxation they attract (even though many company car drivers never charge them). As you say, the case for them for private motorists is quite narrow. I shall be fascinated to see what happens to the sales of PHEVs (and BEVs for that matter) in 2026, now that the pence per mile charges have been announced.