Yes I am that EV enthusiast, but like many have said, if I couldn’t charge at home I wouldn’t entertain it. I am on my second EV but before that I had a Toyota Prius PHEV and it was great. So maybe the halfway house of a PHEV is the sweet spot for you – I cannot pretend to have done any in depth research recently but I understand many now can do in access of 40 miles on battery before the engine cuts in. I often went on journeys in access of 200 miles and would charge the battery from the engine on the motorway to have a full battery for towns and villages that made driving easier and smoother – this way you would have the convenience of EV power and the backup and flexibility of an engine. Like I say I haven’t done any recent research of options and costs of PHEVs on the scheme – but maybe worth a look – good luck and a happy new year to all.
As a PHEV driver myself, I’d say that they are even more reliant on being able to charge at home than EVs are. With ours, when the battery has depleted, the combination of a heavy car with a modest petrol engine means that I get worse mpg than I achieved in our previous 2.0i petrol 4WD car! They also charge at slower rates than EVs and the combination of this and public charging costs means that it’s a pointless exercise charging them away from home. They work if you can charge at home and most of your journeys are within the EV only range (which, like EVs, is worse in winter – ours can get 37 miles in the summer but I got just 27 miles yesterday), but if I couldn’t charge at home the most I would consider is a self-charging hybrid.
As with all car technology, some self charging hybrids are better than others. Toyota seem to have this nailed (hence why your Prius would have been good) and I believe that those with Nissan ePower models are generally very happy with them.