[STATIC] DAN EDMUNDS: I'm
Dan Edmunds, and I'm an automotive journalist-- Ever wish Jeep made
a Wrangler pickup? --and an automotive engineer. I spent the majority
of my career developing and testing cars
and trucks behind the scenes. And then I switched to
rating and reviewing cars-- Ooh. --to help consumers like
you make informed choices. [MUSIC PLAYING] As new technologies
continually emerge, carmakers sometimes struggle to
explain their newest products. Lately, it has become apparent
that some consumers are confused about the
difference between hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and
electric vehicles. Surveys have shown that some
consumers think that they all require a certain
amount of gasoline, while others worry that the move
towards 100% electrification means the end of
the gasoline engine and the freedom of movement
that comes with it. On top of that,
carmakers don't always market them consistently, which
only adds to the confusion. So I'm going to try to
untangle all of that for you. We'll start with the basics
and build up from there. What is meant by
electrification? Electrification just means
some degree of electric drive. Of course, that includes
electric vehicles, which have no gasoline
engine, but it also means part-time EVs,
such as plug-in hybrids, and regular gasoline hybrids
that you can't plug-in. Charge points aren't as
common as gas stations, so range is important. But it's not the big number that
catches your eye on the window sticker. We're familiar with MPG and what
it means to a gasoline vehicle. But the window stickers
of electric cars and plug-in hybrids has
something called MPGe. But MPGe isn't what
you think it is. It's an attempt by engineers
to equate the fuel efficiency in terms we can all understand. But I think it also gives some
people the false impression that electric cars
somehow use gasoline-- a terrible cost yardstick,
because the prices of gasoline and electricity
are not related in this way. Ignore it. It's best to focus
on kilowatt hours, because that's
what you're buying. The rating is right there,
on the window sticker-- kilowatt hours per 100 miles. That's the efficiency
number you should be looking at when you shop
for an electric vehicle. So what's a kilowatt hour? It's a quantity of electricity. But to understand
a kilowatt hour, you first have to
understand a kilowatt. And guess what? You already do. Let's have a look
at this light bulb. It's rated at 100 watts. It says so, right at the top. That's its brightness, its power
output if I were to turn it on. Incidentally, the W in
watt is capitalized, because it stands for James
Watt, a Scottish inventor. Now let's imagine we have 10
of these 100 watt bulbs turned on all around the house. 10 times 100 is 1,000 watts. Kilo stands for 1,000. So that's 1 kilowatt. If we leave them on for an hour,
we get 1 kilowatt times 1 hour, which is 1 kilowatt hour. And because of the
time element, we're now talking about an
amount of electricity. And it's not kilowatt per hour. It's kilowatt hour. It's multiplication,
not division. Now, let's take the
idea of a kilowatt hour and apply it to cars. It's an amount of
electricity that you use, but it's also an
amount you can store. The battery size of
an electrified car is measured in kilowatt hours. Think of it like
gallons in a gas tank, but don't dwell on gallons
any more than that. We need to stay focused
on kilowatt hours. Why? Because electricity is
sold in kilowatt hours. Look, it's right
here on my bill. I pay $0.25 per kilowatt hour
when I plug-in my electric car. Now, we all know that if you
drive a regular car around like a maniac, we'll
use more gasoline, because we're asking the engine
to develop more horsepower. Well, the same is true
with electrified vehicles, except this time our
lead footed behavior is draining more kilowatt hours
out of the battery pack. And that reduces
range and costs money. All right. So now we know a little bit
more about electrified car batteries. And the main bit we know
is the amount of energy they can hold is measured
in kilowatt hours and what that term means. [MUSIC PLAYING] So now we can talk about
the three main types of electrified vehicles. Hybrids-- [APPLAUSE] --plug-in hybrids-- [APPLAUSE] --and electric vehicles. [GASPS AND APPLAUSE] Electric vehicles
are in the spotlight these days, so I'll
start with them. When we say electric
vehicles, we mean all electric
vehicles, or EVs for short. They are technically known as
Battery Electric Vehicles, BEV. So you're geekier, EV-owning
friends might call them Bevs. Here, there's no
engine, no gas tank. They use zero gasoline
and have no tailpipe. EVs have large electric
motors, because they are the sole source of propulsion. And their batteries are large-- so big, in fact,
that they usually form a layer under the
entire floor of the car. Their storage capacity
ranges from 32 to over 100 kilowatt hours,
depending on the model and how much you're
willing to pay. Like any other
vehicle, consumption varies by size and type. The most efficient EVs are rated
to use about 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles, while
heavier and sportier models are in the mid to high 40
kilowatt hour per 100 mile range. And contrary to MPG,
lower is better here, because this is a
consumption rating. Use less, pay less. Say you drive
12,000 miles a year. That's 1,000 miles a month. If your car is rated to use 26
kilowatt hours every 100 miles, simply multiply by 10 to get 260
kilowatt hours for 1,000 miles. In my case, I'd multiply that
by $0.25 per kilowatt hour and get $65 per month for fuel. Range is overhyped. Few, if any of us, drive
300 miles in a day. And for those who do,
well, an EV probably isn't the right solution. If you can plug-in
every night, well, it's better to think about how
many miles you drive in a day, not a week. In my own experience,
100 miles is fine. And I think that's
true, especially if you have a second vehicle
to use on longer trips. OK. Maybe you want 150 or
200 miles, because you like to take weekend trips. I get it. But don't over-buy. Batteries cost more, way more. They take up space. Buying too much could
be a barrier to entry that you don't need
to really worry about. So-called DC fast charging
can become important if you do opt for more
range, and most current EVs can support it. It's mainly only necessary
if you'll take the car on long journeys, though. And your route will
generally be confined to where the networks go. But honestly, anything with
over 100 miles of range is going to be comfortable to
all but the most lead butt road warriors. Daily charging is where it's at. And that's typically done at
home, while you're asleep. The car's included
cord will have a 120-volt plug that's designed
for a household socket. But that's not fast
enough if you're going to drive more
than 30 miles a day. In that case, a 240-volt
home charging station is the way to go, because
it's significantly faster. You'll have to have an
electrician install one, but it's a worthwhile expense. [MUSIC PLAYING] EVs are best for people
who are homeowners, the household has
more than one car, and they have consistent access
to a 240-volt home charger if you drive more
than 30 miles per day. But maybe you're not sure
you can plug-in every day. Maybe you'll only have one car. Perhaps you like to take
spontaneous road trips. You should consider a
plug-in hybrid, or a PHEV-- a part-time EV that is initially
powered by its electric motor and battery but also has a
gasoline engine and a gas tank. You fuel them up two ways. You plug them in,
and you gas them up. PHEVs have medium
sized plug-in batteries that enable them to operate
as electric vehicles for 17 to 53 miles. And when the juice runs
out, the gasoline engine comes on automatically
and powers the car, like a regular gasoline hybrid. Now, some of them will turn
the gasoline engine on-- even if the battery
is full-- if you floor it, to give you a little
extra acceleration. But that's far from universal. Their window stickers
contain two ratings. On the left, electric range
in miles and consumption in kilowatt hours per 100 miles. On the right, the
familiar MPG on gasoline. The electric side will
also have an MPGe rating. But again, that's
a useless number. You're buying kilowatt hours
when you're plugged in. Statistically, you probably
drive less than 30 miles in a day. In that case, if you
plug-in nightly and have that sort of commute,
you might not buy gas for weeks or even months. Longer commute, road trip? No problem. The gasoline engine
will keep you moving. So how much smaller
is the battery of a PHEV compared to an EV? Well, it varies
along with range. But the biggest ones measure
about 16 kilowatt hours. Why 16 kilowatt hours? That's what it takes to
qualify for the maximum amount of the $7,500
federal tax credit. PHEVs with smaller
batteries qualify for less. Examples with 16
kilowatt hour batteries include the Honda Clarity
PHEV, good for 48 miles, the Chrysler Pacifica
Hybrid Minivan-- which is, in fact, a plug-in
hybrid that is confusingly marketed-- is good for 32 miles, because
it's bigger and heavier. PHEVs with batteries
smaller than 16 kilowatt hours include the plug-in
Prius called the Prius Prime, a made up marketing term. But I guess you could
say that you're priming the battery by charging it. There's also the Subaru
Crosstrek hybrid, which is another example of a
badly termed plug-in hybrid. PHEVs are best for people who
are homeowners with one car, have consistent access to
a charger at home or work but not necessarily
240 volts, want an EV but don't want to be
limited by range concerns. Hybrids have been
around the longest. They're known as Hybrid Electric
Vehicles, or HEVs for short. And right there,
the electric part, is what gets some
people confused. Basically, any true hybrid
is 100% gasoline fueled. And by that, I mean
you can't plug them in. [BUZZER] Their window stickers
have regular MPG on them. Yes, sometimes they're
driven by electricity. But other times, they're
driven by gasoline. And oftentimes, it's both. So they have a gasoline
engine, an electric motor, a clever transmission that can
combine the two, and a battery. Where does the electricity
for that battery come from, you might ask? From braking, mainly,
and to a lesser extent, by siphoning off a little
excess power from the engine while it's driving the car. Hybrids are
electricity scavengers. The braking bit is called
regenerative braking. And that's a key feature
that all three types of electrified cars share. Basically, the electric
motor becomes a generator by working in
reverse, so to speak, when you press on the brake. The generated power
is transferred to a dedicated battery. But that battery
doesn't need to be big, because it only has to
hold the electricity that comes from a few city stops. So a typical Prius battery
is only 1 kilowatt hour big, maybe less. A Prius can achieve over 50
miles per gallon in the city, because the kinetic
energy that is normally wasted as heat in the
brakes is recovered, saved in the battery,
and then used to get the car moving
again and delay the ignition of the
gasoline engine every time you leave a stoplight. Now, some hybrids choose
to use their stored energy for performance instead
of outright fuel economy. The Acura NSX comes to mind,
even Formula One race cars and Le Mans Prototypes. Such cars are still
hybrids, and they still count as electrified vehicles. But-- and this is
important-- true hybrids have no rating for
electric range. If they did, it would be
measured in yards, not miles. Don't let them run out of
gasoline, in other words. In this respect, they're just
like any other normal vehicle. HEVs are best for people
who live in apartments, want high gas mileage or
a low carbon footprint but don't have consistent
access to a charger or don't want the hassle. So there you have it. Electrification doesn't mean
the end of gasoline engines. It simply means a
wider range of choices. At the one extreme, we have
EVs, which are 100% electric. But at the other, we have
pure gasoline fueled hybrids that recycle normally
wasted energy to reduce their use of
gasoline or, in some cases, to go faster. In the middle, we
have plug-in hybrids, which act as EVs around
town but can use gasoline for longer trips. Among these three
choices, there's an electrified
vehicle for everyone. Thanks for watching. And if you have any
questions or comments, please, leave them below. For more on this car and
others in our long term fleet, go to Edmunds dot Tom. Dot Tom? Go to Edmunds dot To-- I did it again. What the [BLEEP]? Who's Tom?
