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    Should I buy a plug-in hybrid or an electric car?

    Toyota Toyota Advice Toyota RAV4 Toyota RAV4 Advice Volkswagen Volkswagen Advice Volkswagen Tiguan Volkswagen Tiguan Advice Ford Ford Advice Ford Escape Ford Escape Advice

    We're going to have to move up to a medium SUV this year due to growing family. We really like the Tiguan 1.4T range but we’re a bit concerned about buying a car with just an internal combustion engine just on the cusp of the electric-vehicle revolution. We have solar panels on the roof and are only using a quarter of what we produce.

    Is the new Escape plug-in hybrid worth waiting or should I just book a RAV4 Hybrid now and wait six months? We mostly only do short city distances.

    Answered by CarsGuide
    29 February 2020
    David Morley

    The Ford Escape plug-in should be an interesting vehicle when it arrives, with 165kW of power and something like a 50km electric-only range. It will be here sometime this year, but the exact timing is still a trade secret.

    The Toyota RAV4, meanwhile, isn’t a plug-in hybrid, so it can’t be recharged form your home solar panels (which the plug-in Escape could be). Frankly, if you’re making four times the power your household needs with your solar array, you’re in the pound seats for owning a plug-in hybrid which could put that excess electricity generation to very good use. That’s especially true if most of your driving is around town within a 20km radius or so of home-base.

    That said, the new RAV4 Hybrid is gaining rave reviews as well as recording very sharp real-world fuel-economy figures. But a plug-in hybrid in a household with excess solar capacity could almost be run for free.

    Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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