...2020 PHEV: but is it "worth it"

[modeler]

phev worth every penny, period.

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[modeler]

My wife and I looked at a Pacifica PHEV and were not impressed. I didn't watch the video, but here are my reasons I wouldn't buy a PHEV Pacific or Wrangler:

1. Only worth the extra money with the tax credit. If they're so great, why does the government have to pay me to buy one?
2. First Impression - way too much going on in the dash. Too many gauges for battery vs fuel etc.
3. 33 mile range on electric isn't much - and if you go on the Pacifica forums you'll find nobody is getting even that.
4. This is a big one for me - on the test drive the sales guy told my wife to floor it and feel the ICE kick in. It did, and worked as intended, but as an old school engine guy I do NOT like an ICE kicking on from dead cold to full throttle immediately without any warm up.
5. In the case of the Pacifica, you lose the storage in front of the middle seats / ability to fold the middle seats down
6. Battery replacement and everything that comes with that
7. At the end of the day, the fuel mileage really ins't that better, I think 1 mpg on the highway, after you've burnt up your <33 mile range

If we really wanted to curb emissions, we'd go back to a 55mph speed limit. My '11 Camaro SS, '13 Mustang GT, and current 20 yo 140K mile '98 Trans Am, all cruise well over 30mpgs when going 55-60

1we are talking cars, not politics, right? get the rebate before gone.
2,come on
3,depends on how you smartly use the ev range, you can have 4 to 6 times of cost savings, and many people dont see gas station again after get hybridization.
4, smart people dont floor gas.
5, come on
6, relative less expensive.
7, get fact straight, under ev range you can be saving a lot by not payong gas for months, even on long range a phev have way better efficient in acceleration and braking.

 

[ThirtyOne]

Again it depends on your use case. For example, I probably spend between $2,000-$2,500 a year on gas. My normal commute could be on EV range but I drive about 400 miles/month longer range if I average it out. That works out to about $750 worth of gas. And the power to charge is not free. So let's just say about $1,200/year in net savings on gas to make the math simple. So as long as the lease premium is less than $100/month, it's a win. I have a hard time believing that isn't workable.

Not for me because I need manual transmission. But for a lot of people this would work just on financials and avoiding the hassle of the gas station and getting some nice torque bump. You don't have to make a political statement and give a shit about the planet.

But @cbrenthus makes a good point - what are the tradeoffs? Interior space, functionality, driving dynamics? It has to be more functional not less. People who drive a Tesla do not feel like they are compromising anything.

 

[jeffoutwest81]

Alex on Autos review of the Pacifica, which I assume has a fairly similar PHEV powertrain, points out that with incentives, it actually comes out around the same price roughly or even less expensive than the normal vehicle.. so as long as those incentives work for you, it might not be any/much more expensive - and still have the benefits (and some drawbacks) associated with the new powertrain. For me personally it's my leading candidate for my next vehicle. I had a 2015 Wrangler, but a 2020 with automatic cruise control and auto braking, etc., with 30+ miles of EV range, seems like a great vehicle for my situation.

 

[BrntWS6]

I would prefer a natural gas car to electric, but i understand a lot of the country does not have NG in their house.

Also most of these cars need 220v to charge in a reasonable amount of time. Not sure if that applies to the Jeep since the range is so low but that could be another expense that is not cheap unless you are a DIY guy.

 

[Dakster]

So here's my thought - coming from someone that has always wanted to own a Wrangler and is looking to get into his first one. We owned a Chevy Volt for 3 years on a lease. I drove it from South Florida to Alaska, put 30k total miles on it, and we managed to eek out an average of over 100 miles per gallon on fuel. Most of the charging was 'free' (my wife had free charging at work). But even when we didn't, our electric bill wasn't that noticeably higher. If the Volt was AWD and an SUV we'd still have it. With the right regen setup, you'll almost never go through brakes. Oil changes for us were every 2 years - only because that's the longest you could go, not because the oil life monitor said we needed to. Because of thermal mangement, which is easier to do with a PHEV (engine heat in the winter and better cooling in the summer) the battery's were still awesome 3 years later and a lot of Volt owners now 7+ years out report the same...

I don't know the specs on the PHEV Wrangler, but I can tell you that I am anxiously waiting. But it has to be done right. No 15 second 0-60 on EV alone stuff. Needs thermal management, a decent Level 2 charger (16KW would be nice), DCFC for those that live in areas where they are plentiful. And above all, needs to be a Jeep Wrangler. I loved in the Volt that every morning you left with full range. I enjoyed not smelling the vehicle in open loop mode in the cold winter. I have a 20 mile each way commute that would be awesome if it could be mostly on EV. FWIW, we spend at least $400 a month right now on fuel after getting rid of the volt. It was less than $100 with the volt. I live in a high fuel cost area though, so as they say, YMMV.

 

[Kyanche]

From what I remember about hybrids, the gas engine will last longer since the electric motor is driving the vehicle when the gas engine would ordinarily receive the most wear hehe

 

[rocklobster]

Even 28 miles would cover all my driving most days. Depending on the details it may make financial sense. But I like driving a manual Jeep so this wouldn't be for me.

No chance of this drivetrain being mated to a manual transmission?

 

[ThirtyOne]

No chance of this drivetrain being mated to a manual transmission?

I wouldn't say no chance. I mean they have not officially said that.

But yeah. No chance.

The venn diagram of manual transmission drivers and PHEV drivers doesn't have a lot of overlap. And they will both have very low take rates as it is.

I bet it will be 4-door only and maybe restricted to Saharas as well.

 

[Sean L]

I wouldn't say no chance. I mean they have not officially said that.

But yeah. No chance.

The venn diagram of manual transmission drivers and PHEV drivers doesn't have a lot of overlap. And they will both have very low take rates as it is.

I bet it will be 4-door only and maybe restricted to Saharas as well.

Seems like the BSGs are getting focused on the Sahara for 2020MY Wranglers as well... The thing is this prototype in the spy photos looks like a Rubicon with the KO2 tires and what looks like a D44 front axle.

 

[ThirtyOne]

Seems like the BSGs are getting focused on the Sahara for 2020MY Wranglers as well... The thing is this prototype in the spy photos looks like a Rubicon with the KO2 tires and what looks like a D44 front axle.

The prototype is probably a mule. This is probably more a marketing decision than an engineering decision.

 

[Sean L]

The prototype is probably a mule. This is probably more a marketing decision than an engineering decision.

Yep, I guess it is worthwhile to see how it performs in the heaviest setup for a Wrangler. Lighten the load and it will do better.

 

[Kmag88]

Regeneration is what makes all hybrids worth it. Making electricity instead of heat when slowing down or going downhill increases efficiency and makes up for all the extra weight and then some.

 

[modeler]

any news on the phev? cant wait for it.

 

[xjgary]

any news on the phev? cant wait for it.

They've been using the Los Angeles Auto Show to intro new Jeeps. If I remember right it is Nov/Dec. Earlier FCA plans showed production starting in December, but they have a history of falling behind schedule on new products, so don't hold your breath!

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