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For Hybrid Drivers, a Gas Pump Allergy?

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Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Jan 29, 2010
6,534
789
Redwood Shores, CA
For Hybrid Drivers, a Gas Pump Allergy? - NYTimes.com

Playing into this may be “range anxiety,” or the worry that they will run out of battery power before they get to the office or the mall — which is in many cases unfounded, Mr. Read said.

“If you have a home charging station, you don’t really need to rely too much on commercial infrastructure,” he said. “Home charging meets a lot of our needs.”

The surprising finding, however, was that drivers of the Volt, a hybrid that runs on electricity or conventional fuel, suffer from “gas anxiety,” or a fear of having to visit a filling station. Volt drivers even end up charging more often than drivers of the Leaf, which runs only on electric battery power.

According to the findings, a typical Leaf driver plugs in one to 1.1 times a day, whereas the average Volt driver plugs in about 1.5 times a day.

Volt drivers also plug in when away from home 21 percent of the time, as opposed to Leaf drivers, who charge away from home only 11 percent of the time.

“We never anticipated that a 40-mile-electric-range plug-in hybrid would charge more than a 100 percent electric car,” Mr. Read said. “You have that gas engine that you’re paying an extra premium for for a reason.”
 
This just reinforces that

1) The typical journey really is within the Volt's range.

2) Recharge opportunities are easy enough to find.

3) It gets used like an EV as much as possible - the engine is there to take you on longer journeys only, not as a substitute for charging. I payed the small premium for that capability.
 
Part of that surely is that there is less range in a Volt. A LEAF driver my not bother to plug in because they know they will make it home, after 50 miles, no problems so no plugging in. Where the Volt couldn't do a 50+ round trip really without charging.

But interesting none the less.
 
But isn't the real take away from this article: If you have to charge away from home during local driving anytime other than the very odd occasion, the battery range of the car you purchased is just too low? I'd expect any car I purchase to do a minimum of three days' commuting driving. (This gives me some leeway if there is a power outage one day, the connector has problems, or there is an exceptional circumstance).