Hybrid cars get plug-in boost

My column last week on electric mowers generated some interest. People have a lot of questions about how practical these new electrical devices are that are transforming our daily lives. Especially electric cars. Me too.

About a year ago I bought a plug-in hybrid car. I wanted to go all-electric, but settled for the hybrid for a few reasons.

First, electrics weren’t available at local dealers. I didn’t want to go out of town to get new technology that could only be serviced in Kansas City or Minneapolis.

Second, the infrastructure necessary to support electric vehicles wasn’t in place yet, especially in rural areas like western Iowa. If you live in a metropolitan area, or just travel the interstates on trips, you’re fine with an electric vehicle. But if your car’s big battery runs low between here and our printing plant in Sheldon, you’re in trouble.

The plug-in hybrid was a nice compromise. And it’s proven technology. With these cars you plug them in at home overnight and when you get up in the morning they’ll run for 35-40 miles on cheap electricity. Then a gas engine, without notice, kicks in when needed to take you the rest of the way. If you mostly just drive around town, you’ll hardly ever use gas. But if you want to go to Chicago, you don’t have to worry about running out of electricity between Webster City and Waterloo.

Brother Art has been driving Chevy Volts, the pioneering plug-in small sedan, since 2010 with excellent results. Unfortunately, GM discontinued production of the Volt a couple of years ago.

Ford produces a plug-in version of the Escape, its popular small SUV. It runs about 37 miles on an electric charge, then its gas engine kicks in with a range of nearly 400 more miles. It’s perfect for us when we want to head off to visit our kids in other states. I’ve been driving it for nearly a year with good results. I only need to gas it up every three months or so.

Art and I both charge our plug-ins at home through regular 120 volt household outlets. This is called Level 1 charging, regenerating at about three miles per hour. It takes about 10 hours to recharge them completely, but that’s not a problem when you charge overnight when the car’s not in use.

We also have a 240 volt Level 2 charger at the Times Pilot building to power our fully electric delivery truck. It has a range of up to 240 miles, and charges about 25 miles per hour. This can charge a hybrid in a couple hours.

There are also commercial chargers, known as DC fast chargers, located in cities and along major highways. These can recharge an electric vehicle in less than an hour, but they do not work with hybrids.

Charging your car with electricity at home costs about one-fourth as much as powering your car with gasoline.

Plug-in hybrids involve some tradeoffs. They are more expensive to buy because they require two propulsion systems: both electric motors and gas engines. But that initial higher cost is offset by federal tax credits if the car is built in North America.

Note that a plug-in hybrid differs from a plain hybrid, which does not run solely on electric power. The latter is primarily a gas vehicle that gets an occasional boost from a small battery. These are very popular too because their mileage is great — 40-50 mpg around town — and they don’t cost quite as much as plug-ins.

Although GM phased out its plug-in hybrids two years ago, it is going to reintroduce them because of the growing demand by people like me who want the benefits of electric but live in places like Iowa that lack the charging infrastructure. Ford likewise was talking about discontinuing its hybrids, but now plans to widen these offerings across its vehicle lineup.

In a few years gas stations will add charging stations alongside their pumps and the range anxiety about electric vehicles will disappear. But in the meantime, the plug-in hybrid is a good compromise.