Plug-in Hybrid Owner Story: Phil Iversen’s RAV4 Prime

This spring and summer we bring you “Electric Vehicle Owner Stories,” a series of interviews with northeast Iowa EV owners. This Electric Vehicle Owner Story features a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a car that uses both gasoline and electricity as fuel. PHEVs have a battery, an electric motor, an internal combustion engine (ICE), and a gasoline tank.They can run on electric power for short trips and then operate as a gas-electric hybrid for longer trips. PHEVs can be charged using a wall outlet, charging equipment, regenerative braking, or the ICE.

Name: Phil Iversen
Vehicle (Model and Year): 2021 RAV4 Prime PHEV
All Electric Range: 43 miles
Purchased on: August 14, 2023

How many miles do you drive annually? Of those, can you estimate how many have been all electric versus gas?
About 9,000.   Estimate 4,872 gas/hybrid miles at 42 mpg, and 4,128 all electric miles.  Overall mpg is 77.6.

Thinking back to when you first considered an EV, what were your biggest concerns? Did those concerns result in you opting for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) instead?
Main concern was being able to charge on longer trips (range anxiety).  So we opted for a plug-in hybrid. 
Given you’ve now had experience with a PHEV, do you think you’re more or less inclined to buy a pure electric vehicle (PEV) next time?
Yes

If you’re inclined to buy some sort of electric vehicle in the future, what obstacles will have to be overcome to make ownership more appealing for a wider audience?
Purchase price, longer range, and faster charging.

Are you a two vehicle household, and if so, is your second vehicle gas powered?
 Both of our vehicles are PHEV.

Is cold weather driving different than summer driving? Is there anything about winter driving with a PHEV you’d like to share? Like, for example when it’s really cold, does the vehicle stick to all electric or does the gas engine come on?
It works about the same in winter, except the plug-in battery does not hold as many miles at full charge.  The RAV4 Prime has AWD and is great is snow.

Disregarding upfront purchase costs, has your cost of ownership been what you had expected? Are you saving money?
Cost of ownership has been good.  Low as expected.

As you see it, what are the biggest limitations of driving an EV? On the flip side, what’s been the biggest plus?
Biggest limitations: Fewer models to choose from.  Couldn’t get all wheel drive in my price range at the time I bought the Honda.

Biggest plus (forgot to include this in the Honda answers but also true for it): High MPG.

Have you used public charging? If so, what has that experience been like?
A few times.  The RAV4 Prime has charged slowly on public level 2 chargers, taking 7-8 hours to reach its capacity of 43 miles.

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