#Cheap plug in hybrid cars manual#

For those looking for a cheapest hybrid that combines inner-city frugality with long-range convenience, all mated to the go-anywhere, do-anything utility of an SUV, the Outlander PHEV is the best game in town. Even on the highway, it sipped but 7.2 L/100 km from the 2.0-litre Atkinson-cycle four, mighty impressive for an almost midsize SUV that doesn’t lack for power. With up to 35 kilometres of electric-only range, in one month-long city-only test, I managed to eke out a 1.5 L/100 km average. That compares to $1,856 for the all-gas version. It is also, in my experience, far more frugal than Transport Canada estimates.Īccording to its official rating, the Mitsu PHEV will cost you $1,316 in fuel a year. For another, it’s far more practical than anything else on this list, with 861 litres of cargo capacity in the trunk or 2,209 with the rear seats folded down. For one thing, it’s the only cheapest plug-in hybrid sport ute out there. But the electrified SUV is literally flying off showroom floors, owners taken by its combination of performance, utility and frugality. Now, considering its $43,498 base price, Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV may seem an odd choice for an “affordable” hybrid. And if completely eliminating greenhouse gasses is your foal - and yes, I do remember that this is supposed to be a hybrid comparison - the Niro EV offer 385 kilometres of electric-only range for $44,495, still competitive amongst battery-powered offerings.Ģ019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Photo by Chris Balcerak / Driving However, considering what the competition charges for similar vehicles, that should not be considered so much a slag against the PHEV, but as a compliment to the base Hybrid. No wonder Toyota Canada says that they had sold 9,591 RAV4 Hybrids so far in 2019, fully 22 per cent of all its RAV4 sales being electrified. The electrified RAV4 proves an even more impressive bargain when you consider that Hybrid is actually more powerful - 219 horses versus 203-hp - than the gas car. Do the math and that’s but a three-year payback period, an amazing bargain for any kind of electrification. Meanwhile, Natural Resources Canada says you’ll spend $1,693 fueling the gas-powered version but only $1,224 for the hybrid.

That’s a paltry $1,400, which, considering all the hardware needed to convert from gas to hybrid propulsion, is a pittance.

A 2.5-litre LE AWD RAV4 will set you back some $30,690, for instance, while the Hybrid version of the same LE AWD package costs $32,090. In terms of smallest increase in price over its conventional gas-powered, or the shortest amount of time needed to payback the premium paid for hybridization, it’s tough to beat Toyota’s RAV4. One thing’s for sure, this electrified Corolla, like other Toyota hybrids, will last a lot longer than that. Said gas-powered LE costs $21,790 and the Hybrid would require a four-and-a-half year payback if you opted for it over the mid-priced conventional version. If that seems like a long time, it might help being reminded that the Hybrid is actually closer to the LE CVT in trim bits. Compare that with the aforementioned Corolla L - 7.1 L/100 km and $1,846 annual fuel costs - and you have a payback period of around six years. What one gets from that four grand is a combination of 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle four and an electric motor that’s good for 121-hp, a combined 4.5L/100 km in highway and urban cycles all of which will cost you, according to Transport Canada, $1,170 a year in fuel.

#Cheap plug in hybrid cars manual#

As for a value comparison, conventional Corollas start at $18,990, but that’s hardly a fair contrast since base gas versions - powered by a 132 horsepower, 1.8-litre four - come with a manual transmission.Ĭomparing apples to apples, the Hybrid is a $4,000 uptick from the Corolla L CVT. At $24,790, the new Corolla Hybrid is the simple grafting of the Prius powertrain to compact Corolla, lending a mainstream look to a futuristic technology. It’s hard to go wrong with a Corolla, the world’s best selling car of all time, and it’s equally hard to find serious fault with Toyota hybrids, so the combination of the two would seem pretty hard to beat.