A low-CO2 stepping stone could make a lot of sense for fleets

Mitsubishi openly says PHEVs are a stepping stone to EVs, but I had been wondering if the new crop of long-range, ultra-fast charging EVs might mean their days are numbered. Having encountered some familiar grumbles driving an Audi e-tron in the WLTP Challenge, I’ve been reminded that we’re not there yet.

The cars are ready. Several new EVs would fit my life easily, charged mostly on my driveway and without any inconvenience, but it has to be said I am used to driving them. Their full potential is unlocked by ultra-fast charging points, which aren’t common yet. Our event route passed just one 150kW unit and, to my frustration, the operator and their app insisted it didn’t exist. Do you chance it, or do you head for a 50kW unit and catch up on e-mails while you wait? It felt like the early, unreliable days of rapid charging all over again.

These networks will come, of course – Tesla already has one. But it still takes patience to go electric if you’re regularly travelling beyond your car’s range or can’t charge at home, and it’ll be a while before long-range EVs are cheap used cars. In the meantime, a low-CO2 stepping stone (look at my lifetime economy) makes a lot of sense.

P11d/BiK: £41,965(16%) MPG/CO2: 139mpg (WLTP) /40.3g/km (NEDC Correlated) Test MPG/MPkWh:48mpg/2.5MPkWh