lanerd wrote:
What is the advantage of a "plug in" over a regular hybrid? We are currently looking at hybrids for a family car...not for a toad.
Ro
While we bought our C-max Energi to tow, we were also looking for a car that got much better gas mileage than our truck and minivan. It had to have better head room than other cars that size and comfortable seating for 4-5. We originally looked at the CRV, Chevy Sonic, and Ford Focus. While at the Ford dealer we discovered the Ford C-Max!!
What we love about the Energi is that, unlike totally electric cars, or a gas hybrid, it has the ability to run on electric or gas. Since we can run on gas, we do not have to rely on finding a charging outlet before our electric miles run out. When it is at our house it is always plugged in to its own dedicated 110v outlet. That gives us 20+ electric miles every time we leave the house. If we go further than that in one trip then the gas engine seamlessly kicks in.
We have owned and driven ours daily for almost 8 months and have only used a total of 25 gallons of gas in all those months. At our overall average of 140mpg, we are getting 100 miles per gallon more than the comparable C-Max gas hybrid!!!!
Plus the Federal government gave us a $4007 tax credit! Hard to beat. :)
