The Citroen C5 PHEV

The best of both worlds

In the motoring world there’s a lot of noise around technologies – be it ICE, MHEV or HEV, PHEV or BEV and EV and even more with abbreviations I can’t recall!

It’s no wonder consumers – trying to pick their way through the options and decide what will suit how they use their vehicles, let alone the changes to Road User Charges – are being cautious on what they buy next. I find people often don’t understand the differences between Hybrid and PHEV and what they are designed to do. Both are terrific technologies but very different motoring propositions and need to be considered as such. The advantage of the Hybrid or MHEV vehicles in day-to-day driving is nothing has changed. There’s no need to plug in and currently no RUC costs. The vehicle aids efficiency by providing low speed electric assistance for urban driving and a reasonable improvement in economy for urban driving. These cars tend to have a lower-to-mid price point. They’re also mostly urban commute cars with smaller engines and are compact in nature. So, if your motoring is primarily urban and low speed, these are a viable and popular proposition. However, that’s not the full hybrid story – there’s also the PHEV to consider.

The PHEV

PHEV presents an entirely different way of using a vehicle, and in many ways is the ‘bridge’ between a standard ICE or MHEV vehicle and the full BEV. PHEVS tend to be larger vehicles, more likely the primary vehicle rather than a ‘runabout’, so have greater capacity for open road driving with the advantage of an electric-only range. This is commonly around 40km-60km, which allows days of electric-only usage. In effect, a short distance BEV. The difference is once the range is depleted you still have a full ICE vehicle with MHEV- style assistance on an ‘on-demand’ basis with the ability to regenerate charge and re-instate limited range. What does this all mean? Well, both options provide fuel savings. MHEVS, on average, offer 10-25 per cent in savings – depending on technology. PHEVS offer 50-75 per cent in fuel savings depending on how the vehicle is used and charged. The twist is for PHEVS there’s now a $38 per 1000km RUC fee, which don’t currently apply to ICE or MHEV cars – so while savings in fuel are much higher, the RUC will blunt the benefit to a degree. However there’s still a significant benefit to the technology. This is particularly true when used as the main family vehicle with the ability to travel ‘on demand’ without need to consider re-charging requirements.

The Citroen C5

The Citroen C5 Aircross PHEV incorporates a highly efficient and ‘green’ 1.6 turbo engine with an eight-speed full automatic with a 47km electric-only range with the ‘potential’ to achieve an average fuel consumption of one – yes, one litre per 100km. Ah, but I here you say: “What about the real world?” And we agree. And after more than 1000km of driving in a variety of conditions – including electriconly around town and ‘brisk’ open road travelling, with and without passengers – plus running the climate control, listening to the superb stereo and enjoying the Comfort Class progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension, we averaged a nudge above two litres per 100km. This is an exceptional result, and for a decent period when more running was ‘around town’ we were in the ones! If you’d like to sample this technology for yourself and see what it’s about – not just the tech but the vehicle’s abilities that set it apart– pop in to Shorland Citroen (and Peugeot) at 627 Cameron Rd, Tauranga city. Or call Craig on: 07 579 5080 or visit: shorlandcitroen.co.nz