Gasoline, hybrid or electric: which should I choose?
If you wanted to buy another car, the choice “used to be” simple. You bought a car with a gasoline engine and if you did a lot of miles or needed a lot of towing power, a diesel could be considered. Nowadays there is much more choice: gasoline, diesel, mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fully electric and, to a lesser extent, the hydrogen car or one running on LPG. In this article, we focus on gasoline, hybrid and electric cars. Below we discuss the points of interest for each type.
Gasoline cars: convenient to use, lots of choice
Gasoline-powered cars have been the default choice for many for decades. The technology has proven its reliability and there is a wide range of models in all price ranges. The great advantage of gasoline cars is that the infrastructure is very well developed. You can find gas stations everywhere, which makes even traveling very long distances easy. Moreover, the purchase price of gasoline cars is often lower than that of comparable hybrid or electric vehicles.
Yet there are also disadvantages to gasoline cars. For example, fuel costs are quite high, a gasoline car emits pollutants and a fuel engine, with its many moving parts, remains a relatively fragile technology.
Hybrid cars: a golden middle ground?
Hybrid cars combine a fuel engine with an electric motor. This results in lower fuel consumption. There are different types of hybrids, roughly divided into hybrids with and without a plug. The hybrids with a plug have a larger battery and can drive longer distances fully electric. Especially in city traffic, hybrids perform well, thanks to regenerative braking, which recovers energy during braking. As a result, you often drive on electricity in the city, while on the highway you usually switch to the gasoline engine. So a hybrid is ideal for those who want to save on fuel costs, but do not yet want or cannot be completely dependent on charging stations.
Still, there are some drawbacks. Hybrids are often more expensive to purchase than comparable gasoline cars (although this is still especially true of plug-in hybrids). Hybrid technology is also relatively complex, which can make maintenance more expensive. Moreover, specifically for a plug-in hybrid, this technology only works well when you regularly charge the battery with the plug, which means you are still dependent on charging stations.
Electric cars: locally emission-free and smooth on the road
Electric cars, of course, only have an electric motor on board, or even several. As a result, an electric car not only drives emission-free locally. An electric car also often feels more powerful than a comparable fuel car, because electric motors can deliver their power immediately and do not need to rev up first. Also, an electric powertrain does not need to shift gears, making the driving experience even smoother.
Electric cars do tend to be a lot more expensive to purchase than a comparable fuel car. There are quite a few charging stations in the Netherlands, but precisely because more and more people drive electric, it can still be a search for an available charging station. A private charging station at home offers a solution, but not everyone has that option. For long distances, a fast charger can offer a solution, but that still takes longer than filling up a fuel car. In environmental terms, the electric car itself is free of emissions, but the environmental impact of the (battery) production process is higher. Only with long-term use is this compensated by the fact that an electric car itself does not emit anything.
Cost: what is the cheapest option?
When choosing a car, the financial picture plays a big role. Which is cheaper: a gasoline-powered car, hybrid or electric? In terms of purchase price, this question is easy to answer. In general, gasoline-powered cars are the cheapest or go on par with a “regular” hybrid. A comparable plug-in hybrid is a bit more expensive and a comparable electric car is even more expensive.
In terms of utility costs, the comparison is more difficult. This is due to ever-changing fuel and electricity prices. In the longer term, changing taxes also play a role. In general, charging per kilometer is cheaper than filling up with fuel. In theory, electric cars are cheaper to maintain because of simpler technology, but that is certainly not always true. Below the line, the running costs for gasoline, hybrid and electric cars are currently more or less the same.
What suits you?
The choice between gasoline, hybrid and electric depends on your driving habits and personal preferences. Do you mainly drive long distances and/or have few charging options? Then a gasoline car is still a logical option, or a hybrid car without a plug if you also regularly drive in city traffic. If you drive short to medium trips and/or can always recharge when needed, then an electric car is also among the options. A plug-in hybrid offers a middle ground: shorter trips you drive fully electric, longer ones with the gasoline engine. For the shorter trips, however, you need to be able to recharge regularly.