Plug-in hybrid or just buy an electric car next year

This is a question we have been asked many times in recent months and we want to answer it. We have been seeing a large number of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technical failures emerging in recent years and especially in the past year as the age of the earlier sold PHEVs start getting closer to their end of warranty.

From the start, we were not fans of PHEVs due to their complex engineering and the early battery systems were not getting enough cooling in our high humidity.

The cars being sold were imported from Europe and little research was done in our part of the world. Today resale values of these early PHEVs are very low and some owners are not even able to sell them to recover from their car financing. Yes, after 5 to 6 years, they still need to ‘top up’ the car loans.

Well, the next-generation PHEVs were quickly improved with better battery cooling and also longer warranties on the battery ONLY to tickle less informed buyers to take ownership.

The continuing technical issues that came up with owners filled social media channels and the car manufacturers had their workshops filled with recurring problems from many unhappy PHEV owners.

So, why are PHEVs still being marketed and sold in Malaysia? Well, simple, high-profit margins and many less informed buyers who ONLY see the long battery warranty and NOT see the issues that are actually coming from components around the battery system which do not have a long warranty.

So, it is best to check with reliable news sources like us before buying a new PHEV or even a used PHEV.

Meanwhile, we are saying, ‘why bother’ with a PHEV BMW when you can buy a fully electric-powered BMW like the iX3 for just RM 336,000 (The 5 Series PHEV is RM 334,000) or even better, the unique looking BMW iX SUV for RM 420,000 in a few months.

Both these BMW all-electric SUVs will be less complicated and have a warranty that covers all running components. Plus, it looks much better and stands out in the car park.

Both these BMW SUVs come with twin electric motors which send 322 hp and 630 Nm of torque to all four wheels. This takes the iX from 0-100 kmph in just 6.1 seconds but gives it a top speed of just 200 kmph.

A 425 km range is expected, but in our weather, who knows what the real-world range will be like. 11kW AC charging via a type 2 connector takes over 7 hours for a full charge and 150kW DC charging over a CCS2 connection takes 30 minutes for a top-up from 10 percent to 80 percent. Of course, Malaysia doesn’t really have enough DC fast chargers at the moment.

However, if you insist you want a sedan and not an SUV then you can now place a booking at all BMW dealers for the BMW i4 which is a four-door gran coupé, built with a specific focus on electric driving dynamics from the outset. The BMW i4 sedan will replace the 5 Series when it arrives which means the used values of the 5 Series PHEV will drop fast.

This futuristic sports sedan offers an electrical power output of up to 340 hp, a 0-100 kmph in 5.7 seconds, and an impressive WLTP electric driving range of up to 590 kilometres on a single charge.

Registration of interest for the first-ever BMW iX xDrive40, the BMW iX3 SUV’s and the BMW i4 eDrive40 sedan are already open on the official BMW website.

Owners of electric vehicles from the all-new BMW i portfolio will get a battery warranty of up to 8 years or 160,000 km, whichever comes first.

Also read: BMW Malaysia first DC fast-charging station now open