With how congested and greuling traffic is lately, it’s hard to justify the utility of a gas vehicle for city driving. For decades, the Vios, Almera, and City have been the most popular choices for city cars, and for a reason. They’re relatively affordable, reliable, and last a long time. However, with traffic as bad as it is and gas prices on the rise, are they still the best options?
A small clarification from the get go. If you have a currently serviceable and economic vehicle, don’t sell it just to swap to an EV. Unless, of course, you need to change your car or you simply want an EV and can afford it.
Modern Solutions for Modern Problems
Over the past decade or so, it’s shown that traffic has only become more and more congested as the years pass by. We’ve gotten more motor vehicles on the road compared to the last 5 years and no amount of skyways and coding laws can fix that. But that’s a different argument entirely.Due to this increase in traffic congestion, city driving has become more expensive and now requires more economical vehicles to combat this expense. While your average sedan may average 12.5KM to the litre, that mileage can easily go up or down. With the current gas prices, that means you spend an average of 57.65 PHP for every 12.5KM if you’re driving economically.When you compare that to how much it costs to charge an EV like the BYD Sea Lion 6 or an HEV like the Seal 5 DM-i, you’re spending on average 231 PHP for the HEV and 2244 PHP for a full charge in your EV. How much range do you get for these prices, you may ask? For HEVs like the BYD Seal 5 DM-i, that’s about 50-80 KM with their regenerative braking technology on top of the 47L gas tank and 610KM for the Sea Lion 6. Given that the average for city driving with most modern sedans is 12.5KM/L on a 40L gas tank, that means on a daily commute, you’d be spending 2306 PHP for every 500 KM. While the difference isn’t huge on paper from the get go, the disparity can be felt with the average times you need to gas up or recharge in a month.
With most EVs and HEVs having regenerative braking, they actually prolong the battery by recharging it every time they brake. Compared to a regular gas car, braking actually wastes a ton of gas overtime – especially if you’re heavy-footed on the gas pedal.
More Driving, More Saving
To summarize everything I just said in the previous section, you basically save significantly more in terms of city driving with an HEV and an EV compared to your regular gas sedans. Not only are you gassing up or charging less, you’re regenerating battery charge every time you have to brake in traffic. On paper, the difference doesn’t seem immediate, but it can be felt significantly in the long term.
To sweeten the deal even more, most establishments like parking lots and malls even offer free charging for EV and HEV owners. That means your trip to the mall or grocery is practically free. Compare that to the 200 pesos in gas you spend going to the mall and back every weekend. With how our economic and traffic situation is, it’s a no-brainer at this point that that getting an HEV or an EV is the most cost effective option. Especially with how much more affordable EVs and HEVs are these days.
Not only are you saving more money in the long-run, you’re also reducing the amount of gas the average person consumes daily. This argument may have been close in the past decade, but EV technology has gotten to the point where it’s not even a question at this point. If you need a new car or you want to switch up, by all means, get an affordable HEV (like the BYD Seal 5 dm-i).
