I EXPOSE WHY HYBRIDS ARE POINTLESS!

Are plug-in hybrids the best of both worlds or a poor compromise? To find out, I've got each version of the new BMW 5 Series, the electric, the petrol, and the plug-in hybrid. I'm going to drive each of these cars on a variety of motorway, country road, and in town. And

motorway, country road, and in town. And we'll find out exactly how much they really cost to run and own. And it might not be quite what you expect. That's the worst race I've ever lost. I'm also going to compare the cars to show you the differences between the petrol version, the electric version, and the

version, the electric version, and the hybrid. And I'll tell you exactly which one to buy and which one to avoid. I'm Matt Watson, and you're watching Car Wow. Why am I doing this? Well, because on paper, plug-in hybrids look almost too

paper, plug-in hybrids look almost too good to be true. They cost less to buy than an equivalent electric car, come with massive tax breaks for their drivers, and should be better for the environment than the equivalent petrol car. Also, they claim fuel economy figures are off the charts. But are these claims over exaggerated? To find

these claims over exaggerated? To find out, I'm going to drive a 60 mi route to measure exactly how much fuel and energy it uses when the battery is charged for the best case scenario. Then, we'll do the route again with a depleted battery to see the difference. Because this is how a lot of hybrid owners will run their cars if they use their vehicles

their cars if they use their vehicles over longer distances. The petrol 5 series and the i5 electric car will also compete in the exact same route. So, we have a fair comparison to find out which is best, petrol, full EV or a plug-in hybrid. I'll also tell you just how many miles you have to do using electric

miles you have to do using electric power alone in this plug-in hybrid in order to offset the premium it costs over the normal 520i. You will be shocked. This is the recommended retail price of each of these cars, but this is how much you can save on each of them now through CarWow. But if you'd

now through CarWow. But if you'd rather lease, this is the monthly cost over three years if you lease one through CarWow Leasy. That's . We now have our own CarWow leasing broker, too. To check it out, click on the pop out banner up there or scan the QR code on screen now. There's also a link in

on screen now. There's also a link in the description to this video or just Google Car Liy. Despite their more affordable purchase price, petrol car sales in the UK are dropping and more expensive hybrids and EVs are growing. And there's one key reason for this tax. The government offers large tax breaks on these cars, especially if

tax breaks on these cars, especially if you're a company car driver. A high rate taxpayers's three-year tax bill is an insane 19,849 for the 520i. That is what they have to pay to the inland revenue. Whereas the hybrid is only £7,139

that you have to pay to the tax man. Whereas with the electric i5, the total tax bill is £3,559. But with a government actively pushing people into hybrids and EVs under the guise of cheaper motoring, while this may ring true for company car drivers, for everyone else, I doubt this is the

for everyone else, I doubt this is the case. But I want to find out exactly. What I'm going to do is find out how far you can drive this plug-in hybrid on electric power alone. I've got it in a mode where it's given me electric power. You can see here that it will go up to 87 mph on electric power alone, and it

will give you 50% power or something on electric power alone. I imagine if I fl the throttle, then the engine will kick in to give me more power. So, I've got to be quite gentle on the throttle because the idea is how far can I go under electricity? No internal combustion engine. BMW says this car should be able to do between 59 and 64

should be able to do between 59 and 64 mi under electric power alone. I have a full battery and it's given me an electric range of 61 mi. Anyway, let's off and see what happens. While I'm driving this, I've got to make sure that this line never goes over the 50. So, got to be very careful. It gives you plenty of punch up to that

plenty of punch up to that mark. I think that's part of the idea with this is that you use it as a range extender in a way that you can just drive around on electric power alone most of the time. If you need added performance yet you get a boost from the petrol motor or if you're going a long distance then you don't have to worry

distance then you don't have to worry about the battery draining because you just got 592 mi combined it thinks and of course you can just pull over at a petrol station and fill up quickly. At the moment it's seeming a pretty good idea this plug-in hybrid but will I change my mind later on? Before we go any further, I think it's time for a

change my mind later on? Before we go any further, I think it's time for a quick history lesson. There are three main types of hybrid cars. Mild hybrids, self-charging hybrids, and plug-in hybrids. This 520i is technically a mild hybrid. It has a battery and a small 18 horsepower motor to assist the engine, but it can't drive in electric only

horsepower motor to assist the engine, but it can't drive in electric only mode. It's there to just recoup some energy under braking and then use it to power the incillaries and to give a little added boost when you first put your foot down. Mild hybrid systems also help reduce a car CO2 emissions ever so slightly. Next, there's self-charging hybrids the

there's self-charging hybrids the original Toyota Prius. These use a petrol engine combined with a more powerful motor which can drive the wheels independently or together depending on the circumstances. They charge up by recouping lost energy under braking or by using the engine as a generator. Most self-charging hybrids are able to drive at slow speeds and for

are able to drive at slow speeds and for short distances on electric power alone. But when you put your foot down and want to go a bit quicker, then the petrol engine soon kicks in and takes over. And that brings us on to plug-in hybrids, which first appeared in the late 2000s with the BYYD F3DM and the Chevrolet Vault. These have larger batteries with

Vault. These have larger batteries with external charges to give you more electric range, better fuel economy, and fewer emissions. These cars can often go more than 10 mi on electric power alone and able to travel up to speeds of up to 70 mph, once again, on electric power alone. They also deliver more performance because the electric motors

alone. They also deliver more performance because the electric motors have even more power than those in self-ching hybrids. BMW took the plug-in hybrid approach with its 530e. It has a 19.4 kWh battery pack and can supposedly do 64 mi on a full charge. But unlike those old hybrids, this new BMW has a

those old hybrids, this new BMW has a few advanced features designed to maximize your range, which can take a little bit of getting used to. First impressions, it's quite nice to drive. Smooth, it's quiet, the suspension is good. I quite it. So, I've got the adaptive regen on, so the car is

adaptive regen on, so the car is automatically braking using Well, I thought it was then at the end, the automatic brake actor kick in there. Yeah. So, it uses adaptive system that it should sense when you're getting close to the car in front and it'll automatically provide extra regen braking. You can see that little marker

automatically provide extra regen braking. You can see that little marker there. So, you don't really have to touch the brake. It does it for you and we'll do it in the most efficient way to put energy back into the battery. That works exactly the same in the i5. The brakes on hybrid and electric cars can feel a little bit

electric cars can feel a little bit grabby, but these aren't bad. Be interesting to see what they're compared to the 520i. We just have normal friction brakes. See, I'm on a country road. Let's see what the handling's . Here is a rather tight corner. Can I just chuck it in and it'll go around? , I've got the regen

go around? , I've got the regen braking. , it knows there's a corner coming up because of the satnav. It's linked and it automatically started to slow me down, but I went around that corner at 49 mph on a 50. It just held the road really well. I think the added weight of this hybrid will go against it

weight of this hybrid will go against it if you're really pushing it. But at that point, you are going to be breaking the speed limit. So, I think to most people, yeah, this happens pretty blooming fine as far as I'm concerned. I'll be driving the other cars later on in this video to see how they compare, but I've already found a few things that I don't

see how they compare, but I've already found a few things that I don't about the 530e. I've got all the cars safety systems on, so if I get too close to the white line, it starts to shake the wheel and get a bit cross. Now, modern cars all come with various speed limit warning, lane keeping warning, and all that stuff to keep you safe. But sometimes they can be

warning, and all that stuff to keep you safe. But sometimes they can be annoying. So, I'm going to try and turn them off now in this car. I think it might be quite difficult to do while driving, but this is often the case and you have to do it every time you restart the car. God, where's the button? Hey BMW, turn off

lane keep assist. There is currently no driver assistance system active, which I can deactivate. Hey BMW, turn off speed limit warning. Okay, I will deactivate the Brilliant. Hey BMW,

turn off lane departure warning. Are you sure that you want to deactivate the lane departure warning? Yes, I am very sure cuz I'm going to have to go around this bag. There we go. See, that was handy. Just

There we go. See, that was handy. Just in the nick of time. , that was close. Almost engaged the engine. Okay, so this is a real test for the car suspension cuz this is one of the worst roads in Oxford. It's horrendous. But even though this car doesn't have the adaptive dampers, which I'd normally fit on

dampers, which I'd normally fit on something this, absolutely fine. Even when I hit a massive pothole and we are on some big wheels. There is one thing I've noticed about this hybrid though. It does feel quite a heavy car, but then I guess it is. It weighs

in at 2,000 kg. Another thing that I've noticed that I'm not so pleased about is that some of the bits feel a bit cheap for a 5 series. just the feel of that, the indicators just it's plasticky. It's some Japanese car from the '90s. I'm telling you now, the

indicator on my old 2002 X5 feels more expensive than that one. But thankfully, there's nothing cheap feeling about the way this car drives. It might not be sporty, but the extra weight hasn't hindered comfort at all. At this point, we were about to reach the motorway. So, I swapped into the 520i for a few miles

I swapped into the 520i for a few miles to compare it back to back with the plug-in hybrid. And I immediately noticed a difference. Just feels a little bit more sporty, more responsive. It feels lighter than the plug-in hybrid because it is it's significantly lighter. And as a result, it's just has a slightly nicer feel to it. And even

a slightly nicer feel to it. And even though it feels sportier, the suspension feels just as comfortable. So, this is a pretty poor bit of road and it feels absolutely fine to me. One thing I am noticing though compared to the plug-in hybrid is obviously I've got my engine wearing the whole time and you do just