Will a Plug-In Hybrid Save You Money?
We've calculated the cost of owning three PHEVs from BMW, Hyundai, and Toyota, comparing them with their gas, hybrid, or EV counterparts
With gas prices rising, you might be interested in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), which bridges the gap between an electric car and a hybrid. However, Consumer Reports found that it’s unlikely that a PHEV will save most drivers money during the first few years of ownership, if ever.
PHEVs combine a gas engine, hybrid drivetrain, and a larger battery that can also be plugged in to add an electric-only driving range that’s usually between 20 and 40 miles. If you don’t plug in, it works just like a traditional hybrid. (Consumer Reports has purchased and tested most of the major PHEVs currently on the market.)
A PHEV usually costs more up front to purchase and less to fuel than a comparable gas-only or hybrid car, but the math has changed in recent years. As have the choices available to car buyers.
- Cost Comparisons: PHEV vs. Gas PHEV vs. Hybrid PHEV vs. Electric
Photo: Ford Photo: Ford
Below, you will find comparisons of purchase and fueling costs for popular PHEV models and their gas-only, hybrid, and EV counterparts. For the purposes of these comparisons, we assumed that drivers put 12,000 miles a year on their car, and we used SAE standards to estimate how often each vehicle would use electric power. We assumed a blend of city and highway driving in optimal temperatures for electric range, used the latest fuel and energy prices available in late March 2026, and chose gas and electric prices for states with energy costs that represent most of the country.
Our comparisons do not include maintenance and repair costs, although Consumer Reports’ surveys show that PHEVs and EVs together have about 80 percent more problems on average than gas-only cars, and that traditional hybrids have about 15 percent fewer problems than gas-only cars. Consumer Reports members will be able to see exclusive reliability and owner satisfaction ratings for each vehicle listed.
To customize these numbers for your situation, use our online calculator. To better understand the lingo, read our guide to hybrid, EV, and PHEV terms.
PHEV vs. Gas: Hyundai Tucson
The winner: Neither
The Hyundai Tucson PHEV has a 33-mile all-electric range on a full charge, and it gets 31 mpg when that charge is depleted. If you plug it in every night and have a relatively short daily commute, you could spend much of your time driving on electric power. We calculated that a Tucson PHEV would cost between $1,000 and $1,500 a year in total gas and electricity costs. Sounds good, right?
The problem is that a Tucson PHEV SEL AWD costs $8,525 more to purchase than a comparable gas-only Tucson SEL AWD that gets 26 mpg overall in our tests. If you live in Florida, it will take the PHEV 12 years to pay off that difference. If you live in Massachusetts, it will take over four decades.
The wild card here is the Tucson Hybrid, which is not a plug-in hybrid, and offers savings over the gas-only and PHEV Tuscon models. The hybrid costs about $1,600 more up front than a comparable gas-only model, and is about $7,000 cheaper than the Tucson PHEV. The hybrid got 35 mpg overall in our tests, which means it’s more efficient than a Tucson PHEV that has run out of charge. A Tucson PHEV would take decades (if ever) in fuel savings to pay off the initial price difference over the hybrid. But compared to a gas-only Tucson, the Tucson Hybrid starts paying for itself in less than 4 years.
PHEV vs. Hybrid: Toyota Prius
The winner: Hybrid
The Prius Plug-In Hybrid has an impressive 39-mile all-electric range, but it only gets 43 mpg overall compared to the regular Prius’ 51 mpg. In addition, the PHEV costs $5,505 more to purchase than the regular Prius hybrid. Even if you rarely use the PHEV’s gas engine, the payback period is still decades long. In Massachusetts, the hybrid will always cost less overall.
PHEV vs. EV: BMW X5 and iX
The winner: EV
The iX EV will always be cheaper to own than the PHEV model. Even though the BMW X5 PHEV has an impressive EPA-estimated all-electric range of 39 miles, it only got 21 mpg overall in our fuel economy tests. Its electric drivetrain is less efficient than the all-electric BMW iX, which actually costs a few hundred dollars less than a comparable X5 PHEV.
