Ford Explains How To Best Use Its Plug-In Hybrid Models

Ford is not the first manufacturer to launch such a campaign, because PHEVs can't be run like normal ICE cars.

By: Andrei Nedelea

Feb 25, 2021 at 7:47am ET

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Plug-in hybrids can be a great compromise solution until more people can include fully-electric vehicles into their lives. They are a necessary evil on the road to all new vehicles becoming EVs, yet in order to extract the maximum possible efficiency out of one, owners of gas cars need to know several key things.

Ford has created this campaign to inform owners and potential owners of its own plug-in hybrid models how to best use them. The Blue Oval has created separate videos detailing charging at home and in public, how regenerative braking works, what the driving modes do, why you should install a wall box at home (if you can) and how to use the app that accompanies its latest models.

The issue with PHEVs is that they come nowhere near deliverin the claimed efficiency unless you drive them exactly how they are meant to be driven. You can't drive PHEVs like a regular hybrid because while they can recharge their battery while driving, it's best you charge the battery separately.

These videos (posted below) don’t just apply to Ford PHEVs, though. They contain useful information for anybody who wants to learn more about how to make the most of what a plug-in hybrid has to offer, regardless of brand. BMW also has a similar set of videos, if you want to check them out. They also go into detail about how to drive the cars in order to keep things as frugal as possible, how to charge, as well as what the different driving modes do and when to use them.