A plug-in hybrid seems like an ideal car for big city dwellers……. because you can go short distances on electric power alone. If you live and work in the same city, that means you could commute and run errands without using a drop of petrol or releasing any polluting emissions from your exhaust pipe. But, most urban dwellers tend to live in condominiums or apartments, and plug-in hybrids, well, need to be plugged in to charge.
Unless your building already has a charging point/wall box to plug in, living in an apartment or condominium can be a significant issue to owning a plug-in hybrid.
While you can charge a plug-in hybrid from any wall outlet, most manufacturers recommend that you don’t use extension cords. So, unless you can park your plug-in hybrid next to an outlet, it looks like you are out of luck.
While people in houses can charge their plug-in hybrids overnight, apartment/condominium dwellers may just have to do it during the day. And, even if your plug-in hybrid runs out of power before you make it to a charging station, you are still okay: The plug-in hybrid’s petrol engine will kick on and you can still get where you need to go with any issue…just with petrol being used.
