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Cars are like horses: people will soon realise EVs are just better, claims VW boss
(www.autoexpress.co.uk)
this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2026
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Yes. Even though Toyota hybrids are really efficient and low maintenance, with EVs you just plug in when you get home. No fuel. No oil changes. It’s like a toaster; it just works. My EV drivetrain has something like 5 moving parts.
After 150,000km or so you need to have the coolant and gearcase fluids changed, and brake fluid flushed based on age.
As long as manufacturers are building the electronic parts to last a reasonable time (and that I expect to change to serve the dealer networks) it’s much less work owning an EV.
Eventually the battery has to be replaced, and that can be a big expense. But yeah, over the life of the car, the maintenance should be lower, and as the technology improves the costs will hopefully come down.
I work from home so my 13-year-old GTI hasn’t crossed 60k miles yet. If/when I ever replace it, it will likely be with an EV. We also have a RAV4 hybrid, and we’re just now feeling the pain of the higher gas prices.
The battery is a spectre I’m not looking forward to.
The GTI is a car; the RAV4 is an appliance. Hopefully you can keep it around for a while. The imperfections of mechanical, combustion driven cars are feedback that make the driving experience pleasurable. But with the level of traffic in my neighborhood and fuel prices, I just want to get there cheaply most days.
I agree! I absolutely love my GTI. My boys used to ask me what my favorite car was, and I’d always tell them, “you’re sitting in it.” That thing is fun to drive, gets 35mpg, and I’ve packed 3 people and baseball gear in it for a weekend travel tournament. It’s the perfect car for me.
Now, if VW brings an EV GTI to the US, I’m totally down for that. Right now, I’m looking hard at an Ioniq 5N, but I can’t justify it. I barely use the GTI, and it’s paid off.
Wait, newer hybrids don't need oil changes? That's awesome. I have a 2007 Prius and it definitely needs oil changes. Still gets 46 miles to the gallon (~6L/100km), though, so I can't complain about that.
Absolutely not. ICE vehicles need fluid changes. Arguably more frequently than non-hybrid if they’re not run often as the oil will get contaminated with water.