Wow, that’s even worse than I
Wow, that’s even worse than I thought (in terms of all electric range). It could be fine for some drivers, for certain, but I am advocate for “strong” PHEVs (they need to be able to cover the average daily drive of the regions and users they are sold to/in. In Europe, I think people tend to have shorter average daily drives than in the US, so the first Mazda PHEVs may be better suited to that market. But in the US where people’s average daily drives are longer (35-45 miles seems to be the common figure I have seen over the years in countless studies and publications), Mazda’s PHEVs sound like they may be “weak”. The Kia Sorento PHEV is rated for 32 miles on a charge for comparison, and that is attained with a smaller battery (13.8 kWh on the Kia vs 17.8 in the Mazda). So either Mazda is doing something wrong, or more likely they are not allowing drivers to tap more than about 12 kWH of their battery (i.e. that’s extremely conservative as no more than 2-2.5 kWh would need to be held in reserve). I expect if one drives the Mazda gently though, you could get better range (just like I am able to get 41+ miles on a charge in my Sorento PHEV when temps are above 60 F). Still, if 23 miles or so is all you need, then the Mazda might be perfect.