Climate

Driving and charging habits vary widely and we already know that the various test cycles are either badly designed or simply a good faith best effort to replicate driving patterns. Buying a PHEV and never plugging it in, with a heavy foot, or using it exclusively for highway driving, will of course drive up the petrol consumption. This shouldn’t be a surprise. They’re better than a non-EV.

They’re especially good for people who do a lot of city driving and for many commuters too.

Well on average, people are dumb, and the average goober probably doesn't know how to properly manage the use of a PHEV to get good mileage. It's a learning process, and the cars should come with instructions about it taped to the dashboard so that goobers will notice.

Basically you need a charger at home, and you use the EV mode for city driving, and the gas engine for highway trips. You can get more complicated to max your efficiency but the basics are simple enough for the average goober to learn. When I got one, the dealer knew a lot less about the vehicle than I did. They didn't tell me how to do anything.