Maybe. The Volt was a good car. Positive reviews. People just didn’t want it. You could chalk that up to a failure by GM.
But I think it’s a market indicator. An in between product with too much drivetrain complexity, too high of a price, and the downsides of a combustion engine.
The RAV4 Prime has got to be the most appealing current model, and it starts at $38k. The normal RAV4 is $26k.
The added maintenance is minor in practice. The ICE in a PHEV like the Volt is only used for non-routine trips, the rest are done on battery. When the ICE is engaged it is buffered by the battery and runs at a low stress cycle operating mainly as a serial hybrid. In a given year, the number of miles put on the ICE are surprisingly low. It keeps track of that on reminds you of oil changes based on the miles used. For me that is around once every 2 years.
