Are PHEVs useful in long range trips?

Because of the current cost of fuel and the relatively low mileage that can be travelled using a gallon, more and more people take in to consideration the purchase of hybrid vehicles that will not only reduce the fuel consumption, but also reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the pollution levels. The currently available Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are not very efficient when it comes to battery autonomy. Most prototypes have a twenty or thirty miles range they can reach without needing to be recharged, this also being the way they are classified. For example, a PHEV-20 is a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle that has an autonomy of 20 miles.

The vehicle with the biggest autonomy people can buy at the moment, is a PHEV-60, but there is a concept that reaches 120 miles with a full charge. This means that you cannot travel long distances with this type of hybrid using only electric power unless you stop and recharge. But it is still cost efficient even if you use it for a part of the distance thinking that you've driven that distance paying only a fifth of the price you would have paid using gasoline. But how many of us drive more than 20 or 30 miles every day? For our daily trips to work and supermarkets, that will definitely be enough. In the urban agglomerations, cars don't reach high speeds and they can permanently be powered by the electric motor, leading to situations when you drive your car around town without using a single drop of gasoline. It is estimated that for every ten miles of autonomy, you have to pay one thousand dollars, but the batteries will also increase their size and weight. Until further developments will be made in battery technology, the PHEV's autonomy cannot be increased dramatically, making it unpractical for long trips, but perfect for short ones.