Been out there over a month... test drive review?

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Forum

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boyelectric

Active member
Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Messages
26
I haven't seen an actual review / test drive of the actual production model yet? Has anyone seen articles yet? I am keenly interested in a critical review of the EV performance, details like ICE heater or resistive, etc.
 
The problem is that it is released in japan so all the reviews of Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are available in Japanese.
 
Right... and surely someone here is bi-lingual? Actually, if someone can just find an article, Google translate service can do well enough for us to get an idea of how well it performs.
 
The Outlander plug-in is starting to be rolled out in other countries, ones that speak English which is a huge advantage to us :)

Here are some first drive reviews of the Mitsubishii Outlander PHEV.

This one is of a test mule, so not the production version, but an Outlander fitted with the PHEV components and battery pack thrown in the trunk lol
http://cars.aol.co.uk/2012/12/06/first-drive-review-mitsubishi-outlander-phev/

A great quote from Mitsubishi:
“If the next generation of battery-powered cars is ever going to become truly mainstream, it’s vital that they become ordinary,” he said. “The handful of plug-in hybrids that we’ve seen thus far have been showcase cars; four-wheeled statements of technological advancement for their manufacturers, and of environmental awareness for their drivers, rather than practical, usable family machines for everyone."

And finally, a video review of the Outlander PHEV in english!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm_9eNthMT0

So far, the 2014 Outlander has been very well received overseas which is a good thing since the Outlander is a very important car for Mitsubishi in the States. Too bad we wont get the 2.2L DI-D diesel engine here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MgVFt_jLLo&feature=endscreen&NR=1

That is a copy of the promo DVD for the upcoming Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, or PHEV.
 
I think that youtube video is a review of the standard Outlander, not the PHEV version. Also, I am nervous about using a review of a test mule version, since production versions may have very important differences.
 
Nice review, nothing new on specs in it but still interesting.

Its nice to know that Mitsubishi Outlander handles the snow so well especially where I'm from so that is a huge plus.
 
boyelectric said:
I think that youtube video is a review of the standard Outlander, not the PHEV version. Also, I am nervous about using a review of a test mule version, since production versions may have very important differences.

I didn't know test mule versions are different than the cars in production. What key differences are there usually between the two?
Do all car companies do this or just Mitsubishi?
 
All manufacturers use test mules, and they may be very similar, or very different from the actual production model... it is totally variable. Sometimes the mule is the previous year's model, with the upcoming model year's key changes implemented. Sometimes the specs are different. In the cas of electric, or PHEV vehicles, the batteries may be very different in the production model, etc. Test mules are a "proof of concept" vehicle, and manufacturers may have dozens of versions, as they continue to tweak the model before actual production. All we can do is listen when they say things like, "this model is very close to the production version," or words like that.

Wait and see!

It seems like the Outlander PHEV test mule review may be very similar to the production vehicle, but am wary of relying on it as gospel.
 
boyelectric said:
All manufacturers use test mules, and they may be very similar, or very different from the actual production model... it is totally variable. Sometimes the mule is the previous year's model, with the upcoming model year's key changes implemented. Sometimes the specs are different. In the cas of electric, or PHEV vehicles, the batteries may be very different in the production model, etc. Test mules are a "proof of concept" vehicle, and manufacturers may have dozens of versions, as they continue to tweak the model before actual production. All we can do is listen when they say things like, "this model is very close to the production version," or words like that.

Wait and see!

It seems like the Outlander PHEV test mule review may be very similar to the production vehicle, but am wary of relying on it as gospel.

Thank you for explaining. It seems odd the mules can be very different. Isn't it in some ways false advertising to the consumer if companies aren't forced to use the same model as the one in production?
 
How reliable is the new Mitsubishi Outlander Plug in. I have read that there some issues that need to be resolved does anyone know the extenet of these issues?
 
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