So, my 2015 PHEV is coming up to 2 years old, has done nearly 35000 miles and battery is already down to 88% of original capacity according to EVBatMon. I've not been impressed with it off road, and am aware that Mitsubishi appear to have forgotten all they knew about SUV design when they designed this car (See threads passim ad nauseam regarding cross-axle problems, inability to supply enough power to an axle to get moving when other axle spinning, no active front differential etc, etc). I'm not after low range gearbox and locking diff territory, just the ability to cope with the terrain my old Freelander 2 coped with.
However, I have been impressed by the fuel efficiency, space and general comfort of the vehicle. I have seen the video of the Ground Tourer concept released at the Paris motor show last year, and it looks very interesting. More specifically, it has much better battery range of around 70 miles, an active front differential and 2 separate electric motors on the rear axle, which should go some considerable way to tackling the the problems listed above. However, concepts often never see the transition to production.
I reckon I've only got another 3 years of life left in my current car before the battery has become a problem, although if I'm lucky it will be longer. I can't tell yet as I only got EVBatMon a few months ago and therefore only have 1 real data point. Thus, I don't know how quickly the battery will degrade from now, but having lost 12% of battery capacity in just under 2 years is clearly a concern. What I'm unsure about is what options Mitsubishi will have for me in say 3 years time. I certainly wouldn't buy another Outlander given it's appalling implementation of 4WD. Has anyone heard whether the Ground Tourer is going to go ahead? If so, please God let the exterior look less like it's been beaten senseless with the ugly stick! Or indeed whether there will be other plug in hybrids with better 4WD design? If not, I suspect I'm going to have to go back to Land Rover next time.
However, I have been impressed by the fuel efficiency, space and general comfort of the vehicle. I have seen the video of the Ground Tourer concept released at the Paris motor show last year, and it looks very interesting. More specifically, it has much better battery range of around 70 miles, an active front differential and 2 separate electric motors on the rear axle, which should go some considerable way to tackling the the problems listed above. However, concepts often never see the transition to production.
I reckon I've only got another 3 years of life left in my current car before the battery has become a problem, although if I'm lucky it will be longer. I can't tell yet as I only got EVBatMon a few months ago and therefore only have 1 real data point. Thus, I don't know how quickly the battery will degrade from now, but having lost 12% of battery capacity in just under 2 years is clearly a concern. What I'm unsure about is what options Mitsubishi will have for me in say 3 years time. I certainly wouldn't buy another Outlander given it's appalling implementation of 4WD. Has anyone heard whether the Ground Tourer is going to go ahead? If so, please God let the exterior look less like it's been beaten senseless with the ugly stick! Or indeed whether there will be other plug in hybrids with better 4WD design? If not, I suspect I'm going to have to go back to Land Rover next time.
