Thoughts after 3 mths use.

Hi Everyone
I’ve had my new MY19 4HS Outlander for 3 mths now and I thought I’d share my thoughts so far.
I'm currently also running a ‘15 Mondeo but will be losing that soon as I move into retirement. My wife has a bad back so easier to get into and out of than a saloon
I also got the car because I’ll be doing more local mileage with the occasional long run and I find it ideal for that. I really enjoy driving it and I love the technology although I usually leave it set to Normal, but accept the challenge of not touching the brake pedal.

My main gripes though are :

The infotainment system, the Screen is too small for easy reading when driving. I don’t like being tied to the phone for GPS and I don’t find Google maps or Waze clear and easy to read. Can anyone recommend another GPS.

They tie you to the phone but don’t give you anywhere to put it, what’s the best solution for that, I don’t like using the cup holders.

If you don’t plug the phone in it nags you for some reason, most times you know you haven't.

No easy to read clock, I shouldn’t have to look for it.

No volume knob mainly for passengers, a pet hate of mine is the move to touch screens in modern cars, you have to concentrate on accurately finding the icon rather than feeling for a button or knob.

It doesn’t remember it’s last screen, if you prefer the energy flow screen you have to go find it every time.

I can’t seem to figure out the tailgate, this is keyless but I can’t seem to get the tailgate to open without opening the doors first with the key. I’ve pressed the tailgate keyless button but just get endless beeps.

Adaptive Cruise control seems harsh and unsure, this may be me as the Mondeo isn’t adaptive and doesn’t brake to drop the speed and maintain the distance.
This last point is also unfair, the Mondeo is rock solid on the road and with positive handling and the Outlander isn’t, I know they are totally different vehicles with very different weight distribution but very noticeable when you get out of one and into the other.

Anyway apart from that a great comfortable, spacious car and mostly ideal for me.

TonyR said:

I can’t seem to get the tailgate to open without opening the doors first with the key. I’ve pressed the tailgate keyless button but just get endless beeps.

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I've got the previous model (see below), but you can't open the tailgate with the key-fob buttons unless the car is first unlocked. From inside the car, the tailgate button on the dash will only operate if the car is 'off' or in P (I guess this is intended as a safety feature). And there's also a button low in the central dash that disables automatic tailgate opening entirely (and it isn't too obvious which mode it's in!)

But if you operate the tailgate button on a locked car that is enabled for keyless entry the car will unlock and the tailgate will open without beep.

You probably know this, but on my older, 2014, version, you have to press the boot lift button twice quickly, to get it to operate, after it's unlocked.
I don't know if the newer model is the same.

tarq said:

You probably know this, but on my older, 2014, version, you have to press the boot lift button twice quickly, to get it to operate, after it's unlocked.
I don't know if the newer model is the same.

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Using the fob? I did not know that so thanks! I get right up to the taillift, press and press until it works assuming the infrared is pants!

VillageIdiotDan said:

tarq said:

You probably know this, but on my older, 2014, version, you have to press the boot lift button twice quickly, to get it to operate, after it's unlocked.
I don't know if the newer model is the same.

Click to expand...

Using the fob? I did not know that so thanks! I get right up to the taillift, press and press until it works assuming the infrared is pants!

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Not at all - in fact the range is quite long. Actually it is long enough to be dangerous if you are not careful - a few months ago I was returning to our PHEV in a supermarket car park with a trolly full of shopping. Given that the powered tailgate is quite slow, I sent it the "open" command while I was still quite a long way away - not noticing the car that was driving along the aisle towards my car and very close to the line of parked cars. The PHEV tailgate swings out quite a long way as it opens and the poor driver had to do an emergency swerve to avoid clipping it as he passed.

Providing the key is in range it opens the doors and tailgate when the left hand button is pressed and locks all the doors when the right hand 'keyless' button is pressed. I had them the wrong way round.

VillageIdiotDan said:

Using the fob? I did not know that so thanks! I get right up to the taillift, press and press until it works assuming the infrared is pants!

Click to expand...

IR only works via line of sight. The fob uses radio waves

If you 'open' the tailgate by pressing the button under the tailgate handle it both unlocks the car and opens the tailgate in one move. (2014 model)

If when closed you press the 'nipple' to the right of the open button it locks the whole car which is useful when arriving home grabbing something from the boot and then locking the car.

Having said that we gave up on the power tailgate over 3 years ago as we found the tailgate faster if opened manually and allowing its springs to assist! Same instructions as above apply except for adding a short manual lift to get the tailgate started on its way.

Indeed. What with the warning beeps followed by the slow, majestic rise, it is much quicker to open it by hand. The only time it's not is when you manage to successfully open it from some distance away so that it's open when you get there. But then closing it automatically is a pain if you want to lock it afterwards :roll:

I bought mine in June. Overall it's good SUV but I found the engine noise when not in EV mode, quite bordering. It sounds like the gears are cranking quite unevenly once in a while. It's hard to reproduce it if you bring it to the dealer. The dealer advisor said, Oh that's just engine noise. My Lexus Rx450h is so quiet.

The PHEV has no gears. There's a direct drive between the engine and the front wheels that can only operate above 45 mph (parallel mode), when the engine revs are directly related to the car's speed (like a fixed-gear bike). At other times, when not in pure electric drive, the engine acts as a generator to supplement battery power (serial mode) and the engine revs are determined by the power you demand with your right foot - if you step heavily on the accelerator, the engine revs will rise dramatically, which provides a marked contrast to the relative silence of pure electric mode.

Wishing you all a super solstice and a perfect perihelion

Well, actually, it has gear boxes, fixed ones to reduce the electric motors. What is doesn't have is shifting gears. That means that the sound reaction is different from a conventional car. Our ears and mind are used to the engine pitch changing/increasing with speed. With the PHEV it changes/increases with power demand. Quite disconcerting, until you get used to it.
Another thing is that some drivers have a habit of using the accelerator as an on-off switch, fully depressing it instead of regulating. A conventional car will only react by a slightly deeper engine note, the PHEV will go to full revs. In both cases one is wasting petrol without effect, BTW.

Drove London to Birmingham & back today along the M1 - mostly @ 75mph. At that speed I could hardly make out the engine sound over the wind noise (I have roof bars), the winter tyres and the heater fan. If I had had the radio/CD on I wouldn't have heard a thing from the ICE - perhaps I'm going deaf in my old age. :lol: Merry Christmas Everybody (as per Slade)