blweeden said:
I'm going to check one out at a dealer in the States on Saturday. I'm trying to figure a suitable replacement for our Subaru Outback. And let me tell you, there's lot of people out there that LOVE their Subarus, and I can largely see why. We could end up getting another one, but this vehicle looks pretty neat. One thing I can't tell from the forum though, is, does this vehicle inspire fans? Because I think that's a good sign for a car.
Brian
For sure the prospective from US is far different from EU
I'm not sure if there are many "fan boys" for Mitsubishi or Subaru in EU
I would bet that in EU, people love more Germans cars, and other EU made cars
Yes, Toyota is appreciated for reliability in some EU markets, but reliability is not something that make people "fan" of the brand ... maybe it create loyalty, but be "fan", in my view is more about the "car style and the driving experience".
I got my PHEV, since 2nd hand was cheap enough, and it was looking a nice introduction to the EV world with an interesting impact on cheap commuting, and the bonus to avoid visiting a tank station on a regular base
After 2y of ownership, I'm glad I found a good official service near me (having a good reliable official service , nearby, it is something that every Outlander PHEV should look for before make the decision to own one of these PHEV) ... and as well, it did help that my car still look "young", for having already 140k km, the interior does not look at all it got so much "life" ... and so far zero issue ... and for what I can read here, except for battery degradation that is more a philosophical concern, there is no know issue with this car ... it is looking designed to be as reliable as possible
Back to be a fan .... "car style and the driving experience" ... I think the Outlander fail badly ... the style is subjective ... but this car is not really a fun car to drive ... compared to a BMW x3 (which unfortunately is not available in PHEV form) ... the BMW style and drive experience is way ahead of the Outlander PHEV
PS: Even my previous Dacia Duster was more fun to drive then this Outlander ... and the previous BMW X1 was a different league about "driving experience"
PPS: After few months owning a Outlander PHEV I found myself driving like a "grand-pa" ... luckily I still have a BMW 335i cabrio for still remember what does mean "to drive"