blweeden wrote:
Well that's interesting. And concerning!
I wonder what the reason for that is. It seems that the reliability of Mitsu products has been OK from some data I've seen, so ... curious.
I see you're a potential future owner, so maybe it hasn't warded you off entirely yet

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Brian
3 words: Federal Tax Credit

I'm actually more of a Toyota guy (if there was a plug-in RAV4 for 2-3 thousand more, I would get it). Whenever US gets the 13.8 kWh battery, that credit rises to $6,711, plus another $1,500 state (California), meaning at least an $8,000 difference to anything else that doesn't qualify. Also, as you mentioned, the reliability of the Outlander has been relatively good.
msmatt wrote:
Bottom line, if Subaru offered a PHEV it would have been my first choice. However, the Outlander is basically the only choice in this segment and it is also very good. It has been refined over a number of years, and there is a lot of information available if you have issues.
2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid will be available end of this month:
https://www.subaru.com/vehicles/crosstrek/hybrid.htmlSorry, I meant Outback PHEV! The Crosstrek is a little small, and it didn't give much improvement in fuel economy the first time they tried it as a hybrid. I agree, a plug-in RAV4 would probably be quite popular. Too bad Toyota mostly skipped PHEV's and jumped to the hydrogen fuel cell Mirai.