2015 model, not sure of the range

[biccys]

So, first post...

We're REALLY seriously considering a PHEV as a replacement for my gut wrenchingly thirsty Kia Cee'd estate. (I just need enough room for a drum kit!) I currently am lucky to get over 35mpg in my 1.6 diesel estate (although its an auto so I shouldn't be surprised) plus I pay a shit tonne in RFL every month. My daily commute is roughly 12 miles each way through a town (Lincoln, if that means anything?!)

I saw a PHEV today, ex demo, 9000miles, lots of the toys includig electric boot closer, sat nav and full leather seats on a 15 plate for £26995. Is that about right?!

There were lots of PHEV's on the forecourt for exactly the same price but they differed in spec, age and mileage. Which is the one to go for?! I'm brand new to the EV game so would like all inputs to be as dumbed down as possible......!

I'd be a private buyer, no company car allowance, and MAY be able to charge at work in the future. But no guarantee.

HELP!!

TIA everyone!

 

[jaapv]

It is not that simple.
The basic thing is, that if one does the legally required test run, one will get the figures that Mitsubishi claims. In summer at any rate.

BUT:

This car, by virtue of its complicated system, is highly sensitive to usage. It is just as easy to get a near- infinite Mpg out of it if one is able to charge regularly, within the (variable) mileage of electrical operation as it is to get a slurping sound from your fuel tank.
However I think you will save a lot of petrol on your daily commute. City traffic is the sweet spot for EVs.
On the other hand, if you drive hundreds of miles of motorway at speed, it will get pretty thirsty, far more so than any sleek Turbodiesel, and you will be disappointed. You would need to recharge every 15 miles, were you trying to keep it on electrical power -impossible over say 70 Mph anyway.
And then there is the impact of the weight of your right foot.

So if you use the car mainly for your 12 mile commute with only occasional forays into longer journeys, it should work out well.

And do make sure that this is the type of car you want. Lots of space, go-anywhere, any time, super-smooth drive, but not made to to boast its looks, or surround you by hand-polished Walnut Burr and Conolly leather, or scrape your bottom on the road at 150 Mph.

I would go for the highest specified car you can find. Basically it is rather utilitarian -even the newer model- and the fun (and occasionally frustration ) is in the toys provided.

 

[greendwarf]

£27k for the top of the range sounds good - less than I paid for a base model new in 2014 - and in the flat Fens you should manage a 24 miles commute on EV most days. Even then its worth burning some petrol occasionally as the car insists on topping up the fuel with 20 litres every few months to keep it fresh. But you will have factor in travelling to gigs etc., presumably on petrol, when consumption is going to be no better than your current car to see whether this would outweigh the daily savings.

HOWEVER, you don't say how old your current car is and what you will get for it. Even a difference of £10k is a lot of diesel & RFL. especially if you are funding it by borrowing

Like you I was a private buyer but my Avensis estate was 16 years old, starting to need replacement parts (last was a radiator) and only gave me 27mpg on a run. We needed a replacement and my wife had half the money earning little in the bank and I could afford the balance as monthly payments interest free over a year - so I am quids in (no RFL or Congestion Charge, free parking in Westminster and no petrol, only EV, for months on end!) and a brand new car with 4WD etc.

 

[Barnfather]

If you can charge at home every night, you should just about do your commute on EV, with only a tiny bit of fuel use - depending on your driving style. Your profile fits well with the ideal use of the car.

Mine doesn't, in that I have a 25 mile commute twice a day, so I get nearly one way on EV. I took a reading the other day just before arriving at work and I was getting 546mpg! Of course, on the way back I was getting about 34mpg, but overall after a few weeks of ownership that is averaging out at around 46-47mpg, which isn't that far different from my previous car and that wasn't a 2 tonne SUV!

Of course, longer journeys will be worse for fuel economy, but still a fairly respectable 35mpg for the size/weight of the car.

 

[maby]

I'll second everything said above - your daily 24 mile commute should use little fuel in the winter and very likely none in the summer. Longer runs should be no worse that your current car and may be a bit better. If your objective is to save money, then you have to look at the cost of the changeover - £27k is quite a lot of money for a car - does your current car actually need to be replaced, or are you just looking for the savings? 24 miles is burning less than a gallon in your current car - less than £4 per day - and the charge of the PHEV will cost you £1 - so you'll be saving £3 per day in fuel consumption. Assuming that you do that run about 200 times each year, you might save about £600 - if you keep the car for ten years you may not save much more than £6000! You really need to want the car for itself, not just for the saving in running costs. If the running costs were exactly the same as your current car, would you change over?

 

[lg1726]

You don't say how old your current car is, but I replaced a 9 year old SAAB 93 estate and I was getting c250/300 miles on a tank @ 60litres latterly!!!

I've had the PHEV for 6 months now, done 4350miles with over 80% of that in EV, the rest taken up by a couple of 400mile round trips pretty much. Now, I know many will say that the PHEV is not the most fuel efficient when using petrol, but for me, compared to my trusty old SAAB, it's awesome!! I have filled the 40litre tank up only 4 times in the last 6 months with each 400mile trip using around an entire tankful, the most recent fill-up only last week, about 50 miles ago, so have really only used 120 litres so far.

In EV it's great and at c80p a day to charge, you should mange the vast majority of your regular commute on EV over the year, but even when using petrol, it's still likely to be cheaper than your current car overall. If you can charge up at work, even better!!

I know I still have the cost of the monthly lease, but in terms of milage costs, for me the maths is as follows:

SAAB - 4350 miles @ 17 x 60litres @ £1 per litre = £1020 for 4350 miles (previous VED >£500 per year)

PHEV - 4350 miles @ (£30 per month charge costs = £180) + (4 x 40litres @ £1 per litre = £160) = £340 for 4350 miles (current VED £0)

As the meerkat says - simples!

That said, my SAAB was 9 years old and had reached the stage where it needed work done each MOT and the fuel consumption was brutal - we had already decided to sell up two 9 year old cars and replace with one cost efficient alternative, so the PHEV was a no brainer!