A
Anonymous
Guest
All,
Been reading these forums with great interest over the last 12 months and decided to post some ramblings here on my experiences with the Outlander PHEV, particularly towing a caravan.
General Ramblings
1. Yeah, it definitely beeps a lot!
2. I went for the 4hs and most of the 4hs features I turn off! (such as the LDW).
3. It annoys me that there is no 3 digit MPG display (although did anyone else spot the hilarious "feature" for the 2016 models which now include 3 digit display!) - I think they need to release a software revision to fix this for current owners.
4. I have recently purchased the Hatchbag boot liner for the Outlander. I will post separately about the success of this once I fit it. It was massively expensive and it had better be worth it.
5. I have experienced the turlte crawl and screaming engine once so far - this was going up a steep hill with a caravan, but failing to drive fast into the hill for that initial momentum, this caused the car to crawl almost straight away. It made it up the hill fine, but seemed to take forever and I was constantly worried it would start to roll back. The next time I went up the hill, I had a lot more initial momentum heading onto the hill and it was fine. I think the hill was 12%-18% gradient.
6. Before arriving on any caravan site, I ensure there is sufficient charge to cruise silently and avoid the whining!
7. I bought the http://www.besen-group.com/type1-to-type2-32a-ev-charging-cable-j1772-to-iec-62196-2_p30.html that was recommended on this forum. I got the free bag as well! Excellent customer service, arrived in a timely manner, have used it once, no issues. In total, cost just over £100 (I think £30-£40 of that was delivery). But overall, cheaper than buying in the UK
8. I wish Tesla did a SUV with 300 mile range! I love the Outlander, but 300 mile range - that suits me better! or maybe an Outlander with 300 mile range - perfect!
9. The single greatest feature for me is the pre-heat! Everything else comes 2nd to this one feature! - We take the dogs out at 0530 every morning and its lovely to get into a car without frost on the windscreen and the car at a comfortable temperature.
10. We don't have a drive and its street parking only, so the ability to park outside the house and charge is few and far between. However, when we do charge outside, I use a weatherproof cable reel (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-HLP2013-2IP-Outdoor-Weatherproof/dp/B004R255VQ/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451471675&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=wetaher+proof+cable+reel) and thread the cable through a 5m length trunking (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Core-Cable-Protector-Hazard-Yellow/dp/B004DPDI48/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1451471717&sr=8-5&keywords=cable+floor+trunking) - threading it through this was a nightmare - had to make several incisions along the way to feed it through. The trunking was necessary as the cable would be laid across a public foot path, so to avoid a law suit, I put it through this trunking (also note bright yellow strips). I also contacted the council to let them know I was doing this. Although I never heard from them, I consider my liability removed as I have done all I can to ensure safety. I thread the cable through the alloys and use a lockable chain to secure them.
11. Some cheeky git has unplugged me in the evening. Whilst annoying, it has only happened once so far.
12. I would love the charging unit for outside, but don't qualify for it as I do not have off street parking.
13. Recently installed and external socket (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007OH1PII?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00) - note the lockable casing. This was better than crushing the cabling in the front door (cable would not fit through letterbox)
14. I have asked our council for a dedicated space outside the house and used the "Council should show support for EV drivers and Environment" line - no response - will try again in the new year
Reason for Purchase - Towing
So onto the main point of this post. Towing a Caravan.
This was the reason we bought the Outlander PHEV. Our existing Car (beloved Citroen Berlingo) simply isn't man enough to tow (anything!). I spent over 6 months researching various models (Sportage, Qashqai, Land Rover etc.) and went for the PHEV. I had certain criteria that had to be met for the car:-
1. Strong enough to tow a caravan (without being too restricted on choice of caravan)
2. Big enough boot for 3 Dogs (2x GreyHounds, 1x Lurcher) - hence the reason I purchased the Hatchbag boot liner - the car is getting valeted due to the mess the dogs have created and then I'll be fitting this.
3. Efficient - both fuel and financially
Whilst the PHEV was a significant initial cost (certainly the Sportage was almost half the cost), I felt the benefits of the PHEV far outweighed the cost of purchasing it - I doubt the saving in Tax, fuel etc will ever make up for the extra cost compared to other makes/models. I'll say now, the sales team were terrible throughout and even the after sales service was terrible. I now deal with another dealer. I won't name and shame, but PM me if you really want to know!
Caravan
We purchased a Bailey Pursuit 530-4 - a great spacious caravan but also incredibly light given its size (compared to other brands/models). Towing this caravan with the PHEV is effortless. You totally forget its there when cruising on the motorway. It has an ALKO system on it, so your options are:-
1. Make sure you purchase the long neck tow bar (the removable one)
2. Have the fixed towbar, but purchase a specific ALKO tow ball to replace the towball on the fixed unit - around £30
For those of you who passed your driving license after 1st Jan 1997 - you will need a B+E license to tow anything that is a combined weight (car and whatever you are towing) of 3500kgs or more.
First Trip Summary
Our first major trip was to the lake district. On the way up, I kept the PHEV in Charge mode for the entire route. I filled up 2.5 times (the last .5 being more of a top up, I reckon I could have got there on 2 - just). We achieved around 31 MPG - which I think is amazing. The only thing I noticed was how hot the car felt (on the bonnet) - no doubt due to charging and towing. Driving through the narrow roads of the lake district with a caravan was a white knuckle ride (particularly as this was my first major trip towing a caravan) - but it was fine, The PHEV is almost as wide as the caravan and that really helped with confidence as if the car is OK, then the caravan should be fine too.
Charging through the caravan is fine, no issues whatsoever. I have charged it through an internal socket (for curiosity reasons) - no issues. We currently charge using a splitter from the electric hookup - also no issues at all. We plan to have an external socket installed, although I think we will continue to use the splitter - it somehow feels less impactful on the caravan, although I'm confident that charging through the external or internal sockets will be just fine.
On the way back, I chose not to keep the car in charge, as having read many posts here, I wanted to experiment different methods suggested. So we set off with a full charge, but did not use Save or Charge mode at any point. 2.5 fill ups and around 31MPG - same as on the way up!
Reverse camera was a big bonus for caravan towing, makes hooking up a lot easier.
I have rambled enough.
Been reading these forums with great interest over the last 12 months and decided to post some ramblings here on my experiences with the Outlander PHEV, particularly towing a caravan.
General Ramblings
1. Yeah, it definitely beeps a lot!
2. I went for the 4hs and most of the 4hs features I turn off! (such as the LDW).
3. It annoys me that there is no 3 digit MPG display (although did anyone else spot the hilarious "feature" for the 2016 models which now include 3 digit display!) - I think they need to release a software revision to fix this for current owners.
4. I have recently purchased the Hatchbag boot liner for the Outlander. I will post separately about the success of this once I fit it. It was massively expensive and it had better be worth it.
5. I have experienced the turlte crawl and screaming engine once so far - this was going up a steep hill with a caravan, but failing to drive fast into the hill for that initial momentum, this caused the car to crawl almost straight away. It made it up the hill fine, but seemed to take forever and I was constantly worried it would start to roll back. The next time I went up the hill, I had a lot more initial momentum heading onto the hill and it was fine. I think the hill was 12%-18% gradient.
6. Before arriving on any caravan site, I ensure there is sufficient charge to cruise silently and avoid the whining!
7. I bought the http://www.besen-group.com/type1-to-type2-32a-ev-charging-cable-j1772-to-iec-62196-2_p30.html that was recommended on this forum. I got the free bag as well! Excellent customer service, arrived in a timely manner, have used it once, no issues. In total, cost just over £100 (I think £30-£40 of that was delivery). But overall, cheaper than buying in the UK
8. I wish Tesla did a SUV with 300 mile range! I love the Outlander, but 300 mile range - that suits me better! or maybe an Outlander with 300 mile range - perfect!
9. The single greatest feature for me is the pre-heat! Everything else comes 2nd to this one feature! - We take the dogs out at 0530 every morning and its lovely to get into a car without frost on the windscreen and the car at a comfortable temperature.
10. We don't have a drive and its street parking only, so the ability to park outside the house and charge is few and far between. However, when we do charge outside, I use a weatherproof cable reel (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-HLP2013-2IP-Outdoor-Weatherproof/dp/B004R255VQ/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451471675&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=wetaher+proof+cable+reel) and thread the cable through a 5m length trunking (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Core-Cable-Protector-Hazard-Yellow/dp/B004DPDI48/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1451471717&sr=8-5&keywords=cable+floor+trunking) - threading it through this was a nightmare - had to make several incisions along the way to feed it through. The trunking was necessary as the cable would be laid across a public foot path, so to avoid a law suit, I put it through this trunking (also note bright yellow strips). I also contacted the council to let them know I was doing this. Although I never heard from them, I consider my liability removed as I have done all I can to ensure safety. I thread the cable through the alloys and use a lockable chain to secure them.
11. Some cheeky git has unplugged me in the evening. Whilst annoying, it has only happened once so far.
12. I would love the charging unit for outside, but don't qualify for it as I do not have off street parking.
13. Recently installed and external socket (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007OH1PII?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00) - note the lockable casing. This was better than crushing the cabling in the front door (cable would not fit through letterbox)
14. I have asked our council for a dedicated space outside the house and used the "Council should show support for EV drivers and Environment" line - no response - will try again in the new year
Reason for Purchase - Towing
So onto the main point of this post. Towing a Caravan.
This was the reason we bought the Outlander PHEV. Our existing Car (beloved Citroen Berlingo) simply isn't man enough to tow (anything!). I spent over 6 months researching various models (Sportage, Qashqai, Land Rover etc.) and went for the PHEV. I had certain criteria that had to be met for the car:-
1. Strong enough to tow a caravan (without being too restricted on choice of caravan)
2. Big enough boot for 3 Dogs (2x GreyHounds, 1x Lurcher) - hence the reason I purchased the Hatchbag boot liner - the car is getting valeted due to the mess the dogs have created and then I'll be fitting this.
3. Efficient - both fuel and financially
Whilst the PHEV was a significant initial cost (certainly the Sportage was almost half the cost), I felt the benefits of the PHEV far outweighed the cost of purchasing it - I doubt the saving in Tax, fuel etc will ever make up for the extra cost compared to other makes/models. I'll say now, the sales team were terrible throughout and even the after sales service was terrible. I now deal with another dealer. I won't name and shame, but PM me if you really want to know!
Caravan
We purchased a Bailey Pursuit 530-4 - a great spacious caravan but also incredibly light given its size (compared to other brands/models). Towing this caravan with the PHEV is effortless. You totally forget its there when cruising on the motorway. It has an ALKO system on it, so your options are:-
1. Make sure you purchase the long neck tow bar (the removable one)
2. Have the fixed towbar, but purchase a specific ALKO tow ball to replace the towball on the fixed unit - around £30
For those of you who passed your driving license after 1st Jan 1997 - you will need a B+E license to tow anything that is a combined weight (car and whatever you are towing) of 3500kgs or more.
First Trip Summary
Our first major trip was to the lake district. On the way up, I kept the PHEV in Charge mode for the entire route. I filled up 2.5 times (the last .5 being more of a top up, I reckon I could have got there on 2 - just). We achieved around 31 MPG - which I think is amazing. The only thing I noticed was how hot the car felt (on the bonnet) - no doubt due to charging and towing. Driving through the narrow roads of the lake district with a caravan was a white knuckle ride (particularly as this was my first major trip towing a caravan) - but it was fine, The PHEV is almost as wide as the caravan and that really helped with confidence as if the car is OK, then the caravan should be fine too.
Charging through the caravan is fine, no issues whatsoever. I have charged it through an internal socket (for curiosity reasons) - no issues. We currently charge using a splitter from the electric hookup - also no issues at all. We plan to have an external socket installed, although I think we will continue to use the splitter - it somehow feels less impactful on the caravan, although I'm confident that charging through the external or internal sockets will be just fine.
On the way back, I chose not to keep the car in charge, as having read many posts here, I wanted to experiment different methods suggested. So we set off with a full charge, but did not use Save or Charge mode at any point. 2.5 fill ups and around 31MPG - same as on the way up!
Reverse camera was a big bonus for caravan towing, makes hooking up a lot easier.
I have rambled enough.
