MPG (Thinking of buying)

[Barnfather]

I don't know about the original poster, but I recently ordered a PHEV on the company lease scheme, and all the buzz around the office at the time were around the Merc 350 c-class and the BMW 3-Series Hybrid. Both had outrageous 0-60 times (the Merc and BMW) and both - like the Outlander, worked out really affordable on the lease scheme.

When talking about the above cars, for example, a £40k Outlander, Merc or BMW (all phev) would cost me less in leasing costs per month than a high-ish spec Nissan Quashqai Diesel, or Ford Mondeo.

One downside of the german cars however is the potentially long lead-time. I didn't get a quote, but I've seen anything up to a year for a wait for these.

Second is the reduced EV range compared to the Outlander. No amount of blistering performance would make up for that in commuting terms.

But finally - for me - it was form factor. I *really* wanted a SUV. More than I wanted a hybrid/phev by some distance (I drive a hybrid at the moment). Looking at other SUVs, even ones with much lower list price than the Outlander, I couldn't get anywhere near the affordable leasing costs for them. The only SUV which came within my spend-range happened to be an Outlander PHEV, and thats where my focus stayed.

 

[Tipper]

..............
That just leaves the commute. 10 miles each way, which from what I've read from people's personal experiences on the 'real' EV range of the Outlander should be doable. (I read that whilst the 'on-paper' range is 32 miles, the 'real world' range is more like 20-25 depending on driving style and conditions).............

Sadly for those in colder countries it's more like 15 miles EV range if you don't want cold feet and misted windows in the winter!

 

[greendwarf]

..............
That just leaves the commute. 10 miles each way, which from what I've read from people's personal experiences on the 'real' EV range of the Outlander should be doable. (I read that whilst the 'on-paper' range is 32 miles, the 'real world' range is more like 20-25 depending on driving style and conditions).............

Sadly for those in colder countries it's more like 15 miles EV range if you don't want cold feet and misted windows in the winter!

Not quite true, as the aircon set at 15c will clear the windows without heat and. of course, you don't leave it on constantly because it's too bloody cold :lol:

 

[maby]

Hmmm.. I really didn't pay well over 30 grand for a car without heating! My first car forty-odd years ago didn't have a heater - but that cost well under a hundred quid - that was the first and last car I was prepared to shiver in...

 

[user 816]

On the plus side, a relative has just got a large German SUV company car,

- its got far,far less equipment
- is no quicker (but a lot faster but that's irrelevent in the UK)
- according to the Autocar measured mpg its more thirsty using (more expensive) diesel
- it costs £5000 more than a PHEV before the grant so more like £10,000 dearer! :shock:
- the interior has been described as dull
- engine will sound like a tractor.
- CO2 is 184 - 193 g/km so combined with the list price he will pay a fortune in tax.

- It does however have a big boot and is quick off the line.

I Will keep my lovely PHEV thank you (did I mention the £400 a month tax saving?)

 

[TC1978]

Real world MPG I'm getting either infinity MPG or 30 - 35 MPG.

My normal commute is 5 miles each way, and every few weeks I need to drive up to Lancashire and back (I live in Suffolk). So, full electric days or big humps up the motorway. I get just over 300 miles on a tank, which is handy as the office is 295 miles from home. I've yet to see 40 mpg on just the petrol motor like some here seem to get, but maybe that's because the car is so new (less than 2,000 miles on it).

 

[maby]

Real world MPG I'm getting either infinity MPG or 30 - 35 MPG.

My normal commute is 5 miles each way, and every few weeks I need to drive up to Lancashire and back (I live in Suffolk). So, full electric days or big humps up the motorway. I get just over 300 miles on a tank, which is handy as the office is 295 miles from home. I've yet to see 40 mpg on just the petrol motor like some here seem to get, but maybe that's because the car is so new (less than 2,000 miles on it).

it's probably down to the time of year - fuel consumption goes up significantly as the temperature drops. It's mostly down to a combination of increased viscosity of colder air and increased rolling resistance of cold tyres. I do the same run along the motorway virtually every Thursday afternoon/evening - was running some tests several months ago and got about 43mpg out of it. I checked on the same run yesterday evening and it was averaging 32mpg - exactly the same speed, load and traffic condition - just that the temperature was down to 5 degrees instead of 20.

 

[StevePHEV]

I dont get the MPG I was expecting..

I have done a few long runs though recently and that seems to hammer the MPG.

 

[anko]

I dont get the MPG I was expecting..

I do get the MPG I was expecting. Same car. So, different expectations?

 

[StevePHEV]

Yeah - perhaps.

Dont get me wrong its good MPG for the car and its brilliant day to day as I have a 10 mile each way commute so manage 100% EV but the long runs just hammer the MPG.

Did Manchester - Aberdeen - Manchester and only got 30mpg on the run at steady 70mph.

Better than the 20'2 MPG I used to get on the Discovery.

 

[maby]

Yeah - perhaps.

Dont get me wrong its good MPG for the car and its brilliant day to day as I have a 10 mile each way commute so manage 100% EV but the long runs just hammer the MPG.

Did Manchester - Aberdeen - Manchester and only got 30mpg on the run at steady 70mph.

Better than the 20'2 MPG I used to get on the Discovery.

You should do better in the warm weather. I do a lot of motorway driving in our PHEV and have no great difficulty in getting 40mpg out of it in the summer, but it is drifting down to 30mpg as the weather gets colder.

 

[greendwarf]

Yeah - perhaps.

Dont get me wrong its good MPG for the car and its brilliant day to day as I have a 10 mile each way commute so manage 100% EV but the long runs just hammer the MPG.

Did Manchester - Aberdeen - Manchester and only got 30mpg on the run at steady 70mph.

Better than the 20'2 MPG I used to get on the Discovery.

And even the 27mpg in an Avensis 2.0 estate

 

[GrahamRC]

My 2016 Gx3h+ was delivered last Friday. Am really pleased with the car: smooth and quiet.
My first commute today. Charged overnight; pre-heated 10 minutes before I left; Eco mode and B3 selected; air temperature 6C to work, 8C to home; 35 miles to work, 32 miles to home; moderate hills; roughly 10% in town/city, 50% motorway 65mph, 40% A roads 55mph where possible. I used the paddles up to B5 in places to maximise regen.
Journey to work I used Save on roads where I could maintain 40mph or more; arrived at work with 2 miles EV remaining, 69mpg displayed.
Journey to home I used Charge on motorway (10 miles) and for another 5 miles when travelling on A roads; arrived home with EV range falling to zero about 2 miles from home, 56mpg displayed.
My aim was to keep the load high on the ICE when running, to exploit greater efficiency, and to arrive home with no battery charge left.
So 115/2=57mpg average for the whole commute. I'm very pleased with that figure and expect it to increase as outside air temperature increases.

What do people do when stopped at traffic lights? I didn't want to hold on the brakes or dazzle people behind so I selected Park, then D to move off, but B3 reverted to D (B0)....irritating.

Can I set Eco mode to default at power-on? I haven't got the MMMC though, but found the app on my IPhone 6S fine for setting the preheat before I left the car; I was hoping that I could use this to change defaults but there seem to be few options.

Looking forwards to travelling in my super milk float

 

[jaapv]

Default is not B0, it is B2, which is quite adequate for normal driving. ECO mode is quite useless for economy, so it is no great loss that it cannot be set as default.

 

[HHL]

What do people do when stopped at traffic lights? I didn't want to hold on the brakes or dazzle people behind so I selected Park, then D to move off, but B3 reverted to D (B0)....irritating.

I think using the different regen settings is a waste of time except going down longish hills as a means of shifting down gears as in a "normal" car.
You're really not gaining anything over just using the brakes in normal driving. The default B2 is really just there to make it feel like an ICE car when you take your foot off. I think the most efficient way is probably using B0 and the brakes when needed.

 

[anko]

I think using the different regen settings is a waste of time except going down longish hills as a means of shifting down gears as in a "normal" car.
You're really not gaining anything over just using the brakes in normal driving. The default B2 is really just there to make it feel like an ICE car when you take your foot off. I think the most efficient way is probably using B0 and the brakes when needed.

A true believer :mrgreen:

I hope e you mean "use the brake pedal" instead of "use the brakes". But even then, I am pretty sure you are wrong. With the same driving style, friction brakes are applied more in B0 than they are in B5. And every use of friction brakes over regen brakes means wasting energy.

 

[HHL]

I think using the different regen settings is a waste of time except going down longish hills as a means of shifting down gears as in a "normal" car.
You're really not gaining anything over just using the brakes in normal driving. The default B2 is really just there to make it feel like an ICE car when you take your foot off. I think the most efficient way is probably using B0 and the brakes when needed.

A true believer :mrgreen:

I hope e you mean "use the brake pedal" instead of "use the brakes". But even then, I am pretty sure you are wrong. With the same driving style, friction brakes are applied more in B0 than they are in B5. And every use of friction brakes over regen brakes means wasting energy.

Yes, of course I meant the brake pedal.... however, I don't believe that the mechanical brake comes into play any more using B0, and if it does come into play, it would be under heavier braking and that would be quite the same in the higher regen modes. I think regenerative braking takes precedence until the car is nearly stopped, it would be pointless to have it if it wasn't used to its full effect.

 

[jaapv]

I think using the different regen settings is a waste of time except going down longish hills as a means of shifting down gears as in a "normal" car.
You're really not gaining anything over just using the brakes in normal driving. The default B2 is really just there to make it feel like an ICE car when you take your foot off. I think the most efficient way is probably using B0 and the brakes when needed.

A true believer :mrgreen:

I hope e you mean "use the brake pedal" instead of "use the brakes". But even then, I am pretty sure you are wrong. With the same driving style, friction brakes are applied more in B0 than they are in B5. And every use of friction brakes over regen brakes means wasting energy.

Depends on the driving style. I can think of a style that applies friction brakes in neither.

 

[anko]

With the same driving style, friction brakes are applied more in B0 than they are in B5. And every use of friction brakes over regen brakes means wasting energy.

Depends on the driving style. I can think of a style that applies friction brakes in neither.

Like I said: with the same driving style. I challenge you to come up with a driving style that does not require use of the brake pads at all, and no: smashing it into a wall or light post, every time you need to come to a complete stop is not a driving style :mrgreen:

 

[HHL]

Well, driving down a hill where the car maintains about 50km/h in B5, regen is about 30kw, doing the same in B0 and using the just the brake pedal to maintain 50, the regen is also 30kw, no difference at all. The paddles and B steps are there purely to simulate different gearing in my opinion.
They have no bearing on efficiency.