Newbie GX3h owner - some advice required

[BryanP]

Hello,

About to join the GX3h owners club with delivery expected next week. Very excited!

Like a few ppl on the forum I fall into the category of not knowing about the lack of electro heater etc on the 3!

I was looking for advice from fellow 3 owners to see whether it was better to let the motor run (ICE) for a while on start up in the mornings (chillier mornings in Spring/Summer and of course every morning in winter) or whether to just set off and let ICE do it's thing hoping that it would cut off early into the drive? The reason I ask is that my morning commute is less than 5 miles (10 there and back) and ideally would like to do it purely in EV. That is, after all why I went ahead and chose the car in the first place!

Any advice/experiences with the above would be much appreciated!

Thanks
Bryan

 

[maby]

Keep the heating turned off and wear a thick pullover - in such a short run, the heating will not have time to make much difference anyway.

 

[anko]

Totally agree with maby.

 

[maby]

Do bear in mind that driving for long periods without any heating in the winter will increase the humidity in the car - make sure you do a longer run every week or two with the heating on to warm it through and dry it out otherwise you could start to get mildew developing and you will certainly find that you are getting inconvenient levels of condensation on the windows.

 

[jaapv]

I would have an after-market preheat system fitted.

 

[steve2001]

I have a GXh3 with a similar driving pattern to yours, e.g. school run and work commute are both 5 miles (10 miles incl. return journey). On a cold day school run I put the heating on as it is not fair for the kids to be cold. I find the cabin warms up within 2-3 miles with ICE running much like any other car. ICE stays on continuously for 2-3 miles then trips in and out every couple of minutes. You will also notice high engine revving even on slight hills/inclines which is odd (and annoying) to me! Recent cold mornings in May (just for the ICE part of my journey) I have got 30 -35mpg with ICE running - that drops to 25-30 MPG in winter. I also 'preheat' in winter by firing it up standing on the driveway for 5 mins.
On the return journey the kids are gone so I often turn off the heater forcing EV mode and the cabin stays reasonably warm from residual cabin heat. MPG then improves dramatically of course...
For the work commute I am sometimes brave enough to do the trip with the heating/ICE off - coat and gloves are required! I echo comments about windows misting up so watch out for that.
It's a shame the GX3h doesnt have the electirc heater - it's my biggest complaint about this model (closely followed by high engine revving). Dont get me wrong, I rate the PHEV very highly in most other respects. It is an excellent hybrid vehicle that is well suited to my short urban trips, particularly in warmer weather!
I did the maths for GX4h but lease costs were £100/month higher - that would pay for quite a lot of petrol for those of us on a budget.

 

[anko]

I would think the BIK savings one has on a PHEV, compared to any alternatives, would be more than sufficient to cover for the uplift on a 4h? I mean, thanks to the BIK savings the overal cost on a 4h would still be lower than on any other comparable non-hybrid car, right?

Nobody should take this personal, but I am a bit 'disappointed' with the amount of people that see BIK advantages as something purely financial rather than something environmental. If I had been the government (all say "Thank you", because I am not) I would not have made BIK savings available for hybride cars that depends on burning fossil fuel for heating. Unless there was no heating at all. It simply doesn't make sense, IMHO.

 

[jkh112]

The overall increase in cost to me for a gx4 over a gx3 was almost £100 per month - having an electric heater would not have saved me over £1000 per year in fuel.

 

[anko]

The overall increase in cost to me for a gx4 over a gx3 was almost £100 per month - having an electric heater would not have saved me over £1000 per year in fuel.

That's not what I mean. How much is your BIK savings per month compared to a similar car?

 

[jkh112]

The overall increase in cost to me for a gx4 over a gx3 was almost £100 per month - having an electric heater would not have saved me over £1000 per year in fuel.

That's not what I mean. How much is your BIK savings per month compared to a similar car?

The BIK savings over a similar car are irrelevant to me. The BIK rules are what they are and as both the GX3 and GX4 have the same BIK levels I chose the GX3 due to lower lease costs etc.
If I had to pay the additional cost of over £1000 per year for a gx4 then I would not have chosen a phev and would still be driving my 911 to work every day, so even without an electric heater I am saving a lot of fuel.
If I had to choose a normal car with high BIK then I would stick to the 911 every day.
Not everyone is in the same situation regarding cars, journeys, transport needs and finances, so the one car solution is not the best for everyone.

 

[Stvtech]

I would think the BIK savings one has on a PHEV, compared to any alternatives, would be more than sufficient to cover for the uplift on a 4h? I mean, thanks to the BIK savings the overall cost on a 4h would still be lower than on any other comparable non-hybrid car, right?

You assume, anko, that steve2001 has a company lease contract. Maybe he has.
But three of my recent 'big' cars (two Chrysler 300's and a C-Crosser (Outlander)) were personal leases funded by a 'car allowance' where the BIK was irrelevant.
My PHEV however, is on a business lease, and I would not have even considered a Hybrid had it not been for the BIK, but now I've got it, I do think more 'environmentally', so the Government have succeeded in altering my mindset by luring me in with the low BIK.

 

[maby]

I would think the BIK savings one has on a PHEV, compared to any alternatives, would be more than sufficient to cover for the uplift on a 4h? I mean, thanks to the BIK savings the overal cost on a 4h would still be lower than on any other comparable non-hybrid car, right?

Nobody should take this personal, but I am a bit 'disappointed' with the amount of people that see BIK advantages as something purely financial rather than something environmental. If I had been the government (all say "Thank you", because I am not) I would not have made BIK savings available for hybride cars that depends on burning fossil fuel for heating. Unless there was no heating at all. It simply doesn't make sense, IMHO.

It is probably the case that, without all the people buying a PHEV for the BIK saving, you would not get the opportunity to buy one for the environmental benefits. I doubt that there are enough people prepared to pay such a high price for the vehicle without all the tax benefits to make it viable for Mitsubishi to keep the production line running. That is not to say that there cannot be real benefits in terms of fuel efficiency for some people - including you - but they probably need the volume sales from people dodging taxes to keep the line running.

 

[anko]

I would think the BIK savings one has on a PHEV, compared to any alternatives, would be more than sufficient to cover for the uplift on a 4h? I mean, thanks to the BIK savings the overall cost on a 4h would still be lower than on any other comparable non-hybrid car, right?

You assume, anko, that steve2001 has a company lease contract. Maybe he has.
But three of my recent 'big' cars (two Chrysler 300's and a C-Crosser (Outlander)) were personal leases funded by a 'car allowance' where the BIK was irrelevant.
My PHEV however, is on a business lease, and I would not have even considered a Hybrid had it not been for the BIK, but now I've got it, I do think more 'environmentally', so the Government have succeeded in altering my mindset by luring me in with the low BIK.

I would guess, the car allowance was taxed on some level? Or if not, it was sufficient to pay for your company miles, but not your personal miles?

If that is the situation, you can get your own car on an allowance and pay some taxes over the allowance or pay for your own personal millage, or get a company car and pay BIK. This time you choose for the company car, because of the lower BIK on the PHEV. And save a lot of money in the process.

All I wanted to say is that I think it is a pity that not more people are / have been willing to invest some of the savings they have received in making the car as environmentally friendly as possible. I do realise many weren't even aware of the difference between 3h and 4h when they signed their contracts. But on the other hand, lot of people still justify not paying for a 4h purely on a financial basis and not an environmental basis.

Indeed, pure private owners or drivers that do not benefit from the BIK or any other plan in any way is a different story. But I don't think there is a whole lot of them.

 

[steve2001]

Actually I have a personal lease so BIK is irrelevant to me.

I was looking at buying a diesel Outlander last year but when I compared the lease cost and day to day running costs it came out in favour of the PHEV. I went for GX3 (knowing up front about the lack of electric heater) as GX4 was £100 per month more. As a private owner/lease I dont get any company car allowances and £100 buys a lot of petrol.

Also my reason for leasing is that I expect some rapid advancements in battery and EV technology will increase the range and perhaps give EV only option on a future model? Also other manufacturers ae catching up and may release theier own PHEVs that could eclipse the Outlander dare I say it The Audi Q7 eTron looks very promising, apart from the price!

 

[anko]

Actually I have a personal lease so BIK is irrelevant to me.

In that case,

Indeed, pure private owners or drivers that do not benefit from the BIK or any other plan in any way is a different story. But I don't think there is a whole lot of them.

applies to you. But I think you are one of very few.

 

[Hypermiler]

Just to put my hand up - I am a private owner. No BIK benefit here. But now that we have 10kw of solar panels there is a great satisfaction and cost benefit for my usage pattern (mainly in-range journeys and charging in the day time).
Cheers
H

 

[Stvtech]

I would guess, the car allowance was taxed on some level? Or if not, it was sufficient to pay for your company miles, but not your personal miles?

If that is the situation, you can get your own car on an allowance and pay some taxes over the allowance or pay for your own personal millage, or get a company car and pay BIK. This time you choose for the company car, because of the lower BIK on the PHEV. And save a lot of money in the process.

The car allowance was simply a lump sum added to my annual salary, which naturally was spread out over the 12 months, and yes, taxed as salary.
Business miles were reclaimed at 45p / mile (tax free), which increased my take-home by sufficient amounts to cover insurance, wear and tear, and more besides.

My reasons for returning to a company scheme were down to the number of business miles dropping drastically in favour of remote working whilst sat in the office. No more chunky expense claims.
When I first jumped back into the car scheme, I never even considered BIK, and simply put up with it - but that was against the list price of a typical family estate car. Then I lowered my lease payments by moving to a Merc, but got hit hard by the much higher list price against which BIK is calculated.
Now enter the Phev, and there are savings all round, both to my pocket AND the environment.