First month of ownership - what do you think?

Hi everyone, to the owners of the Outlander PHEV who have been lucky enough to receive theirs already, can you let us know what you think?

After owning your plug-in hybrid for a month, do you still love it? Any regrets?

Thanks very much Forum members!

Hi

I'll take the first stab...

Overall: I'm happy. The car is mostly as I expected and haven't had anything relly wrong with the car, but a lots and lots of little things that could have been made better. After all the car cost a fair bit... The car is so much better than our previous Skoda Octavia (which wasn't a bad car either...)

Performance: Standstill launch: still poor. Any automatic car will give more force aftre kickdown. At suburban speeds and also in highway, the performance is more than enough. This is more a programming issue (feature) to make the drivetrain last longer, than a fault.

Features: Enough of them for me. ACC, electric tailgate, keyless entry and start and stop. All cool features that have actually worked. The main screen is slow to react - has too complex interface , does not have "memory" (Doesn't remeber the last screen you viewed.) Navigation looks oldish,(but very useful) Bluetooth phone pairing does not support all phones' phonebook option.. Did I mention the handbrake, that should be electric IMO.

Driving characteristics: NO surprise here. a new car turns by turning the wheel. Like most japanese - no real connection to road feeling. As expected. Comfort is as expected also, but nowhere in premium level. My 15 year old Range is SSSooooo much better in comfort.

Economics. After two months of driving in near zero temperatures -the fuel consumption is a bit too much to my liking. The average is now in 5,5l/100km. This is due to bad circumstances. In cold the ICE runs for heating for 4-5 kms after start. My distance to work is 5,5km.. That is also the case when we go grocery shopping. 5km to the shop - runs pretty much on ICE... If we go further we go on highway that depletes the battery in under 10km... (110 km/h + heating 4kW). SO I use charge or save mode on highway that seems to work best.

I'll continue later...

Samuel

Hi Samuel, thanks very much for sharing.

What mode do you travel in when in the city?

And are you able to heat without the ICE or does it not put out enough heat for your liking? I would have expected this PHEV to handle a 5.5km trip without having to use the gasoline engine.
Do you pre-heat the vehicle while plugged in at home before leaving for work or to go to the shops?

I have read on some Netherlands sites that public charging spaces are often full since there are so many Outlander plug-in hybrids that sold so quickly! Faster than they can install charging stations!

Here are some quotes:

I was yesterday at IKEA, both places occupied by Volts and two Outlanders next to it were waiting.

Click to expand...

Last Monday I was at the open-air museum, there are again two Outlander PHEVs loading ...

Click to expand...

I think they call 'charging' 'loading' over there

Handbrake: there is a “Park” button as well in front of the shift lever. Call it belt and suspenders.
As for comfort, it is actually quite good at low speed, rather like expected from a SUV, but it is amazingly comfortable on long distances on the motorway. I hate to admit it, but it is even less tiring than my previous Jaguar X-Type.

outlanderphev said:

I have read on some Netherlands sites that public charging spaces are often full since there are so many Outlander plug-in hybrids that sold so quickly! Faster than they can install charging stations!

Here are some quotes:

I was yesterday at IKEA, both places occupied by Volts and two Outlanders next to it were waiting.

Click to expand...

Last Monday I was at the open-air museum, there are again two Outlander PHEVs loading ...

Click to expand...

I think they call ‘charging’ ‘loading’ over there

Click to expand...

Not just Outlanders, there are quite a few Prius PI, Opel Ampera, Volvo V60DEV, etc. around…

1 month today and I love it!

I am very happy at the comfort, space on seats and boot, how quiet it is (even with studded winter tires), the soundsystem, the tow bar, EV range, average consumpton (at 3.3/100km so far; around 1/3 of what i had in my old car), 4WD is excellent and cruise controll is my new adiction. Very happy happy happy

I am less happy with the phone app (as mentioned in another post). I whish the parking camera had sensors as well to warn by sound if getting close to an object, but i guess most people feel the camera is enough.
Small things like to not let the ICE activate when pushing down hard on the throttle would be nice (pure EV mode). The touch screen is a little slow and not as responsive as your smartphone, but I don´t click on it that much so not a big deal.

Would i buy it again? Oh yes, i can´t wait to see what is on the market in 3 years time. Probably upgrade again then if Mitsubishi contiune producing the cars they do. This is my second Outlander, i think I´m getting hooked on them.