Another PHEV buying query.

[middleone]

I am sure there are many posts from prospective buyers of the PHEV, each one slightly different from the next.
I am in a dilemma : I need to decide today ! The PCP offers end today plus the longer we delay the further away the replacement car will be.

Our car situation is to change as my wife is starting to need to use her car for work - she will be paid 40p/mile. She will p/x our C-Crosser (Diesel) in for a Mini. Better suits her driving in/out of Edinburgh plus the work-associated driving.

I work approx 17 miles from home and work there 4 days a week with a Monday being a day I assist in a school (I am training to be a teacher) - school is 5 mile away.
We currently have a 2002 1.6 petrol Golf - my car, I manage 40Mpg driving it a bit like a granny). I am equally capable of driving like like a granny as well as being quite a bit more enthusiastically as I've had much more powerful cars including a couple of turbo Subarus which barely managed 30Mpg.
I've also got a motorbike for fun journeys on my own.

The Golf I will sell privately and I will run the big car, the replacement for the C-Crosser.
So : we've decided upon PCP and have been offered a really good deal on an A4 Avant, nice spec nice car to sit in and drive - under £300/month for 24 months/15,000 miles, I know it is a good deal and other companies aren't coming close on that.
Slightly cheaper to buy (PCP lease) the PHEV Outlander.
My commute would, I reckon be approx 75% electric, it is mainly semi-rural or quieter urban routes plus about 5 miles each way of dual carriageway.
Live to the South of Edinburgh, currently commute to near the airport on the West side,
I don't think the Edinburgh area of the country, or even the central Scotland area, is as blessed with public charge points as some bigger urban areas so majority of the time I will relying just on home charging.

Cut to the chase - still a worthy purchase ?

I've seen suggestions as to sub-5p/charge costs from flat to full, also towards 40Mpg petrol which does seem good considering the size/weight/aerodynamics of the Outlander.

We owned an A4 saloon a few years back - I really liked it, good Mpg and pretty quick, new one will be more efficient still.
I was swaying towards the A4 but the cost aspect of the PHEV is still pulling me away. Another thing is the 4x4 which, living towards the Borders, can be relevant in some bad, snowy winters - last couple have not really been worthy of having 4x4 capabilities.

1, 2 or even 3 times a year we head off and self-cater on the West coast of Scotland - there we wouldn't have the ability to recharge there and the 100 mile journey would be mostly ICE.
Other than commuting etc there will be occasional trips further afield but 6 out of 7 days I'd forsee it running mostly (not all) in electric drive. I am a little disappointed that the PHEV loses a wee bit of boot space with the batteries but the shape is probably better for us cramming in tons of stuff when we do go away with 2 adults, 2 children plus dog.

Will be a GX3 so that drops the electric heater, app control etc.

Opinions please ?

 

[rgilyead]

Based on your normal travel profile, I would say that the PHEV is a great choice. Use "Save" on the dual carriageway to eke out the electric charge and you should save a lot of money on petrol. Even better if you could charge at work. If your employer won't put in a charging station then bear in mind all you need is access to a normal plug socket for a 5 hour charge.

Re the boot space: I have found the PHEV to have a lot of usable space for lugging stuff around and I used to be a large Volvo estate driver.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[middleone]

Thanks for the quick reply -
couple of other points to add:
I checked out our electric supply to our garage, which I think we could park the car sufficiently close to to use the 5M cable :
This shows max load as 100A so shouldn't need any upgrade ?
I did drive a PHEV at the weekend, was fine although I would much prefer a manual car this is a bit like driving a domestic appliance, I would never normally go for an auto over manual given the choice.


and now - I've gone for the PHEV, ordered a white GX3 (standard) think we should get it in July. Just seemed too sensible to opt for an alternative.
Economical.
Good boot size.
4x4
Supplied a month or more earlier than the Audi A4.
Green credentials.

 

[rgilyead]

I'm not an electrical expert and there are threads about charging across this site which would be worth checking. However, if you are not planning to have a subsidised charge point installed it is probably worth getting an electrician to check out your domestic circuits. Ideally, as I understand it, the PHEV should be charged on a circuit with its own breaker.

 

[welljock]

As you're in Scotland the charge point in still fully subsidised so you'd be as well just getting it fitted as they will check the electrics as part of that. You have to pay up front but I got mine back in around a week.

 

[NAPpy]

100 amps

Sure its not 10?

Over here we go into three phase (415V) at 32A

NAPpy

 

[middleone]

Maybe 100A was wrong, will double check.

Will the Mitsu local dealer know about the deal with getting the plug in point sorted ?
From what I've seen some people are/were getting this done for free, others not.

 

[welljock]

Maybe 100A was wrong, will double check.

Will the Mitsu local dealer know about the deal with getting the plug in point sorted ?
From what I've seen some people are/were getting this done for free, others not.

The Scottish Government is still making up the different in funding, so we still get it free.

Check out this these links http://www.greenerscotland.org/greener-travel/electric-vehicles/home-charge-point-funding and http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/domestic/improving-my-travel/chargepoint-grants

I got mine arranged through Jorro. It was not too onerous a task for me but you should find it a lot simpler since I have a company leased car and it required getting letters and documents from my company and the leasing company.

 

[user 816]

We still have our diesel C-Crosser too, the PHEV is far more refined and you will get used to its auto nature, it's not really an auto as such as electric motors don't need any gearbox. Find a dead quiet bit of straight road you can stop on then try foot to the floor and holding it (there is a sort of kickdown boost button under the throttle if you press it hard that tells it to shake a leg). Its pretty stunning to go from zero to (ahem!) in one go with no gear changes and very quickly, the car switching through drive modes seamlessly.

You will miss a couple of things from the C-Crosser, the Citroen boot is bigger, the split tailgate, the 12volt socket in the boot, the spare wheel underneath! not everything improves.

100 Amps is the rating of your consumer unit (fuse box) its how much it can supply the while building.

You can charge with the supplied charger from a normal 13 amp socket and the PHEV will only draw less than 10 Amps but its safer to have a dedicated socket installed in the garage for a few quid.

Or have fixed charger installed as mentioned above, even that doesn't draw that much power but has to be wired directly back to the fuse box.

 

[user 816]

I've seen suggestions as to sub-5p/charge costs from flat to full, also towards 40Mpg petrol which does seem good considering the size/weight/aerodynamics of the Outlander.

bit confused on that one. Roughly it will take about 10 kilowatt hours to charge it. 1 kilowatt hour is typically say 10p in the UK so about a £1.00, some people pay more, if your on economy 7 it can be cheaper rate overnight (mine is about 8p). Unfortunately that is not so easy with a GX3 as it doesn't have the inbuilt timers to set delayed charging to start automatically during cheap rate. you would have to come up with an external solution such as a plug in timer. If your not on economy 7 its irrelevant of course.

Say £1.20 to charge and typically that will do 25 miles worth. Compared to £5.50 for a gallon of petrol that will get you more like 35 miles its still cheap.

 

[PeterGalbavy]

Once the parking outside my house is sorted I am going to have a Rolec Economy Boost fitted (you can get "brown" ex-stock, so no horrid cream and green for me) and that has a built-in timer for just this purpose plus the "boost" button for when you need some juice intraday.