MPG (Thinking of buying)

[Rallicat]

I'm considering the Outlander PHEV as my next company car.

One of the things I have seen in many reviews is that motorway economy is poor. I'm not convinced however that these reviews really take into account all the ways that this might be improved.

For those of you that own the Outlander, what's your experience been? Are things generally good so long as you plan a rapid-charge stop sometime during your journeys? Whats the 'real world' picture?

Many thanks.
--
Mark

 

[maby]

EV range at motorway speeds is less than 20 miles after which it becomes a rather large petrol car doing about 40mpg - which is not bad for a 4WD estate car. Only you can decide if you are prepared to stop for 30 minutes every 30 miles to recharge - personally I'm not. If you are buying a company car to do lots of motorway miles and need/want a reasonably capable 4WD, then it is a very valid option given the penalties that are being imposed on diesels. If you are not particularly wedded to the idea of a 4WD, then there may be better options.

My pattern of usage is similar to yours and it has averaged just over 45mpg over the last 15 months.

 

[Rallicat]

EV range at motorway speeds is less than 20 miles after which it becomes a rather large petrol car doing about 40mpg - which is not bad for a 4WD estate car. Only you can decide if you are prepared to stop for 30 minutes every 30 miles to recharge - personally I'm not. If you are buying a company car to do lots of motorway miles and need/want a reasonably capable 4WD, then it is a very valid option given the penalties that are being imposed on diesels. If you are not particularly wedded to the idea of a 4WD, then there may be better options.

My pattern of usage is similar to yours and it has averaged just over 45mpg over the last 15 months.

I estimate about 40% of my journeys are motorway miles, with the rest being local journeys (mostly the commute to /from work). I guess thinking about my pattern of driving, when I /do/ travel for longer distances, there are often opportunities to 'stop for lunch' on the way back. So, probably not stopping /every/ 30 miles to recharge, but certainly perhaps stopping maybe once per journey, which is perhaps more doable.

I'm comparing up against other cars like the Merc c350e. This has better 'fuel only' economy, but a lesser EV range, which would probably not cover my daily commute on the office-based days (which are the most usual). The Merc also doesn't have the variable regen braking and rapid-charge options.

I'm certainly 'leaning' toward the Mitsubishi... perhaps I'll book in another test drive

Many thanks!

 

[user 816]

I'm considering the Outlander PHEV as my next company car.

One of the things I have seen in many reviews is that motorway economy is poor. I'm not convinced however that these reviews really take into account all the ways that this might be improved.

For those of you that own the Outlander, what's your experience been? Are things generally good so long as you plan a rapid-charge stop sometime during your journeys? Whats the 'real world' picture?

Many thanks.
--
Mark

Its hugely dependent on your driving style and how much of a hurry your in. IF you have the 'multiple trips a day and the need to hustle through the day' sort of life its not the car for you.

Some days I want to get a customer visit done and get home early so turn off the the MPG display (best not to look!) and use the PHEV's surprisingly good performance. Those days its easily a 21mpg car!!

Other days, time is on my side and traffic is too much hassle to fight through for little gain so I settle into an easy 58mph cruise style and take advantage of the PHEV's other side which is easy going, comfortable, refined and effortless. Those days are more like the 40mpg days.

And there are days like today which was 45 mile round trips of mixed roads which ended at 58mpg thanks to the EV miles in the trip

Tomorrow is a 150 mile round trip, starting with a home charge and doing one fast charge on the way back on the motorway (saved with the 'save' button for the slower part of the journey) I usually end on about 42 to 44mpg. That's better than I need for it to be covered by business mileage reimbursement so I am fine with that.

 

[jaapv]

A bit of an apples and oranges comparison. A chubby suburban go-anywhere SUV against a sleek Autobahn cruiser, built for the Chinese market.
The PHEV performs pretty good on the long haul due to its silent comfort, but it still has a large frontal area, the CX value of Canterbury Cathedral, 1800 Kg and a petrol ICE, all of which do not make for optimal Motorway economy. And a smallish petrol tank too.

Come to think of it, maybe the Volvo should be considered too. It even brings a Diesel engine into the mix.

 

[pefo01]

V60 d5 twin

 

[Sharky]

I live close to work well within the range of the battery even on cold days. When I do go up and down the motorways for work the battery is soon spent and I'm on the engine the rest of the way this gives me about 38-40mpg (faster than 80ph and it starts to drink serious juice). I have got into the habit of hitting the save button so I have battery left when I reach my destination. Speaking to others at work who do 30K plus a year in there PHEV find that it's a great car, apart from the small tank. The company is paying the fuel so they have no intention or incentive to stop for a fast charge. Stopping for 35mins to charge your car to give you 20 miles of battery on a 200+ mile trip makes no sense especially when they are under pressure to get to the job on time. As a company car at the moment it makes personal sense with the low BIK, but for a company that has to pay the fuel on high mileage vehicles it may in the long run be better to go for a diesel. Personally the car is more of a benefit to me (BIK) than the company. The car has a range of 320-340 miles (full tank, full battery) before you need to start seriously looking for a petrol station if you can put up with that then you will be fine. My Merc before the PHEV had a range of 550+ miles due to 60mpg and 65lt tank. If there is one thing I would change about the car it would be a larger tank.

 

[DazzyB]

I do a 60 mile each way commute which is mostly motorway (although often congested).

Charging at both ends (lucky to have free CYC charger in the office car park!) I can average over 70mpg if I keep motorway speed to 65mph. Pushing the speed up rapidly decreases this mpg and I've seen an average as low as 45mpg.

If I do the journey purely on ICE (i.e. don't charge before I set off) then the consumption is 28-35mpg.

I don't bother with the rapid motorway chargers.

 

[jaapv]

Actually, it is a strange situation. If it were not for the electrical part, it would be rather unusual to consider a Mercedes C350 against an Outlander.

 

[maby]

A bit of an apples and oranges comparison. A chubby suburban go-anywhere SUV against a sleek Autobahn cruiser, built for the Chinese market.
The PHEV performs pretty good on the long haul due to its silent comfort, but it still has a large frontal area, the CX value of Canterbury Cathedral, 1800 Kg and a petrol ICE, all of which do not make for optimal Motorway economy. And a smallish petrol tank too.

Come to think of it, maybe the Volvo should be considered too. It even brings a Diesel engine into the mix.

Agreed. The Outlander is at the low end of the useful EV range - any less and the hybrid functionality really does become tax avoidance. Before you decide if an Outlander makes sense, you really need to be completely honest with yourself as to what you would buy instead of it. Unless you really do almost exclusively drive within the EV range of the car, it will almost certainly not be the absolute best choice for fuel economy or environmental performance due to its performance on a flat battery. It's not hard to find a modern compact petrol or diesel saloon that is capable of averaging over 60mpg at a far lower purchase price than the PHEV - which will bring the BIK penalty back down.

If you are doing a lot of motorway mileage and want a high end car, then Mercs and BMW saloons are not going to be noticeably worse on fuel economy or emissions, but you will get hit by the BIK if it's a company car. If you want/need a large 4WD saloon and the alternative to the PHEV would be something like a RR Evoke or Discovery, then the PHEV is a very valid option even for high motorway mileage drivers - just don't take any notice of the advertised running costs.

 

[jaapv]

Well the Mercedes C350e is designed to hit the tax parameters: 49 CO2 emission (EU 50) and 31 Km EV range (on paper) (China 30 Km...)

 

[anko]

But that does say something about 'beyond EV range' economy. If the Merc can achieve 49 grams with 31 km EV range and the Outlander achieves 48 grams with 52 km, that means that the Merc is much more economical when the battery runs out:

Outlander: 48 grams over 77 km, of which 52 are EV only translates to approx. 150 grams when on petrol.
Merc: 49 grams over 56 km, of which 31 are EV only translates to approx. 110 grams when on petrol.

 

[jaapv]

Better CX/frontal area?

 

[anko]

Better CX/frontal area?

Duh.

 

[jaapv]

Lucky it was not sold on economy over here :lol:

 

[jaapv]

Better CX/frontal area?

Duh.

Better engine too, I guess - about twice the power from the same cubic. :twisted:

 

[DazzyB]

Actually, it is a strange situation. If it were not for the electrical part, it would be rather unusual to consider a Mercedes C350 against an Outlander.

I looked at the Merc too. Mine is a company car and I had two basic requirements when choosing a car.
1. Lowest possible BIK
2. Large, practical boot area (so SUVs and estate cars only)

So the estate version of the Merc was an obvious contender alongside the Outlander. I was almost seduced by the badge and the performance figures of the C350e but ultimately it wasn't practical enough. I also didn't want to wait the many months I was quoted for delivery.

 

[Rallicat]

I guess for my needs the focus really would be more on the commute than the motorway miles. It would be a company car (UK), so motorway miles for corporate journeys I can claim back as business expenses.

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).

Now, comparing that to the C350e, where the on-paper range is 19 miles, I'm thinking that the real world range would be more like 10-15, so that's going to fall short for me, and leave me paying for more fuel vs the Outlander.

At least, that's my thinking at the moment.

 

[Wobblydeb]

Agreed. The Outlander is at the low end of the useful EV range - any less and the hybrid functionality really does become tax avoidance. Before you decide if an Outlander makes sense, you really need to be completely honest with yourself as to what you would buy instead of it. Unless you really do almost exclusively drive within the EV range of the car, it will almost certainly not be the absolute best choice for fuel economy or environmental performance due to its performance on a flat battery. It's not hard to find a modern compact petrol or diesel saloon that is capable of averaging over 60mpg at a far lower purchase price than the PHEV - which will bring the BIK penalty back down.

If you are doing a lot of motorway mileage and want a high end car, then Mercs and BMW saloons are not going to be noticeably worse on fuel economy or emissions, but you will get hit by the BIK if it's a company car. If you want/need a large 4WD saloon and the alternative to the PHEV would be something like a RR Evoke or Discovery, then the PHEV is a very valid option even for high motorway mileage drivers - just don't take any notice of the advertised running costs.

This is a great post ........ except I'm not sure why we are trying to compare the PHEV to compact saloons? We were in the market for a 4WD with a big boot, and the PHEV takes some beating for spec and running costs against most of its competitors in the same price bracket. Nearest comparable was probably the VW Passat Alltrack - which for some reason seems to have been withdrawn from market :lol: We also looked closely at the Discovery Sport but for £5k more to buy, more expensive to run even for a private buyer, and less smooth ride it couldn't touch the PHEV.

I don't think you need to do almost all of your miles within the EV range of the car either. My simple maths with half of my mileage being EV running around (free charge at work) and half at 40mpg suggests I should hit 80mpg average. Now find a 4WD with a big boot and low/zero road tax that can do that.......

 

[jaapv]

Actually, it is a strange situation. If it were not for the electrical part, it would be rather unusual to consider a Mercedes C350 against an Outlander.

I looked at the Merc too. Mine is a company car and I had two basic requirements when choosing a car.
1. Lowest possible BIK
2. Large, practical boot area (so SUVs and estate cars only)

So the estate version of the Merc was an obvious contender alongside the Outlander. I was almost seduced by the badge and the performance figures of the C350e but ultimately it wasn't practical enough. I also didn't want to wait the many months I was quoted for delivery.

I think the boot space is somewhat curtailed relative to the non-EV Merc 350 estate. Yes- I drove estates before the Mitsubishi as well, mainly Volvos and Jaguar X-series. I would never have considered a SUV.