Ponderings - ex Discovery drivers?

[Andy123]

At the Mitsi dealer yesterday I had a close look at an Outlander PHEV. We were actually there to replace my wife's ASX, but it got me pondering. I have a Discovery, which I do very, very low mileage on (it's about 18 months old and has less than 12k on), so I suspect I could be the ideal owner of a PHEV.

My driving is basically a series of 3 or 4 mile drives in and out of town (dropping kids off, and to and from the station), with the occasional 180 mile day up and down the A1.

So I've asked the dealer to do me some quotes on a GX4hs - i really miss the adaptive cruise on my old Volvo for driving on the A1, so that's another plus.

The only slight doubt is the "premium" feel of the Discovery and the fact (sounds daft) that I know I can get my bike bag upright in the back (meaning bike plus two kids fit on holidays). How have ex-LR drivers found the move in terms of quality and (particularly) space? I'll also miss the occasional use of seven seats.

So - assuming I can overcome these slight niggles (and there seem to be quite a few ex- Discovery drivers on here), what are delivery times like on the GX4hs? I've decided the GX5 doesn't offer five grands' worth of extra stuff, so it'll be the 4hs if anything.

 

[maby]

Do you really need the extra "s" features - LDW and ACC? They cost you several thousand extra over a GX4h - and many of those here that have paid for them now seem to be looking for ways of disabling them in the name of silence.

 

[Andy123]

Not LDW, but I found ACC really helpful on my Volvo when I used to drive a lot on the A1 - the traffic goes from 70mph to 45mph a lot when lorries overtake one another - I just found it relaxing to be able to set it and forget it. Of course i don't "need" them (and I had LDW off in my Volvo as well), but as my only longer drives these days are on the very same stretch of the A1 I'd like ACC again (particularly as I'm hoping the Outlander will save me quite a bit in both finance costs and running costs over my Discovery).

 

[maby]

Not LDW, but I found ACC really helpful on my Volvo when I used to drive a lot on the A1 - the traffic goes from 70mph to 45mph a lot when lorries overtake one another - I just found it relaxing to be able to set it and forget it. Of course i don't "need" them (and I had LDW off in my Volvo as well), but as my only longer drives these days are on the very same stretch of the A1 I'd like ACC again (particularly as I'm hoping the Outlander will save me quite a bit in both finance costs and running costs over my Discovery).

Be realistic in your expectations of the car. It will certainly outperform the Discovery for running costs on the short journeys, but the difference will be a lot less on long, high speed runs. The overall cost of ownership will depend very much on the mix of long and short journeys that you make. My driving pattern is pretty fixed - about 4 to 5 miles of local driving each weekday, one weekday round trip of around 60 miles (mostly motorway speeds) and around 200 miles each weekend - again mostly motorway and no opportunity to charge. In the warm weather, I was averaging about 55mpg, in the cold weather I'm seeing an average of around 45mpg.

 

[Andy123]

Yep, thanks - the reason I think it might be good for me is that the vast, vast majority of my trips are <10 miles - usually 5/6 miles in and out of town or to the station. Perhaps once a month I do a 60m round trip to the office (hopefully getting some charging points there) and then once a month I drive up to near Durham (180m round trip - with charging at the other end).

The actual savings on fuel won't be massive as I do such low mileage anyway (probably less than 8,000 a year), so even at 25mpg in the LR the costs aren't huge, but VED is £275 a year, servicing is expensive (can get free 3yrs servicing) etc etc.

 

[maddogsetc]

I'm one of the ex-Disco crowd, although mine was an 06 D3, so not quite as 'premium' as the later models. But I loved the car and, although it did have its foibles I never experienced the unreliability that LR's reputation suggests.

I would sum up my views as 'the PHEV does what it says on the tin, but I do miss the Disco'. What I mean by that is that it fulfils pretty much all of my expectations before I bought it, but I don't get the same feelgood factor when in it that I did with the Disco.

I'd make two observations about your original post - the first is that as Maby suggests I would seriously consider whether you need the ACC, as the Gx4HS is significantly dearer and most owners seems to find the additional features (which always default to 'on') more annoying than useful.

Secondly, your journey profile will be ideal for the car from about April to November, but when the temperature drops below about 8 or 9°C, you will be running ICE pretty much the whole winter, as the car uses petrol for heating and ICE will typically run for at least the first 3 or 4 miles. You can mitigate this a little by using preheat, parking in a garage and wrapping up warm so as to minimize heating, but you won't eliminate it (unless Mitsi answer some owners' prayers in the meantime).

 

[DrSlackBladder]

Must admit I love the ACC on the 4HS; I use it for most of my commuting journey. Although I must also admit I probably wouldn't pay the premium for it if it wasn't a company car! As for the LDW, I turn it off as part of my start up procedure.

 

[Andy123]

Thanks, folks. On the heating thing, my thinking is to heat it up before we go (my Land Rover has a version of this and it's ace) - is it possible to leave the heating off whilst driving? I either drive to the station wearing a coat VERY early (5:30am) or drop the kids off at school when they're in the car for no more than 5 mins. Evn if the ICE is running, I suspect an Outlander running the heater off ICE will use a lot less juice than a Discovery running a 3.0L diesel and heater.

Or have I misunderstood?

 

[DrSlackBladder]

Thanks, folks. On the heating thing, my thinking is to heat it up before we go (my Land Rover has a version of this and it's ace) - is it possible to leave the heating off whilst driving? I either drive to the station wearing a coat VERY early (5:30am) or drop the kids off at school when they're in the car for no more than 5 mins. Evn if the ICE is running, I suspect an Outlander running the heater off ICE will use a lot less juice than a Discovery running a 3.0L diesel and heater.

Or have I misunderstood?

Yes you can turn off heating completely while driving, although you'll likey need the blower on the windscreen in cold weather!

 

[maby]

It sounds like you are being realistic in your expectations and will probably like the car. It's a while since I sat in a Discovery, so cannot comment on the build quality or luxury credentials. I find the GX4h to be a comfortable car which is equipped to match my expectations of a relatively high end model.

 

[BeeJay]

Thanks, folks. On the heating thing, my thinking is to heat it up before we go (my Land Rover has a version of this and it's ace) - is it possible to leave the heating off whilst driving? I either drive to the station wearing a coat VERY early (5:30am) or drop the kids off at school when they're in the car for no more than 5 mins. Evn if the ICE is running, I suspect an Outlander running the heater off ICE will use a lot less juice than a Discovery running a 3.0L diesel and heater.

Or have I misunderstood?

Ex Range Rover owner here.

Pre-heat is fine. In the 4h and above the heater is electric, so does not technically require the engine, though for some reason below 8 or 9 degrees it still fires the engine up for a couple of minutes when you start.

If you turn the heating off as soon as you start then the engine will never start on your short journey unless you floor the accelerator. If you have pre-heated then you will be nice and warm the whole way - this is what I sometimes do. TBH I have started to become less and less bothered about the engine running for a couple of minutes - I was initially, but after a couple of months I have started just driving the car and stopped obsessing about when the engine runs.

Oh, and I LOVE the ACC, to be honest it was the one thing that swayed me into getting the car!

 

[Andy123]

Thanks Bee-Jay - how d'you find the difference in "quality" from your RR?

 

[maddogsetc]

Just done a quick check on my road trip data for PHEV vs. D3 - not quite a comparable period, but both covering July to January. Not including electricity costs of course (though I can add that in later if you like).

To cover 8045 miles the PHEV has consumed 331 litres of unleaded at a total cost of £473.
To cover 7894 miles the D3 used 1611 litres of Diesel. I haven't totalled the actual cost but if you assume current prices of say £1.15 / litre that's £1,853. So a saving of £1,380 less the cost of charging. And that's over just 8 months in my case.

Add in the fact that road tax on the Disco was £500 a year.

Those are the 'small' savings - the biggest one for me (by some margin) is the tax saving.

Been a useful exercise this - puts the 'feelgood factor' into perspective!

 

[Hypermiler]

Hi there. I would think it is a good choice for your journey profile - whether you go for the 4h or hs. On journeys as short as yours tend to be you can manage with preheat and perhaps using the seat heater. I don't bother with the heating on most of my trips - after all, you tend to have your coat on unless you are getting comfy for a longer trip.

Maddogs may not get the same "feel" as from the Disco but I think most of us with shorter runs enjoy the "feel" of using next to no fuel day to day. Don't underestimate the benefit of hardly ever having to go to the petrol station (altho on long trips it is a small tank and you'll fill up every 300 miles). And plugging in to the electric is no bother - it becomes automatic (or train your kids to do it as someone else has done on this forum :lol: ). If short trips are your main thing then it's great. The quiet, smooth ride and all the gadgets to play with and moan about just add to the overall experience. And this forum provides an endless source of info, entertainment and heated discussion.

If you have/might get solar pv then it's even better...

Best of luck with your choice.
H

 

[Andy123]

Brilliant - thanks both. I worked out I'd be £80 a month or so better off on fuel (assuming I get an average of 65mpg out of the Phev - guess I might do a lot better than that with so many EV only journeys). There's no tax benefits, as it's a private purchase, but I'm also hoping the dealer will get me significantly reduced monthly payments than what I'm currently paying.

 

[Goldfinger]

If you have/might get solar pv then it's even better...

H

Tell more please, as we're looking in to them too.......

 

[Andy123]

Dealer has just come back and told me they can do finance for £225 a month less than my Discovery. This is getting very interesting...

I must remember to check all the stuff that could drive me bonkers though - all things music/bluetooth, will it work with Siri, can I see my phone directory, how easy is the sat nav to work etc etc.

 

[Hypermiler]

If you have/might get solar pv then it's even better...

H

Tell more please, as we're looking in to them too.......

There is a thread or two somewhere on here re charging using pv and there are plenty of technical experts on the forum who can discuss (somewhere else rather than hijacking this thread perhaps!). I just meant if you are often at home during the day, particularly if you can spare the time to use the 13a charging, then you can use what you produce to reduce your cost per mile still further (and reduce your CO2 emissions :mrgreen: ).
cheers
H

 

[BeeJay]

Thanks Bee-Jay - how d'you find the difference in "quality" from your RR?

In short, I was fed up of bits breaking on the RR and having to spend silly money fixing them.

From an interior perspective, yes it does feel a bit cheaper of course. But the savings, even over a Disco are phenomenal as has been shown.

Having driven a RR of some sort for nearly 15 years, I thought I would look at RR drivers and feel envy/sadness, however I don't. I love to glide around in silence, enjoying my 3 year warranty and servicing package and parking in London for free! Also off-roading in silence is awesome.

I do miss the heated windscreen and steering wheel, and you don't have the same feeling of presence/wafting along that the RR had. However you have to understand that the PHEV is the same size as a Freelander 2 to within an inch, not a a Disco or RR and you are not as high up. Interestingly the Freelander 2 is the same size as the original Range Rover!!!

 

[greendwarf]

and parking in London for free!

FREE - how :?: