Using a PHEV without chargers

[DrSlackBladder]

Personally buying the PHEV made financial sense, even if I never charge it.
It's the only car that was viable to buy via my company (which I'm a director of) for private use, which means I get the 5% BIK (increasing to 13% over the next 5 years) and also can write off 100% of the cost of the car in year 1, thus saving around £6000 in corporation tax.
So, ignoring any fuel savings made by charging, I come in about £300@5%BIK per month better off than my current private lease arrangement, and even with the increase in BIK each year it still costs me less.
Obviously everyone's situation is different..but I would of bought this even if I couldn't of charged it.
Cheers
Neil
(PHEV arriving March 15)

I bet you drink coffee at Costa (EDIT I meant Starbucks, obviously ), shop at Amazon and bank with HSBC too :mrgreen:

Nothing wrong with tax avoidance - and the PHEV is a no-brainer!

+1, although I prefer to call it tax saving!

 

[spellinn]

I bet you drink coffee at Costa (EDIT I meant Starbucks, obviously ), shop at Amazon and bank with HSBC too :mrgreen:

I rarely pay for high street coffee from either - I'm way too budget concious!

I do shop at Amazon though if they are the cheapest.

I used to bank with HSBC before they introduced fees for their small business accounts.

There's a trend appearing here... :lol:

Cheers

Neil

 

[Tweeds]

Charge at Waitrose and get a free coffee!

 

[discorduk]

Official MPG for the PHEV with minimum charge is 48.7, and for the diesel auto its also 48.7 (i need auto), which are both better than my other choices ix35 (41.5) and tiguan (47.9), of course official figures are never realistic, but I am using them here as relative comparisons.
So my assumptions are that given that the official mpg figures are the same, petrol is cheaper than diesel per litre, and the phev is presumably better economy on urban than the diesel, just a shame they don't publish that figure.

Personally I must say I doubt that a 2 litre petrol engine dragging round a 200kg battery can give better mpg figures than a diesel, albeit a 2.2 litre one. Can I ask where you got the figures from?

The figures i quote are from the respective vehicle brochures you can download from the mitsubishi uk website, curiously carfueldata.dft.gov.uk gives even worse figures for the diesel auto (39.2 mpg combined), but alas doesn't list the "minimum charge" value for the phev, only the full charge one.

Purely on the motorway, i would agree with you, but i know from my current car that fuel economy on diesel sucks for city driving, which is where a hybrid could potentially do much better

 

[nomiswest1]

Thanks for the information so far.

Just to clarify things a bit more on the tax front.

The model i would be ordering would be the GX3 and I would have to contribute £45 towards the lease. Though saving a lot this seems a lot.

Further questions....
What is the driving like on the motorway using the petrol engine, seeing I am unable to charge the batteries.

On a long journey how much would the battery charge?

What happens when the battery runs out?

I have read that you can charge the battery by idleing the engine half an hour, is this true?

Can an Ipod be used through the basic audio unit

Thanks for your help.

 

[maby]

Thanks for the information so far.

Just to clarify things a bit more on the tax front.

The model i would be ordering would be the GX3 and I would have to contribute £45 towards the lease. Though saving a lot this seems a lot.

Further questions....
What is the driving like on the motorway using the petrol engine, seeing I am unable to charge the batteries.

On a long journey how much would the battery charge?

I have read that you can charge the battery by idleing the engine half an hour, is this true?

Can an Ipod be used through the basic audio unit

Thanks for your help.

It's a perfectly fine car on the motorway with or without charge - in fact the hybrid systems pretty much step aside once you get past 70mph and it is a petrol car up to its top speed. The amount of charge that goes into the battery when cruising depends on your speed. Around 50 to 60mph, it does charge up slowly but by the time you get above 70mph, almost all the output of the petrol engine is going to move the car and any charging is minimal.

You don't charge the battery by "idling the engine" - there is a "Charge" button which runs the engine quite fast and will give you about 80% charge in half an hour or so. This is a pretty fuel inefficient thing to do and not something you would do without a good reason. Primarily you do it to give you some extra charge and improve the car's ability to ascend steep hills. I guess that if you were using one with absolutely no ability to charge from the mains ever, you may charge from the engine once or twice a month to improve battery life expectancy.

Not sure about iPods with GX3s - an Android phone works fine as a music player through the GX4 audio system via Bluetooth.

 

[jaapv]

It does need electricity when driving with a heavy foot. Last week I was in a hurry driving home with a heavily laden car - and no possibility to charge beforehand. - full load and skibox on the Autobahn, about 90 MpH. On long inclines uphill it went into limited power mode once or twice.
Had I been able to charge it before departure and driven it in save or charge mode that might not have happened.

 

[Grigou]

There is a note in the owners manual, page 3-4, saying : "to maintain the capacity of the drive battery, the following is recommended :
- fully charge the vehicle in normal charging every 2 weeks
- do not repeat charging near the full charge level"

No problem for you with the second recommandation, nomiswest1, but what do you think of the first one ? :roll:

I'am quoting myself, just for remembrance

 

[greendwarf]

I had originally been looking at the diesel, but being a computer and electronics geek having a PHEV appeals, but theres no way i would be able to plug it in at home (live in a city, Victorian terraces, no off street parking)

If you can park in the street outside your property then there is always the possibility of trailing an extension lead out and across the pavement to the car. My neighbour does this to charge his ordinary car battery every few months (hardly uses car) - and he lives on the opposite side of the road, so it's actually trailed across the carriageway

 

[Regulo]

My neighbour does this to charge his ordinary car battery every few months (hardly uses car) - and he lives on the opposite side of the road, so it's actually trailed across the carriageway

Where do you live, gd? I fancy suing someone when I trip over a cable trailing across a public footpath. :twisted:

 

[jaapv]

I had originally been looking at the diesel, but being a computer and electronics geek having a PHEV appeals, but theres no way i would be able to plug it in at home (live in a city, Victorian terraces, no off street parking)

If you can park in the street outside your property then there is always the possibility of trailing an extension lead out and across the pavement to the car. My neighbour does this to charge his ordinary car battery every few months (hardly uses car) - and he lives on the opposite side of the road, so it's actually trailed across the carriageway

Like this?:

I use an approved cable protector to prevent tripping an lawsuits

 

[Titan]

I use an approved cable protector to prevent tripping an lawsuits

Ditto but need to get a longer cable.

 

[maby]

.....

Like this?:

I use an approved cable protector to prevent tripping an lawsuits

That's not your regular charging solution, is it?

 

[nomiswest1]

With regards to the running of an extension cable I had been told that it had to be the length of the supplied cable. 4.5 m

Is it safe to use an normal extension cable or does it have to be high current one?

Do you plug into a normal 13 amp socket or does it have to be on a seperate ring.

Jaapv how long is your cable?


Thanks

 

[maby]

It draws about 10A, so you do need a well specified extension cable - a lot of the cheap ones are only rated for 6A. You also need to fully uncoil it - if there is cable left on the reel, it will not cool properly and can overheat.

A ring main is rated at 30A, so you should have plenty of spare capacity for appliances on other sockets. UK wiring regulations do permit the installation of a spur off a ring main and this will only be rated at 15A, so that would have a lot less spare capacity.

 

[jaapv]

With regards to the running of an extension cable I had been told that it had to be the length of the supplied cable. 4.5 m

Is it safe to use an normal extension cable or does it have to be high current one?

Do you plug into a normal 13 amp socket or does it have to be on a seperate ring.

Jaapv how long is your cable?


Thanks

25 meters 3x2.5 It does not heat up at all. 16 amp socket (standard here on the Continent)

 

[jaapv]

.....

Like this?:

I use an approved cable protector to prevent tripping an lawsuits

That's not your regular charging solution, is it?

At home I have a 16A charging station. This one I use at work.

 

[maby]

...

At home I have a 16A charging station. This one I use at work.

I'm surprised that you are allowed to do it - I think my employer would ban it on health and safety grounds!

 

[jaapv]

I am my own employer
Local byelaws allow this ( the neighbour is a policeofficer ) and the local coppers are fine with it.

 

[sokratesagogo]

Nice parking Jaapv!