What is Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

[loyd]

More detailed information for Outlander PHEV forum.

A different kind of plug-in hybrid: this is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which Autocar has been given a world-exclusive first drive in.

Why different? We’ll let the man from Mitsubishi explain. “If the next generation of battery-powered cars is ever going to become truly mainstream, it’s vital that they become ordinary,” he said. “The handful of plug-in hybrids that we’ve seen thus far have been showcase cars; four-wheeled statements of technological advancement for their manufacturers, and of environmental awareness for their drivers, rather than practical, usable family machines for everyone.

“Ours is different,” he insisted, before handing us the keys to a near-finished prototype. Just as we were, you’re probably inclined to dismiss all that as marketing waffle, but the car itself does actually live up to the billing.

 

[zackreynolds]

It's cool that Mitsubishi wants to make the Outlander PHEV just an ordinary production car, not a manufacturer showcase for "being green".

 

[BrotherBig]

I agree that it is pretty amazing that they are trying to make this "just another product". The more companies that do this, the better. I'm pretty excited for the Outlander plug-in.

An SUV may be a bit big for what I am personally looking for, but the technology impresses me! Particularly with some of the nice things that Mitsubishi is trying to do here.

I even like how they focused on naming here. Not content with just PHV, as is the standard acronym for Plug-in Hybrid vehicles, they go with Outlander PHEV. Really just stressing that "electric" part.

When it's finally out in the world a bit more, it'll be fun to see what happens to it, and no doubt, it'll end up somewhere here at the Outlander PHEV forum! So glad, I found you guys.

 

[BobMarin]

I agree that it is pretty amazing that they are trying to make this "just another product". The more companies that do this, the better. I'm pretty excited for the Outlander plug-in.

An SUV may be a bit big for what I am personally looking for, but the technology impresses me! Particularly with some of the nice things that Mitsubishi is trying to do here.

I even like how they focused on naming here. Not content with just PHV, as is the standard acronym for Plug-in Hybrid vehicles, they go with Outlander PHEV. Really just stressing that "electric" part.

When it's finally out in the world a bit more, it'll be fun to see what happens to it, and no doubt, it'll end up somewhere here at the Outlander PHEV forum! So glad, I found you guys.

Never really noticed the PHV - PHEV part in the Outlanders name, interesting tidbit.

 

[Dannyboy]

It's cool that Mitsubishi wants to make the Outlander PHEV just an ordinary production car, not a manufacturer showcase for "being green".

I agree, that just goes to show that we aren't as far from PHEVs being ubiquitous the car market as some might think.

 

[BobMarin]

It's cool that Mitsubishi wants to make the Outlander PHEV just an ordinary production car, not a manufacturer showcase for "being green".

I agree, that just goes to show that we aren't as far from PHEVs being ubiquitous the car market as some might think.

That is the first step we have to take towards a more electric powered transportation system that is long long overdue. I just hope this kind of cars, like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, can make them a lot more popular and affordable to the general public.

 

[BrotherBig]

Popular and affordable are the two key words there, BobMarin. I agree.

Unfortunatley, when you bring up electric cars to a consumer I seem to get a few canned responses. The most common of them is high cost. Ultimately, it's not that bad, but it's still a concern.

On another thread, I talked about "cost of ownership vs cost upfront". It's an age old argument, but when applying simple consumer psychology, we just don't choose well.

We'll pay for rent for years, when it's most cost effective to own a house. We'll buy a house, when it's more cost effective to rent. It's all about that elusive sweet spot, the short term vs the long term, and really taking the time to work it all out. As a society, we don't really do a good job of that.

Hopefully, though, with Outlander Plug-ins, and the like, we can get people to think long-term on their investments.

 

[StanTheMan]

I suppose that's all true, but we're kind of preaching to the choir here.

What the PHV market needs are some pretty strong electric-evangelists to sell this product to the masses.

The Outlander Plug-in sounds cool to me, so I'm talking about it. I'm a fan of the market, though, and have become that annoying guy who talks electric hybrids all the time!

 

[Dannyboy]

I suppose that's all true, but we're kind of preaching to the choir here.

What the PHV market needs are some pretty strong electric-evangelists to sell this product to the masses.

The Outlander Plug-in sounds cool to me, so I'm talking about it. I'm a fan of the market, though, and have become that annoying guy who talks electric hybrids all the time!

The time has already arrived when everybody who is buying a new car is contemplating a PHEV like the Outlander so I think that there is nothing to worry about and that the new taxes and grants that are being put into power will change peoples opinion very fast.