1st day of 2 day test period in PHEV
Discussion
If i'm honest i'm not over the moon!
Started off badly when i arrived at dealers at arranged time 9:30am to be told that no salesmen where in. Eventually the chap who i saw just 2 days ago for an initial test drive rolled up, he couldn't remember me and wanted to take all my details and go out for a spin, after a bit of telling the penny dropped that i'd done all that, anyway all sorted.
I'll go and get the car for you he smilingly said, it's the 3h. "No" i said, "we agreed it's the 4h i'm taking", he replied along the lines that all the 4's were out and he only had the 3. As i pointed out to him the whole point of taking a 4 is that i wanted to replicate owning one including the pre-heating, actually especially the pre-heating. His reply was priceless "the mechanicals are the same sir" - i gave up, obviously the pre-heating, therefore petrol saving aspect he wanted to brush over.
After a brief control talk - again, he said, "best to keep the heating turned off and run it in eco-mode, afterall you might not be able to handle 200bhp" "yeah" i replied not wanting to spoil his condescending grin with the fact that i drive a 400bhp/ton fun car, that does 0-60 in 4sec rather than the pathetic 11 sec plus for the PHEV - more on that aspect later.
So off i went, in eco-mode and no heating, now bearing in mind it's 3 deg c, with snow on the ground, i turn the heating on, to a sub-tropical 17 degC, and hey presto the engine started, to cut this bit short the engine was in and out for the 15 mile drive home, by the time i got home it was at 50% charge and the petrol average was 72mpg, so not too bad i suppose.
In the afternoon the Mrs and I decided to go into another town, again on start up the engine was running, it did this on and off all the way in which was 20 miles, my Mrs who was driving remarked how slow it was, and that pulling away from junctions there was a lag from pressing the accelerator to actually moving, and even then it was slow, she actually said "this is frighteningly slow".
I drove home and decided to give it some welly just to see what the overtaking potential was, and to sum it up - slow and horribly noisy with the droning engine note.
We finally got home having covered a total of 61 miles, with the battery range on 0, and 45mpg on the trip computer. Now i'm not a leaden right foot driver, i can always beat manufacturers mpg figures, so i'm a little concerned.
As a general note, i found the seats hard and uncomfortable, very "slab" like with little contouring, i'm very disappointed with the performance, even when in full EV and Motor mode, and i found the road noise tiring.
The car is currently 50% through a charge, i'll see what tomorrow brings.
Started off badly when i arrived at dealers at arranged time 9:30am to be told that no salesmen where in. Eventually the chap who i saw just 2 days ago for an initial test drive rolled up, he couldn't remember me and wanted to take all my details and go out for a spin, after a bit of telling the penny dropped that i'd done all that, anyway all sorted.
I'll go and get the car for you he smilingly said, it's the 3h. "No" i said, "we agreed it's the 4h i'm taking", he replied along the lines that all the 4's were out and he only had the 3. As i pointed out to him the whole point of taking a 4 is that i wanted to replicate owning one including the pre-heating, actually especially the pre-heating. His reply was priceless "the mechanicals are the same sir" - i gave up, obviously the pre-heating, therefore petrol saving aspect he wanted to brush over.
After a brief control talk - again, he said, "best to keep the heating turned off and run it in eco-mode, afterall you might not be able to handle 200bhp" "yeah" i replied not wanting to spoil his condescending grin with the fact that i drive a 400bhp/ton fun car, that does 0-60 in 4sec rather than the pathetic 11 sec plus for the PHEV - more on that aspect later.
So off i went, in eco-mode and no heating, now bearing in mind it's 3 deg c, with snow on the ground, i turn the heating on, to a sub-tropical 17 degC, and hey presto the engine started, to cut this bit short the engine was in and out for the 15 mile drive home, by the time i got home it was at 50% charge and the petrol average was 72mpg, so not too bad i suppose.
In the afternoon the Mrs and I decided to go into another town, again on start up the engine was running, it did this on and off all the way in which was 20 miles, my Mrs who was driving remarked how slow it was, and that pulling away from junctions there was a lag from pressing the accelerator to actually moving, and even then it was slow, she actually said "this is frighteningly slow".
I drove home and decided to give it some welly just to see what the overtaking potential was, and to sum it up - slow and horribly noisy with the droning engine note.
We finally got home having covered a total of 61 miles, with the battery range on 0, and 45mpg on the trip computer. Now i'm not a leaden right foot driver, i can always beat manufacturers mpg figures, so i'm a little concerned.
As a general note, i found the seats hard and uncomfortable, very "slab" like with little contouring, i'm very disappointed with the performance, even when in full EV and Motor mode, and i found the road noise tiring.
The car is currently 50% through a charge, i'll see what tomorrow brings.
Shame they did not have the 4h in, I have been driving mine for a month now and I am still yet to use any fuel, it was only out of interest a week ago I realised I didn't know if the engine even worked.
They are not fast but you should be able to get them to shift and there is a little lag on the motor, owning the car is a little bit of a life choice. I keep my quick cars for the weekend and this is the everyday economic car for work and family trips which it does well, I find the leather seats comfortable and the heated seats makes it OK if you wish to drive without the heater on. Also the heated seats are 12v so not a draw on the high voltage system.
The ride is firm, not quite as firm as my last 3 series E90 m-sport suspension but it is not far from it.
Be interesting to see how you get on but the car is very capable but it requires more thinking to get the best from the EV system. Though I believe the car is not suited to all, I am lucky I only drive local less than the range miles and for me a month of driving costs about £12 rather than the £80+ in the V6
They are not fast but you should be able to get them to shift and there is a little lag on the motor, owning the car is a little bit of a life choice. I keep my quick cars for the weekend and this is the everyday economic car for work and family trips which it does well, I find the leather seats comfortable and the heated seats makes it OK if you wish to drive without the heater on. Also the heated seats are 12v so not a draw on the high voltage system.
The ride is firm, not quite as firm as my last 3 series E90 m-sport suspension but it is not far from it.
Be interesting to see how you get on but the car is very capable but it requires more thinking to get the best from the EV system. Though I believe the car is not suited to all, I am lucky I only drive local less than the range miles and for me a month of driving costs about £12 rather than the £80+ in the V6
Had a 4h on demo a couple of nights ago to consider as a company car.
Full charge and managed 55mpg on a 35mile commute with no charge left despite driving like a granny and saving the battery for the town bits.
EV was approx 20mile range.
Nice idea and enjoyed wafting round on ev but any bik saving is wasted if you need to travel decent miles with no opportunity to recharge. Tank range isn't good either and it sounds awful when revved.
Now In a 2.2d skyactiv Mazda cx5 for a few days and its leagues apart.
Not going to give up on phev as its really made me think.
However will only consider it further when it can fit my current driving profile or my profile changes to suit its capabilities.
Full charge and managed 55mpg on a 35mile commute with no charge left despite driving like a granny and saving the battery for the town bits.
EV was approx 20mile range.
Nice idea and enjoyed wafting round on ev but any bik saving is wasted if you need to travel decent miles with no opportunity to recharge. Tank range isn't good either and it sounds awful when revved.
Now In a 2.2d skyactiv Mazda cx5 for a few days and its leagues apart.
Not going to give up on phev as its really made me think.
However will only consider it further when it can fit my current driving profile or my profile changes to suit its capabilities.
Gosh the PHEV don't sound good at all. Not much electric range, still has a noisy engine, and not that great mpg.
I suppose that's the comprise of trying to be an ICE and EV car at the same time. The Lexus Hybrid we have works beautifully, but that's only because the 'hybrid' aspect is really only designed to recover lost brake energy, and also allow a more efficient atkins petrol cycle. So it essentially allows a 2.5L petrol engine to deliver the same economy as a 2.0 turbo diesel, but without the diesel rattle, and cheaper petrol costs. So essentially we treat is a normal ICE car (because it is), but with cheap running costs (50-55 mpg), decent performance (similar to 320d), and amazing refinement (especially in EV mode).
I've had my Leaf for just over 24 hrs now. Covered 65 miles yesterday (20 miles left when I got home), plugged it in over night. This morning 100% charge, range 85 miles, car pre-warmed 10 minutes before I left the house so nice and hot inside despite it been 4 degrees outside. Dropped wife off at work, I've just got in the office. 10 miles commute in total, range display days 75 miles (so very accurate!!).
Got a few errands to run at lunch time, and before picking up the wife at work tonight I'll pop into the local service stations for a rapid charge (Free, wife works 2 miles from the service station), that should set us up for enough range to cover the Easter weekend without having to plug the Leaf into the mains.....may pop into the Cinema this weekend, the car park there has EV charging (Again free), so essentially getting 'free' fuel whilst watching a film
.
I cannot see my self buying another ICE car again!!
I suppose that's the comprise of trying to be an ICE and EV car at the same time. The Lexus Hybrid we have works beautifully, but that's only because the 'hybrid' aspect is really only designed to recover lost brake energy, and also allow a more efficient atkins petrol cycle. So it essentially allows a 2.5L petrol engine to deliver the same economy as a 2.0 turbo diesel, but without the diesel rattle, and cheaper petrol costs. So essentially we treat is a normal ICE car (because it is), but with cheap running costs (50-55 mpg), decent performance (similar to 320d), and amazing refinement (especially in EV mode).
I've had my Leaf for just over 24 hrs now. Covered 65 miles yesterday (20 miles left when I got home), plugged it in over night. This morning 100% charge, range 85 miles, car pre-warmed 10 minutes before I left the house so nice and hot inside despite it been 4 degrees outside. Dropped wife off at work, I've just got in the office. 10 miles commute in total, range display days 75 miles (so very accurate!!).
Got a few errands to run at lunch time, and before picking up the wife at work tonight I'll pop into the local service stations for a rapid charge (Free, wife works 2 miles from the service station), that should set us up for enough range to cover the Easter weekend without having to plug the Leaf into the mains.....may pop into the Cinema this weekend, the car park there has EV charging (Again free), so essentially getting 'free' fuel whilst watching a film
.I cannot see my self buying another ICE car again!!
Edited by gangzoom on Thursday 2nd April 09:18
Rather than put a separate "Day 2" i'll update here:
Charged yesterday on 13A domestic circuit, no problems and from empty to full in 5hrs, although range said 22 miles despite all indications saying it wasn't taking any more juice.
We did a daily short run to replicate usage, this is 4 miles up to the field to feed horses and walk dogs, the return trip showed 28.6mpg, obviously the hills, wanting some heat and then having it cool down between journeys took it's toll.
Soon after we went into town and the mpg went off scale ie. over 100mpg, so all was good, however the battery was flat soon after we started the return journey and take the car back to the Mitsubishi garage.
The day ended with a total of 61 miles and an overall average of 66mpg including a full charge, so effectively it averaged 39mpg on petrol, and 22 miles of battery.
I can see the point of the car on a 20-30 mile round trip with a full charge, but short and longer runs then I might as well run a diesel when comparing mpg's, however the 2 points that really made us decide it was wasn't for us are the gutless acceleration and damned bench-like seats, my back was killing me and my arse was numb.
So after a brief flirtation I'm afraid this particular car is not for us, maybe in 5 years when things have progressed a bit it will be a better time to take the plunge into EV or Hybrid technology.
Charged yesterday on 13A domestic circuit, no problems and from empty to full in 5hrs, although range said 22 miles despite all indications saying it wasn't taking any more juice.
We did a daily short run to replicate usage, this is 4 miles up to the field to feed horses and walk dogs, the return trip showed 28.6mpg, obviously the hills, wanting some heat and then having it cool down between journeys took it's toll.
Soon after we went into town and the mpg went off scale ie. over 100mpg, so all was good, however the battery was flat soon after we started the return journey and take the car back to the Mitsubishi garage.
The day ended with a total of 61 miles and an overall average of 66mpg including a full charge, so effectively it averaged 39mpg on petrol, and 22 miles of battery.
I can see the point of the car on a 20-30 mile round trip with a full charge, but short and longer runs then I might as well run a diesel when comparing mpg's, however the 2 points that really made us decide it was wasn't for us are the gutless acceleration and damned bench-like seats, my back was killing me and my arse was numb.
So after a brief flirtation I'm afraid this particular car is not for us, maybe in 5 years when things have progressed a bit it will be a better time to take the plunge into EV or Hybrid technology.
For a little bit more money you could consider the new BMW X5 plug-in due later this year. You mentioned you got 66mpg for your short journey in the real world - how many large 4x4s diesel cars get this? And remember the petrol is slightly cheaper than diesel so you're talking approximately 68-70mpg in terms of cost comparison. Our 2.0tdi Tiguan struggles to get over 36mpg actual on short (sub 20mile) runs!
The PHEV is about to get a facelift and I hope they tackle the interior as it is the major weakness for a car at this price point. But other posters are correct, it does need to fit into the right lifestyle otherwise a diesel variant would suit you better. However for the school run 'must have a 4x4' journeys I would rather see these things used than diesels doing silly short distances causing both potential engine/filter problems and horrible emissions/smell as they sit idling waiting for their offspring...
The PHEV is about to get a facelift and I hope they tackle the interior as it is the major weakness for a car at this price point. But other posters are correct, it does need to fit into the right lifestyle otherwise a diesel variant would suit you better. However for the school run 'must have a 4x4' journeys I would rather see these things used than diesels doing silly short distances causing both potential engine/filter problems and horrible emissions/smell as they sit idling waiting for their offspring...
PKLD said:
The PHEV is about to get a facelift and I hope they tackle the interior as it is the major weakness for a car at this price point.
Sadly, they haven't updated the interior with the facelift. However I am not having problems with the seats and am 5,000 miles in. However it is horses for courses I suppose and each person is different. They are not up to the 'comfort' seats I had on my Range Rover before, but the nearly 60mpg average I am getting overall including some long (South Bucks -Swansea or Devon return) trips is a bit better than the 16mpg I used to get...Mostly short journeys for me, locally within round trip EV range and to my office or Heathrow both of which are in EV range and have chargers for my return trip. Has 4x4 for when I need it (avid shooter) and big and comfortable for me, wife and 2 teens when we go on longer journeys to Devon/South Wales - Perfect car for me for now. Tesla next...
I get the feeling based on your comments that if you had the pre-heat of the 4H then the engine would have been on a hell of a lot less, mine hardly cuts in within range unless I floor it.
Personally, I love the ACC, it was on the wish list for whatever car I got next.
I was getting 22 miles when temps were in the 3-4 range, but now we are in the 10-12 range I am getting 26-28 miles.
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