Toffeelover
Player Valuation: £80m
No. You have still not revleaded the car you were looking at. Is it one of those small foreign biscuit tins?
Cars
- Thread starter bobbyrob
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No. You have still not revleaded the car you were looking at. Is it one of those small foreign biscuit tins?
Aye
Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian
The Unobstructed View
What about this thing thats being advertised as doing 156 mpg or something ?
£28k .. same price as the diesel.
What is it?
It's a mud-plugging Mitsubishi SUV, but also a potential green posterboy. This Outlander is a soft and cuddly plug-in hybrid, with a claimed fuel economy figure of 148mpg and CO2 emissions of just 44g/km.
How much?
Yup, you read that right. Those are some mighty impressive figures for a family-friendly, seats-five-easily SUV, even if they don't entirely reflect reality. Even in the real world, you should still average an easy 40mpg, thanks to the combination of electric motors and 2.0-litre petrol engine. And your average will be even higher if you're mainly making short, all-electric trips.
So how does the tech work?
The Outlander PHEV is a plug-in series parallel hybrid, a phrase that might require breaking down. So here goes.
Plug-in: the Mitsu can be hooked up into the mains electricity supply, charging it for a (somewhat theoretical) ‘electric-only' range of 32.5 miles.
Series parallel: the petrol engine and electric motors work together, with either source providing motive power directly to the wheels, or be de-clutched and used to charge the batteries back up. The car decides which task has priority at any given point depending on how it's been driven. Think Toyota Prius, but with more emphasis on running on electric, and you'll be about there.
What all this means is that you can set off from home in the morning in full electric mode, and drive about 30 miles on EV only. Then, when the batteries are depleted, the petrol will kick in and get you the rest of the way, at the same time as charging the batteries back up. EV range anxiety solved.
But does it work?
To a certain extent, yes. For short journeys, starting with a full charge, you can achieve some extraordinary ‘economy' figures. Despite driving normally, with air con on, we never dipped below 60mpg.
And because it has two electric motors, one on either axle, it's still a four-wheel drive SUV easily capable of towing little Ginny and the nag to the local gymkhana.
But as a car to know and love, the Outlander isn't so great. The batteries have added 200kg to the kerbweight, so it doesn't ride as well as the diesel version.
And the 2.0-litre petrol is disappointing. It doesn't add the expected boost in power when it kicks in, and it's a wheezy lump that rasps asthmatically as soon as you push it. Compared to the smooth electric mode, the Outlander's combustion engine feels very old-school.
So should I buy one?
It depends. If you don't do huge miles, and like doing your bit for the planet but don't want to compromise on range or practicality, the hybrid Outlander makes sense.
Especially when you factor in the cost. Including government subsidy, the hybrid will cost you exactly the same as the diesel Outlander: £28,249. In other words, there's no price penalty for being green.
And company car drivers should definitely take a look. Because of the low tax bands, company car users will save a fortune over three years - as much as £11,500 compared to some rivals.
£28k .. same price as the diesel.
What is it?
It's a mud-plugging Mitsubishi SUV, but also a potential green posterboy. This Outlander is a soft and cuddly plug-in hybrid, with a claimed fuel economy figure of 148mpg and CO2 emissions of just 44g/km.
How much?
Yup, you read that right. Those are some mighty impressive figures for a family-friendly, seats-five-easily SUV, even if they don't entirely reflect reality. Even in the real world, you should still average an easy 40mpg, thanks to the combination of electric motors and 2.0-litre petrol engine. And your average will be even higher if you're mainly making short, all-electric trips.
So how does the tech work?
The Outlander PHEV is a plug-in series parallel hybrid, a phrase that might require breaking down. So here goes.
Plug-in: the Mitsu can be hooked up into the mains electricity supply, charging it for a (somewhat theoretical) ‘electric-only' range of 32.5 miles.
Series parallel: the petrol engine and electric motors work together, with either source providing motive power directly to the wheels, or be de-clutched and used to charge the batteries back up. The car decides which task has priority at any given point depending on how it's been driven. Think Toyota Prius, but with more emphasis on running on electric, and you'll be about there.
What all this means is that you can set off from home in the morning in full electric mode, and drive about 30 miles on EV only. Then, when the batteries are depleted, the petrol will kick in and get you the rest of the way, at the same time as charging the batteries back up. EV range anxiety solved.
But does it work?
To a certain extent, yes. For short journeys, starting with a full charge, you can achieve some extraordinary ‘economy' figures. Despite driving normally, with air con on, we never dipped below 60mpg.
And because it has two electric motors, one on either axle, it's still a four-wheel drive SUV easily capable of towing little Ginny and the nag to the local gymkhana.
But as a car to know and love, the Outlander isn't so great. The batteries have added 200kg to the kerbweight, so it doesn't ride as well as the diesel version.
And the 2.0-litre petrol is disappointing. It doesn't add the expected boost in power when it kicks in, and it's a wheezy lump that rasps asthmatically as soon as you push it. Compared to the smooth electric mode, the Outlander's combustion engine feels very old-school.
So should I buy one?
It depends. If you don't do huge miles, and like doing your bit for the planet but don't want to compromise on range or practicality, the hybrid Outlander makes sense.
Especially when you factor in the cost. Including government subsidy, the hybrid will cost you exactly the same as the diesel Outlander: £28,249. In other words, there's no price penalty for being green.
And company car drivers should definitely take a look. Because of the low tax bands, company car users will save a fortune over three years - as much as £11,500 compared to some rivals.
Garrick
Awesome, lid.
It's a tactic. Designed to wear you down, second guess yourself, and settle for a worse deal than you could get otherwise.
Bring a book and stay strong.
Last edited:
Milk
Udderly delicious
Well, they (Audi) were stupid. We made our offer, they refused but didn't even try and negotiated as we walked.
I find Audi dealers particularly obnoxious and am unlikely to buy one from them again
Can you get any leverage on them by pitting the dealers against themselves? If they're not calling you back, they've probably got too much demand to reduce the price. That's when you'll probably not have much luck.
Milk
Udderly delicious
Problem was daughter wanted an automatic so it was finding demo or nearly new and they were a bit scarce on forecourts.
I was a bit surprised that they allowed us to walk though as we had had a few cars out on test and were serious buyers as we proved by going next door and buying a Merc instead - an altogether much more pleasant experience (although Audi had better coffee)
Garrick
Awesome, lid.
Weird that they didn't even try to make a counteroffer. Hope your daughter enjoys the Merc!
What did she end up getting then?
Milk
Udderly delicious
"A" class 220 AMG ....... 3k on the clock, 8k off the list and with a load of goodies.
Personally I don't go a bundle on the satnav screen thingy which appears to be glued to the dash as an afterthought but it goes like stink with great pick up for a diesel auto.
Sooo, the new Tesla has Insane Mode... which is exactly what it sounds like. 0-60 in 3.2 sec.
Chewbacca
Player Valuation: £35m
And then stops as it's run out of electrickery
Foot Long Hot Dog
Player Valuation: A packet of pork scratchings
People walk into dealerships and think they can name their price because there's thousands of £'s in margin for the retailer.
The reality is that most price them to sell and there's little room for negotiation, you'll get a couple of hundred but ask for a mssive chip and stand firm and they'll let you walk.
The reality is that most price them to sell and there's little room for negotiation, you'll get a couple of hundred but ask for a mssive chip and stand firm and they'll let you walk.
Have no idea how it works in the UK, but last two vehicles I bought were significant deviations from MSRP. One listed at roughly $36,000, and sold for $27,000. The other listed at $37,000 and sold at roughly $32,000.
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