Where we're going, we're going to need roads... and a plug socket or two
- 6/10
- 41,500
- See Mitsubishis Website
Tech Specs...
- Engine Size: 1998cc
- Gearbox: 1 Speed Auto
- 0-62mph: 11 Seconds
- Top Speed: Approx. 106mph.
- Power: 119bhp
- Fuel Economy: 148mpg (Combined)
- GadgetGeek Fuel: 38.4mpg (250 miles)
What we love...
- Love the idea of a Hybrid Car
- Comfortable
- Spacious and Roomy
What we don't love...
- Electric Range is low
- Fuel economy awful when out of juice
- Lots of plastics inside
So its the year 2015, according to Back to the Future and my childhood dreams, we are all suppose to be driving flying Deloreans and getting around on Hoverboards. My dreams really did consist of scenes from BTTF, with me going to work in a Flying Delorean, using bunting to get out of the car on top of Grandways Supermarket in Borrowash, where I was brought up.
So 2015, no flying cars and no one is even close to perfecting the whole car/plane combination. Yet Firebox do now sell electric Deloreans at £70,000 a pop! But I think I’d prefer the Tesla if I was going to head all electric, but I would need to speak to the Halifax to see if I could get a Mortgage to pay for it.
Electric cars are becoming more popular, on a recent trip to Amsterdam, they were everywhere with charging points to top the cars up at various points. However, shift this to the UK and although you see the odd Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S and a few Toyota Plug In Hybrids, but you don’t see the charging points unless its at Heathrow airport or the odd service station, even then they seem to have non-electric cars parked in the spaces.
I’ve wanted to play with an electric car and a plug in hybrid for long time, I get to drive these things in controlled areas but not to use them as a day to day car, but then one day…
First Thoughts...
First impressions of the Mitsubishi ‘Phev’ – Well it look like one of those duck boats in Liverpool, the ones that take you on the tour of the city on the road, then drive into Albert Docks, to show the beautiful buildings and of course, occasionally the duck boats sink. This had a similar effect and made my heart sink.
I wasn’t looking forward to driving this, especially on a long term test. In the past Mitsubishis have been good work horse cars but not comfortable, the interior is normally well built but very plasticy. The car had 1/4 of a battery and a full tank of fuel, that converts to 180 miles worth of petrol (not diesel) miles and 8 miles of electric driving.
Whats it like inside...
Leather seats, Satellite Navigation a wide range of buttons and climate control features, it doesn’t come up short of gadgets and screens showing what the car is doing with regards to battery charging or discharging.
There seems plenty of space inside and the boot space is impressive, I take it normal petrol and diesel outlanders have 7 seats, as the footwell and cupholders are still in the boot space, this must be taken up by the batteries.
It seems pretty comfortable with the first sit, I like the driving position and the steering wheel is adjustable. Heated seats, etc… Yeah I’m good to go…
I’m assuming that Canon thing that this market are more likely to dump their Panasonic GH5’s and their Sony RX100V’s to get a great all rounder.
Of course, the main thing you’ll want to do with this camera is take photos. A new onboard processor DIGIC 8 processor, the first time that this has appeared in Canon’s lineup.
It takes up great shots, you only have to #canonm50 on instagram to see that.
Gadgets are the important bits...
The main gadgetry in this vehicle has to be the plug in electric system and the screens that compliment this. I was told by the handover guy that their is an App that you can download for the car which you connect via WiFi, but up to this point, I still haven’t managed to pair it.
The app is easy to find on the app store, but pairing the bloody thing isn’t! Close the door, turn on ignition press lock and unlock 5 times, it goes on, I get in and out of the car and still my iPhone cannot find the wireless access point of the car.
Other features are the Satellite Navigation, Bluetooth streaming and handsfree and of course the useful screens showing range and charging costs. The electric point finder on the sat nav is out of date and could do with an update.
On the roads...
My first trip is a simple 10 mile trip from Derby to Belper, battery depleted quite quick so the engine soon kicked in. The route is small roads so the mpg sat at a dreadful 19.8mpg, and the car did not sound well at all. I was feathering the thottle but at some points I thought the engine was going to blow up as it was revving that high, apparently its topping the battery up.
When at home, I go into the boot and plug the car in. I’m not lucky enough to have a fast charger in the house so a standard 3 pin plug in supplied which I managed to wire through the letter box. I left it on for a few hours before disconnecting it and going to bed.
In the morning I had 3/4 battery and managed the whole trip from Belper to Derby on just the battery. We were doing more than 100 mpg as nothing came up on the dashboard. I just made it to the office before the battery ran out and the engine kicked in.
Over the weekend, it had various charges and trips. We went across the peak district and racked up a fair few miles. I found that the B5 function was the best for town driving, it was like driving the BMW i3 and due to the regeneration system, braking wasn’t needed when lifting off the thottle.
However, even after all of the miles, I still only managed 24.4mpg.
Overall Feel...
The car drove a lot better than I thought and was very comfortable, the engine is off putting though. Revving up at weird times to charge the battery, etc.
We used the heated seats (even though it is June) and the air con, it didn’t have too much effect on the battery. Sat Nav is a bit useless and as I have said previously, charging points are hard to come across. Eventually when I did find some at Kingsway Retail Park in Derby, there were normal cars in them and I don’t think they were even in service.
Would I Buy One...
I think Electric cars have got a long way to go before they become mainstream, more charging points are needed to benefit these and I know the standard argument comes into play about how often do you do a 120 mile trip in one go, but its still there.
These range extenders and hybrids are the way to go if you do the long distance but the batteries do need to be bigger. 20 odd miles to the gallon is poor, I could run a BMW M4 for that sort of figure.
Disclaimer
This Mitsubishi Phev had been loaned to me by Cocoon Vehicles Ltd. We do have an affiliate scheme and relationship with this company and Short Term Car Leasing Ltd so want to make everyone aware. However, all reviews are simply written as a hobby and on this review no payments have been crossed between us and/or Cocoon.
