Real World Electric EV range of my Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV

Real World Electric EV range of my Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV Plug In Hybrid
Before anyone says it, let me say it first. This may be the most anal video you will watch. But having driven an Outlander PHEV Plug In Hybrid for the past 4 years, I got offered the "deal of a lifetime" to upgrade. The latest model has a 2.4 litre petrol engine and increase battery capacity.
The electrical range you can get from the batteries depends on the ambient heat (the warmer the wether the more efficient are the batteries), your driving style, the engine settings - ie setting to "Eco" and "EV" and use of the regenerative paddles. Sounds complicated? Not when you get used to it and you realise you are saving £££ or $$$ ! For information, this video was produced in the UK.
So on my 2016 PHEV i would get an EV / Electric driving range of about 18miles in the winter and 23/24 miles in the summer. The new Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 PHEV promised marginally better so lets see!
If you don't have the patience to watch, in short I did get an improved EV range and, interestingly, albeit with a bigger engine, higher MPG.
Mitsubishi's claims of 140mpg ish are very confusing. If you do a 35 mile trip and most of it is on Electric your MPG (remember I am talking UK Imperial Gallons here) may show 750MPG ! If you do a 100 mile trip, using all your electric and then regenerating from the engine so maybe 50% of the drive was on electric, you may show 70MPG, hypothetically.
Finally if you drive aggressively, don't bother to regenerate, don't bother to use "Eco" mode and switch on the more responsive "Sport" mode your economy will, of course suffer.
And for those who can't be bothered to charge the batteries at all.....you will have to visit the fuel pump more often that you might expect because its fuel tank is smaller (45 litres) to compensate for the battery pack.
RobLittleUK

[@jonathaniancooper1]

I enjoyed it Rob. I tend to coast alot and use regen istead of the brakes. SO having tested the car out over the past few months, I have got 34miles out of of full charge on relatively flat roads split between 30 40 and 60 mph at night without traffic. The ICE did not kick in and it was using lights, wipers and heat occasionally. I use watchdog and the battery cells charge to 4.096v and the battery is 327.5v so close to advertised. Having done the calculations and cost analysis. It's £1.60 to charge to full and I used 8 gallons to do 1200 miles. This seemed to line up with mitsubishi's claims of fuel consumed and also their range. Watchdog says 75% soh of battery but it's what the car does rather than the data I go by. Very happy with my 2020 4hs 50000 miles on the clock. Compared with the 2011 1.6 diesel passat it replaced in terms of cost...Passat was getting 800miles for £100. Outlander has given 1200 miles on £45 electric and £50 in petrol. All in all, for what it is - a 4x4 suv with lots of space for a family and cargo it is quite impressive. Thanks for the video

[@RobLittleuk]

Wow thats quite an analysis you've done. I have to say that I have never got 34 miles out of a charge. What is this "watchdog" and how does that work?

[@greekxstitcher5379]

Safe travel it’s beautiful! It’s warm here it was 34 on Wednesday! Today it’s cool 22 my kind of weather !! I found this very interesting! Actually we were thinking of getting an electric Outlander too

[@RobLittleuk]

Well I had the 2016 model for 4 years and up to now very pleased with this new one. But look out for a new model coming your way in 2022!! Thanks for your comment as always!

[@bagdaduk]

I was looking into buying one of these for the fuel economy. And for context. My BMW 2012 F30 330D M Sport ( 3 series) does 47.1 miles per gallon. And thats a 3lt diesel 250bhp

[@RobLittleuk]

I'd stick with the BM unless you are doing lots of short journeys then, especially if you can buy your electricity cheap over night the Outlander would work

[@alexgempfer937]

Personally, i found the best way to drive it on the bat save mode using regen braking on b5. My driving style is normal with casual overtaking on sport mode, environment- suburban stretches with some drving around villages. 2.4 2019

[@crocop2o12]

its easier to get the amount of kwh you actually put in with a digital charger otlr any way you want to measure the energy u put in the battery, better than showing your range which is not the same for every driver

[@RobLittleuk]

I have got to be honest I am not that scientific - in the end its a hybrid and if you can charge cheaply at home it will be quite cheap to run for a comfortable car

[@crocop2o12]

How many miles today? and what is the range ? didnt had too much battery dégradation ? since this vidéo was posted long time ago :)

[@RobLittleuk]

@@crocop2o12 Well if I do less than 25 miles - eg its 12 miles to and from my nearest big town, I use electric all the time. No noticeable degradation in 2 years.

[@ScubaAnt72]

FYI for anyone else who visits here, on my (second-hand) MY20 (built Jul 2019 2.4 litre engine/13.8kW battery) I get around 25 miles/40km electric range on reasonably flat roads (around Adelaide, South Australia) on an approx 25 Deg C day, running the A/C. The car has done 50,000kms and according to PHEVwatchdog the battery has degraded to around 75% of original capacity. I would have expected the car in this video to do better given the low miles on the odometer but I do note that the outside temperature is 15 deg C.

[@RobLittleuk]

Thanks for your contribution. Two years on I have not noticed any degradation in the battery and I have done 40k miles so similar to yours. Only problem has been with the Radio Head Unit - a common problem.

[@ScubaAnt72]

No worries@@RobLittleuk . I've heard that the battery degradation 'levels off' after the first few years - so it sounds like this is the case for you too. The previous owner had the head unit replaced under warranty. Happy PHEVing! Cheers, Antony.

[@tmh705]

Thanks for very informative video 👍 Just bought mine used (-20 model) and doing some mpg testing on my channel also.

[@RobLittleuk]

Excellent - hope it serves you as well as mine has served me!

[@aurimasmiknevicius3628]

Hi. How much it cost you to fully charge the battery please

[@tmh705]

@@aurimasmiknevicius3628 At home, with my current price, it costs about 1,8 €.

[@tmh705]

@@aurimasmiknevicius3628 For me, on my current contract, at home, the cost is about 1,5 euros

[@roltol7539]

it takes like 3 full charges to drive 100km in the city thats no doubt about it... i have same 2019 model and in winter at 0C you can drive 15-19miles max ... i mean we have driven 256km and did 5 times full charge and still put over 30liter of fuel... its very hungry car

[@RobLittleuk]

All I can say it is better than these so-called hybrids that you do not plug in. Thanks for your comment.

[@roltol7539]

@@RobLittleuk yeah, but if you take suv with 1.6 petrol engine, the money you save from being plugin will buy you fuel for 8years... so ... realy doubt about is it cheaper to drive plugin

[@RobLittleuk]

@@roltol7539 you may be right

[@asmasadiq5173]

Hi I'm agreeing with you as I'm the same it's taking alot of petrol and charge iv got a 16 plate

[@RobLittleuk]

@@asmasadiq5173 Thanks for your comment - the 2020 car is better on petrol and goes a little further on electric.

[@UKDroneAdventures]

I have just watched the video, I'm getting my 2.4 Outlander Phev this week. Has anyone done any experiments to see how much extra petrol you use when pressing the "Charge" button, so that the battery is charging when travelling? I'm assuming that if i'm doing motorway speeds, then this could be a good thing to do ... or am I best letting the car decide?

[@RobLittleuk]

Hi - thanks for your comment. The battery is always being charged while the engine is running but if you don't hit the "charge" button, after you run out of electric, the engine will kick in and out - it generates a mile or two, goes to electric and then after a few miles the engine comes back on again. If you press the charge button, it will just charge using the engine, without stopping, until it is full. Hope this helps.

[@UKDroneAdventures]

@@RobLittleuk Thanks. I thought that was what the 'Save' button did... What does the Save button do that's different to the Charge button?

[@RobLittleuk]

@@UKDroneAdventures the save button starts the engine and allows it to charge the batteries and to use the electric that has been charged. But it won’t your store of electricity drop below what it was when you pressed the save button.

[@UKDroneAdventures]

@@RobLittleuk Ah. Brilliant explanation. Thanks.

[@OMYAB_Adventures]

Would having a full tank effect the range because of the weight?

[@evdabbler]

Good set of tests. I see you have used a range of B modes. Given the speeds you seemed to be driving at, have you tried using B0 as the default for better efficiency on main roads with little traffic?

[@RobLittleuk]

Hi and thanks for your comment. This test - particularly at the end - was conducted on a small single lane road with little or no traffic for safety reasons. Not sure whether to use the term "highway or "motorway" because I don't know where you are but living where I live I have usually exhausted my electric by the time I reach a highway. I usually drive using the EV switch and Eco on B0 but use the paddles or stick to engage regen when I can. Not sure if that answers your question?

[@evdabbler]

@@RobLittleuk That makes good sense !

[@Excellent2009able]

Hey Dude, , im looking for some advice on the main differences / pros & cons between a 2014 PHEV vs 2015 PHEV facelift model? I’m looking at a 2014 with 52,000 miles & a 2015 with 100,000 miles at a simular price! Mostly for short runs so would be plugging it in every night! Thanks

[@RobLittleuk]

Gotta be honest - my first Mitsubishi as the 2015 so know nothing about the 2014 previous model. However you have to remember with both of these the engine may only have been running for half the time or less. But unable to really advise other than that. Sorry.

[@Excellent2009able]

@@RobLittleuk thank you 🙏🏻

[@richardstafford8859]

great video! do you still own this car. im looking at a 2019 version...

[@RobLittleuk]

Yes I do !

[@enricio]

You done very well. 🦚. modesty adorns men. 👌✨

[@davebown8145]

Great video thanks. Would love to know or even better see a video on, mpg on petrol alone? Both motorway and county roads. Can't seem to find real world info. Cheers

[@RobLittleuk]

Petrol alone, driven hard at 85mph ish (on private roads of course) you will find it gets high 20s. More restrained driving, petrol only, high 30s.

[@davebown8145]

@@RobLittleuk Thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated. Useful info!

[@OMYAB_Adventures]

Ive just bought a 2015 model after never driving phev b4. How do you choose to drive electric only and how do you choose to pick hybrid mix mode? Cant fknd any vids on this

[@RobLittleuk]

To answer both your questions....yes, clearly, the more weight that is in the car the less range you will have on electric but I suspect it would be barely noticeable - the weather outside, ie if its cold, will make much more difference. And a car that is now 9 years old will have lost some of its battery efficiency. AND The car naturally defaults to hybrid mix mode, as you describe it. you can choose to select EV mode - I think the switch is near the gear lever. If you select "CHARGE" mode, it will only use the engine. If neither CHARGE or EV is selected, it will work in "hybrix mix mode". Hope this helps.

[@Karl-Benny]

Like to know full range of car

[@RobLittleuk]

Did you watch the video?

[@omard843]

Thank you, very detailed and informative 👍🏼

[@RobLittleuk]

Glad you found it interesting

[@cliftonwalk8072]

Hi mate, nice video, thank you 👍 Do you know what mpg would you get driving on a motorway at constant speed at 70mph having no electricity at all? Just using the petrol engine? I consider to purchase 2019 model. Most people showing their mpg on short distances just around town or on mixed journeys 50% town 50% motorway. But what is a real fuel consumption on long 100miles+ journeys using only motorway?

[@RobLittleuk]

Well you need to remember your engine would be generating electric unless you hit the save button. I have calculated it to low 30s engine only at high speed. Just what you would expect from a petrol engine of that size. But in practice, between fills, I am averaging over 50mpg and I am very happy with that.

[@007Rickie]

I just came across your lovely video, I also have one which is a 2017 GH5hs and I am still not sure about how much battery charge I'm supposed to get. When I first bought the car in April of this year, when I charged the battery it would go up to 30% when full but now its going up to 24% when full. When I'm driving and its 24% I don't get nowhere near the 24% in miles, could you tell me why this could be and if you are noticing the same problems? I would like to ask you, bearing in mind yours in younger than mine, do your window switches in the door panel light (illuminate) up in the night because I've been trying to find out from people who own a '19/'20 plate but no-one seems to know as they say they haven't really paid any attention to it! Because when I'm driving at night and I want to lower a window I am finding that I am fiddling with the switches. Could you get back to me on the above matters please. Thanks again and I really enjoyed watching your video.

[@RobLittleuk]

Hi - thanks for your comment. When you say 30% and 24% do you mean 24miles on electric?? The number of miles you get on electric depends on how you drive and more importantly the ambient temperature. You will always get less miles on a cold winter day than a warm day in summer. Gotta be honest I havent paid attention to the switches on the window and I can't go and check at the moment as the car isnt here ! But if I want to put down the drivers window i frequently wind down the back one, by accident. Otherwise glad you liked the video thanks for watching !

[@superray101]

you should keep your fuel tank 1/3 full, and just use your EV mode all the time, that should help you gain more milage on the road

[@robertlittle879]

I somehow don’t think that would be practical!

[@mooauto2388]

Can you do a test that consist to drive the car with low battery and full gas tank to know how many mpg or miles you can achieve

[@RobLittleuk]

I have done that and depending how you drive you can get 33-38mpg - this is imperial - if you are in USA it would be different. But of course, all the while you are running on petrol only, you would be charging the batteries!

[@mooauto2388]

​@@RobLittleukgot thanks for the response 🙏🏾 that's pretty good number and my daily driving is mainly city driving

[@RobLittleuk]

@@mooauto2388 Good luck!

[@Ukdashcam786]

Hi i got 2016 uk model dont charge more then 9 miles on full charge any advice ?

[@RobLittleuk]

I think you have got to the painful point where you need new batteries - it happens. SOrry

[@Thuds593]

How many miles ?

[@Esteric100]

That was really helpful as I have just purchased a 2014 outlander and was trying to get .y head around the charging

[@RobLittleuk]

Glad you enjoyed !

[@dailytech8187]

How are you finding it? Was it new? If used, how's the battery degradation ?

[@DooDicky]

Would you recommend this car?

[@RobLittleuk]

Definitely

[@robertlittle879]

Yes most definitely