A successful test drive with a PHEV can lie down in Hamburg, if you simply call a taxi. Hamburg taxi operator Jürgen Starck uses the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as a taxi. Every day!
The Outlander PHEV as a taxi - a positive balance?
More than any other driver, taxi drivers have to pay attention to a positive cost-benefit balance. Every kilometer with a passenger on board is revenue. The higher the cost of the vehicle, the lower the taxi driver's return. For decades there was this one saying that apparently always had validity: “If I want to drive a Mercedes, I call a taxi”. Hundreds of thousands of Mercedes-Benz W123 and W124 operated as ivory-colored taxis. Millions of kilometers was clear: it had to be a Mercedes as a taxi. In the meantime, taxis in many federal states no longer have to be painted in the classic ivory color and the principle that only a Mercedes is good for a taxi has been crumbling for a long time!
Hybrid and PHEV as TAXI
Hamburg taxi operator Jürgen Starck presents on his website “Hybrid-hamburg.de” its PHEV for taxi operations. He now has a Prius II Hybrid with 440.000 km against the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV exchanged. With this Hr. Starck now in the daily taxi operation. Thus, the PHEV is now in the purely electric taxi operation. The Prius could only very manageable.
Currently ten fast-charging stations in Hamburg
It is no secret that the quality of the Japanese is above - or at least on the same level - of “premium vehicles”. Only the “habit” that blows around a Mercedes, of course, an Outlander cannot serve with that. But with a purely electric range that is also sufficient for everyday use.
Saved five tons of CO2
Taxi entrepreneur Starck keeps a record of the mileage of the Outlander PHEV and the amount of CO2 saved on his website. The current average consumption of 3.68 liters per 100 km is particularly impressive. For an SUV that is mainly used as a taxi in Hamburg? A more than impressive demonstration of the usefulness of a “plug-in strategy” also for gasoline and SUV vehicles!
The previously used hybrid taxi from Toyota, a Prius II, achieved an average value of 5.9 liters per 100 kilometers. Still an impressive figure for predominantly inner-city use. If you compare the space and size of the Prius with the new Outlander, one becomes aware of the efficiency of the large Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Passengers will also appreciate the convenience of getting on and off the Outlander. The large trunk should be another advantage in taxi operations.
SUV as a taxi
Actually a rather unusual decision, an SUV as a taxi. In the case of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, however, the efficiency of the 4 × 4 SUV speaks for itself as a taxi. So far the PHEV has driven 37.530 km. Its predecessor, the Prius, covered over 440.000 km - this is what taxi driver Storck now wants to achieve with the Mitsubishi PHEV.
The cover picture shows the taxi of Mr. Starck in front of the Hamburg Michel