AutoHub is testing the Mitsubishi Plug-In Hybrid Outlander in an extreme endurance test!
We examined the technical structure of the Mitsubishi Plug-In Hybrid Outlander a few times during the endurance test. No other SUV combines the respective advantages of the different types of drive in such a meaningful way. An efficient gasoline engine with lean-burn combustion process for longer distances, which is particularly economical with gasoline, especially in the medium load range. And for the short distance the electric motors and the large 12,1 kWh battery. In addition, the electric motors always work as “boost support” for the gasoline engine.
Electric vehicles currently have the greatest disadvantage on the motorway. A high average speed quickly tires the expensive battery storage system, so the use of a combustion engine makes sense. Mitsubishi has found a particularly efficient balance between gasoline and electric motors with the option of becoming a parallel hybrid only from 64 km / h.
PHEV: New software saves even more fuel
Since the beginning of April, we have the 2017er variant of the PHEV SUV in the test and after a few kilometers is clear: Here was massively refilled. The software design of the operating strategies has been revised. Millions of miles of users' everyday lives may have helped to further improve the drive system strategy. The interaction of the gasoline engine, the two electric motors and the strategy of how to handle the energy balance of the driving battery has been significantly refined and optimized.
And you don't just feel that in everyday life. Even without using the “EV-ONLY” button, the Outlander PHEV drives much more purely electrically. The petrol engine does not switch on until later when the load is higher. You enjoy all-electric driving even more and that is reflected in the consumption figures.
The decline is not huge, but remarkable. Instead of 1.8, he now needs 1.7 liters of fuel on 100 kilometers (plus 13.4 kWh of electricity) and instead of 42g CO2 now emits 41 grams per kilometer. After the whole hardware remained unchanged, you owe this successful optimization purely to the software. In addition, the loading time has been shortened.
In the fast charging process, “only” 30 minutes now pass instead of 25 minutes. Then 80 percent of the battery charge capacity is reached. The battery can be fully charged after around five hours on a regularly fused 230V / 10A household connection.
New in the current model year is the EV Priority function. If, for example, the vehicle is to be driven in exclusively protected areas in pure electric mode, the driver can press the EV button in the center console. The vehicle can now be kept in EV mode for as long as possible without the combustion engine switching to it.
Also useful is the functionality of "bidirectional" charging. Electricity that has been fed into the vehicle can be withdrawn at any time and from anywhere (from PLUS equipment) in order, for example, to operate electrical appliances in the open air. The current drain up to 1.500 watts takes place via two 230 volt sockets, which are in the 2. Row of seats and in the trunk are.
The 2017er Plug-in Hybrid Outlander, even better! We will extend the test and continue to report currently!
