Plug and unplug. Within a week we got used to the plug-in hybrids.
The Outlander is parked right in front of the house and cutting the live umbilical cord after arrival and before departure has become routine. So that nobody can do mischief at night, the Mennekes-II plug of the Outlander has a hole for inserting a small lock. In this way you can quickly forget all about it in the evening. The Outlander is on the charger? For sure? Questions like this come up in the evening, after all, you want to get the maximum benefit from electrification.
Per app for charging
Mitsubishi has published an app for the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid online to save you having to get away from the house. As an Android user, I get them in the Google Store. The download is free and for Apple users there is the same app in the Apple Store. The phone connects to the Outlander via Wifi and after a few seconds the phone brings clarity: Yes, the Outlander hangs from the socket and yes, it charges. That's pretty handy.
The air conditioning of the Outlander can also be activated via the app. Cooler, or warmer on a schedule. That is possible. At the moment, the temperatures are so pleasant that we only did a test run - you want to see that everything works in winter.
The first
The Outlander Plug-In Hybrid was the first SUV to feature a clever combination of gasoline engine, electric motors and plug-in batteries. In the endurance test, it will not only be about how useful this combination is, but also how practical. How it can live with it and above all: Does the plug-in hybrid meet all the requirements of a modern SUV?
Week 1
We had the Outlander already in its variant with 2.2 liter diesel engine to the test. The Outlander in itself was no stranger to us. Only this completely noiseless drive off, drive without engine hum to go shopping, that we did not have in a car of this size yet.
There is not much to consider when operating the Outlander. The thing with the charging cable has already become part of everyday life after a week. You should keep in mind that it is of course more practical if you have your own garage, carport or parking space. This is probably the biggest hurdle for plug-in hybrids and even more so for electric vehicles. It's easy for us. And after a few times, reaching for the plug is already routine.
On the way to routine
When I'm driving the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid, I often find myself checking the remaining electric range in the on-board computer, or watching the EV mode in the multimedia system and trying to sail or recuperate as much as possible. Suddenly you want the to get maximum reachwithout even having driven once with the gasoline engine. Until Tempo 100 is completely problem-free, even for people who have less feeling in the gas foot. But this feeling, you can train that and suddenly you want to train it. You automatically want to get the most out of the batteries and then you pull out the plug at home and plug the plug-in hybrid right back in, that happens quite unconsciously.
In my job as an automotive blogger, I drive a lot of great cars. Big buzzers, fast devices and expensive planes and every car has its very own character. A car with an electric drive has this “challenge gene” in it. Suddenly you want to suck the “ultra-maximum” range out of the batteries. To do this, you work a lot with recuperation, in the Outlander the “recovery” of the kinetic energy can be varied, for example, using shift paddles. And even my wife tells me after a few kilometers how ingenious you can control the speed and braking effect with it. Actually, my wife is more of the kind: “Foot flat and firm on the pedal” - after a week we are already trying to outdo each other in the kilometers achieved in E-mode.
0,0 liters on 100 kilometers
Anyone who comes to terms with the plug-in hybrid, who moves around and gently arouses their own ambition, can manage 0.0 liters per 100 kilometers. In between, you fill up three times at the socket, but it works. I find that extremely fascinating. But it also shows that the “consumption” of plug-in hybrids is extremely dependent on the use. For the endurance test, I will try to explain again and again exactly how we use the Outlander, which routes we drive and what effects this has on consumption.
After week 1, one thing is certain: you can quickly get used to not only “filling” a car at the petrol pump, but also at home at the power socket.