Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – This Month’s Highlighted Special Offer

Today we take a look at the Mistubishi Outlander PHEV, a car we’ve currently got on special offer here for business customers who place an order before the end of August 2014. This is just one of many offers that we currently have running, but found this deal to be such a good price we’d write up a post with a little more detail on the car for your information.

Introduction
Hybrid cars are fast becoming a popular choice in the UK due to the increased fuel economy they give drivers on each and every journey. This is especially true in the SUV, 4×4 and crossover market where fuel consumption can be a costly expense in both petrol and diesel forms.

Manufacturers have latched onto this surge in consumer interest in hybrids and Mistubishi is no different; improving their already popular Outlander to produce a plug in hybrid version. Plug in hybrids offer the best of both worlds because the fuel in the tank is not used on charging up the battery; meaning a more efficient direct charge can be applied in advance before journeys. Compare this with non plug in hybrids and you typically see a decrease in fuel efficiency and lower MPG figures.

Outlander PHEV Performance Figures
Lets get straight to the point, it’s fuel economy that is the most important factor to analyse when looking at the performance figures of a plug in hybrid like this. When looking at the official government statistics the MPG for the Outlander PHEV is astonishing at 148mpg, however even the manufacturers say that this wouldn’t quite be achievable under “normal” driving conditions. You can be assured though that this will blast other SUVs out of the park in terms of making trips between the pumps as long as possible.

Powering this car, you have three independent motors, one coming from the petrol engine and two independent electric motors. The electric motors are split between the front and rear wheels and when fully engaged they give the driver 4WD capability. The car can be run completely on electricity for short journeys (up to 32.5 miles) with the petrol engine only needing to be put into action for trips further afield. This makes the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV a perfect fit for drivers who complete a lot of short journeys and the occasional lengthier voyage. It’s under these conditions that you can save some serious petrol costs!

Anyone using this car as a company driver will see considerable tax savings on the official 44g/km of CO2 that this car outputs. In addition to this the Outlander PHEV is also exempt from the London congestion charge; so petrol isn’t the only cost that is reduced thanks to the plug in motors.

Driving Experience
If you weren’t to tell someone that they were driving a plug in hybrid it’s quite likely that they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference before setting off. However once you hit the road the driving experience is noticeably different. The electric engine can be used at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, although this wouldn’t be advisable as the 32.5 mile range mentioned earlier would be gone in a matter of moments. Driving without hearing a slight grumble from the engine is a strange but pleasant experience as it gives what is a smooth drive an even more fluid feel.

The settings on which power source to use are very sophisticated and you can utilise one motor over the other in a matter of seconds. Probably the best setting to drive in is to let the on-board computer automatically work out which power source is optimal for the driving conditions at hand. But you can drive on pure electricity, pure petrol or even use the petrol engine to charge up the battery (to a maximum of 70% capacity) like a non plug in hybrid as well.

Overall no matter what mode you’re driving in the car handles smoothly, the noise level is low and the journey is comfortable.

Interior and Cabin
It’s not the most upmarket interior on the market, but that’s not to say that it’s shabby by any stretch of the imagination. The price is kept low due to the manufacturers concentrating on giving motorists something of real value in terms of engineering and mechanics. Keeping the interior comfortable, practical and usable were obviously all boxes that Mitsubishi needed to tick with the Outlander PHEV and that has been done.

The driver’s seat is well positioned giving you a great overview of the road and there’s an array of smart controls at your fingertips. The digital display in front of you has easy to understand graphics showing key facts such as the electric range remaining, which motor(s) you’re currently using and which modes you can change to.

Also as you’ll see from the image below there’s more than enough space for passengers and you can fit in a fair amount of luggage when the seats are down. With the rear seats lying conveniently low and flat you pretty much get the entire car behind the front two seats to store whatever you like in.

Final Words
The Outlander is a seriously good car to obtain for a number of different reasons. Firstly it has a very low entry cost; meaning that you can pick up a well designed and cutting edge plug in hybrid for around the same price as a straight up comparable automatic diesel SUV. Secondly you save money on petrol due to the electric motors squeezing more miles out of every tank of fuel. And finally the car saves you money on company car tax due to it’s ultra low CO2 emissions per kilometre. We’re not just singing the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV’s praises because it’s on special offer (we have thousands of cars to choose from), this is definitely one of the best value cars on the market today.

Take a look at the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from only £214.99 per month for business customers now.