Hybrid Cars in France

[Quillan]

The Toyota Prius also comes in a 'plug in version' which claims amazing mpg but it would seem like the Mitsubishi in the real world these figures are seldom met. Some claim that your be lucky to get 50/52 mpg with the PHEV in the real world. To be truthful that's about the same for Prius except Toyota claim 72 mpg where at the PHEV claim 156 mpg. Because somebody, I think it was Chancer, said about combining diesel with electricity I had a look at the Peugeot 3008 hybrid but again the claimed mpg is very different with what people got in real life indeed many of the user comments on the test sites were about this and however they tried they just couldn't get near it. I know this happens with 'normal' cars but lets be honest 156 down to 50/52 is one hell of a difference. You might find the following interesting, especially the first one even though it is about the previous model.

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mitsubishi/outlander/87981/long-term-test-review-mitsubishi-outlander-phev

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mitsubishi/outlander-phev

 

for the latest model

 

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/mitsubishi/outlander-4x4/2016-mitsubishi-outlander-phev-review/1367056

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mitsubishi/outlander-phev-2014/

 

There are loads more reviews if you go looking. To be honest when I came here to live I bought a Range Rover because I was living in the mountains so I needed one especially in the snow etc. The truth is that with the standard tires that came with it you are lucky to get 50 to 100m further than a standard car which cost half the price. When I looked at the 3008 the best bit I liked about it was the split back door which is like a Range Rover, very handy for the dogs or as a seat to sit on if your up in the mountains and stop for a picnic but then compare the price again and I could buy an awful lot of plastic fold up chairs.

 

My biggest concern in the guarantee on the battery. With the Prius it is 10 years providing you have a service with their dealers once a year. Also the way the battery is made you can replace individual cells unlike others that come in a big moulded plastic box.

 

Finally I am not sure if I would always remember to plug something like the PHEV in every night which sort of kills of the reason for getting one because of the difference in price with the Prius. Be a lot simpler if it had inductive charging. Of course at the moment there is a special offer on the PHEV that makes it the same price as the ordinary petrol one. Cars are a very personal thing as well so these are just MY reasons for not considering a PHEV. It might fit in very well with your lifestyle and it might be a great car for you. One thing I did notice was that with the professional reviews, taken on an average across all of them it does slightly less well than the Prius. Other than that I have not bought anything yet and I am still 'chewing the fat' as they say. If you do get a test drive please report back.

[Théière]

Yes indeed Q, I agree with you wholeheartedly.  Incredible MPG if your normal cycle of travel is how they arrange the set it up in the case of the PHEV no more than 27 miles before a re charge would be fine for town motoring during most of the week. Bad side would be the long drive to france where the likely was it 27 or 37 MPG for a 2 ltr petrol engine pushing 1.8 tons around would make it pathetic so have to balance 10 long drives vs nearly all the other motoring being short distances and of course into London quite frequently.

I will look, I will also look at the Prius+ estate but as one of the testers wrote he would get the PHEV because he has a Co car option and the tax/benefit in kind figure is very low and in 2-3 years many new and technologically improved versions will be available.

I think that maybe where I see it to, better to pay the congestion charge at least for a while until we get closer to the 2020 deadline before making the investment.

As I said at the beginning, it has to be a Tesla!

[Quillan]

The Prius+ has had some bad reviews as well.

 

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/toyota/prius-mpv/summary/26105-7

 

In one of the reviews of the PHEV the guy only got 10 miles on electric only warning you not to turn anything on like radio etc.

[Quillan]

Of course if you are looking to use it as a company car as well then why not go down the Ford route. Released this year after a three year wait is the new Mondeo Hybrid available in hatch or estate. Looks very impressive, it has so many extras as standard the maximum you could spend on actual extras is only £5k.

 

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/ford/ford-mondeo-vignale-2015-road-test/