Charging for home
Australia’s plug-in poster child ... with good reason
When you buy an E350e, Mercedes-benz supplies the plugs and adapters required to charge the car from a socket at home. However, for $1850 (not including installation), you can have a fast charging 2.5kwh wallbox, which is claimed to cut charging time from just over three hours to 90 minutes. The 48-volt system is stackable, with customers able to purchase additional units to create a 20kwh charger.
ONE of capitalism’s more insidious assertions is that all that is popular is inherently worthy. The fact that ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen went nine times platinum here is all the evidence you need to torpedo that argument. Therefore, Mitsubishi’s claim that it shifts as many Outlander PHEVS as the rest of Australia’s plug-in market put together doesn’t, in and of itself, float our boats. If, during 2018, you had fifty-odd grand to spend on a plug-in hybrid with more space than a compact hatch, here’s the longlist: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. That’s it.
Therefore it comes as a refreshing revelation to discover that the Outlander PHEV is not awful. In fact, it’s genuinely likeable. Talented even. When the battery is charged, it dips in and out judiciously in hybrid mode, making an agreeably alien noise in the process that certainly lets you know that you’re not just driving an internal combustion vehicle. The steering is better than any of the EVS we had in this test, offering crisp turnin which combines with sharp pick-up that’ll have you jinking through tight corners and jetting out the other side assisted by all-wheel drive electric torque. Six levels of regenerative braking are available via the paddles.
The 12kwh lithium-ion battery is bigger than you get in a $100K Volvo XC60 T8 and delivers more range. Mitsubishi reckons 54 kilometres; we managed 47 on test with a little to spare, so that’s not entirely outlandish. Recharging takes five hours on a standard household plug or 3.5 hours if you install a dedicated home charger.
Aside from the self-explanatory Pure EV mode, the Outlander PHEV can also be driven in Series Hybrid and Parallel Hybrid modes. Series Hybrid mode activates when the battery charge is low or when more power is required for a burst of acceleration. In this mode the engine runs to charge the battery, which then provides power to the wheels. In Parallel Hybrid mode the engine drives the wheels directly, coming to life when the battery is empty. Onboard software will automatically select the optimum drive mode – and it usually makes a good fist of things – but should you wish to override these modes there are mode buttons on the centre console.
Downsides? You’ll lose the third row of seats; that real estate now housing an on-board charger and the control unit for the rear motor. Then there’s the fact that when the battery is depleted the 2.0-litre lump can sound a bit gruff, and the interior isn’t the final word in elegant materials integration. But less than fifty grand for a sizeable dual electric motor SUV that’s decent to drive and comes with a five-year warranty? The Outlander PHEV deserves its popularity and then some.
THERE were some who disagreed with the XC60 winning last year’s Wheels Car of the Year. But then there are some who believe the earth is flat, that you can buy Ray Bans for $15 by sharing a Facebook ad and that vaccines rather than dud genes are responsible for their dullard kids. The most awarded car in the history of ever is at its most imperious in range-topping T8 plug-in hybrid guise. Fitted with the obligatory optional air suspension, it’s a car with plenty of strings to its bow.
Were we nitpicking, we’d probably like a little more pure EV range than the 35km maximum that the onboard computer shows which, like all batteries, gets better in warm weather. When the battery is depleted, you’re basically left with an XC60 T6 carrying 200kg of dead weight. Switching the XC60 into charge mode while you’re on the move will recharge the relatively small 10.4kwh lithium-ion battery in about an hour of suburban driving, but it does so at some cost, fuel consumption climbing to around 16L/100km in the process. In order to get anywhere near Volvo’s 2.1L/100km claim, you need to cover relatively short commutes and not tax the 2.0-litre four-pot too severely.
Fuel consumption is also dented on longer drives in Hybrid mode, where the battery depletes fairly quickly and the engine is left to pick up a proportionally higher percentage of the burden. We averaged around 8.5L/100km on longer drives, although editor Inwood’s six-month tenure with a T8 saw him average just under 5.0L/100km with diligent charging, a measured right boot and a commute that leaned more on volts than 98RON.
A full charge for the battery takes three hours when using a 16-amp mains electricity supply, four hours with a 10-amp supply or seven hours if using the standard six-amp plug. The battery is neatly housed in what would ordinarily be the transmission tunnel. Locating the battery along the centre line of the car and not under the floor means that neither ground clearance nor boot space are compromised. The fuel tank is a measly 50 litres, though.
Priced at just $14K more than the conventionally powered XC60 T6, the T8 will appeal to those who enjoy the idea of never seeing a servo during the week. It also offers a notable performance uptick, the T6’s outputs of 235kw/400nm being trounced by the T8’s 300kw/640nm. That in itself will be enough for some. The XC60 was always a class act, and the T8 adds a glittering array of intriguing facets yet brandishes its PHEV ability lightly.