Mitsubishi has made its Outlander PHEV SUV available for order in the UK.
The big news with regards to this plug-in hybrid SUV is the fact that it retails for the exact same price as the diesel Outlander. The reduced price is, however, the result of a government grant, so don’t expect the same if and when it comes to SA.
The vehicle’s unique combination of electric motors and a 2.0 petrol engine give it amazing flexibility in optimising fuel efficiency and environmental performance whilst providing a theoretical cruising range of 820km. That’s staggering for what is essentially a petrol powered SUV.
Mitsubishi has developed a new Twin Motor 4WD system for the PHEV. It delivers power independently to the front wheels (from the front motor and/or engine) and rear wheels (from the rear motor).
The PHEV has three drive modes, which can be selected by the driver. In full EV Drive mode the front and rear motors drive the vehicle using only electricity from the battery. In Series Hybrid Mode, the petrol engine operates as a generator supplying electricity to the electric motors. The system switches to Parallel Hybrid mode when the vehicle reaches high speeds. In this mode the high- efficiency petrol engine provides most of the power and is assisted by the electric motors as required.
The drive battery is a high-capacity lithium-ion battery developed for the PHEV system based on the technology used in the i-MiEV electric city car. It consists of 80 cells housed in a battery pack enclosed in a secure frame, and has a total voltage of 300V and total storage capacity of 12.0 kWh.
Mitsubishi claims that no interior space has been lost, and that the PHEV is just as safe and well equipped as the rest of the Outlander range.