Mitsubishi Outlander phev Towing
I am considering buying a Mitsubishi Outlander phev which i will be towing a caravan with a Max laden weight of 1300Kg. I know this is well within the towing capability of the phev but I would be interested any comments on MPG, power/torque etc from any owners of a phev . I understand its not going to be great news (mpg) towing, but when not towing most of my daily driving would be done on battery alone which would help to offset the towing mpg. I currently tow with a Merc 3Ltr V6 so iv been spoilt with unlimited and endless power while towing 
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Ha,I'm with you really lornalou1, but its pretty low down to get in and out and the wife struggles.
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my wife is disabled and that is the main reason I got an SUV as easier for her to get in/out. there's a lot better tow cars on the market. it doesn't need to be 4x4 as caravan is quite a light one. Sportage/Tucson spring to mind and 7/5 years warranty. just my opinion as it's your choice and money.
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Dave, VW are great vehicles, is it the 3Ltr model
Lornalou1
Sorry but my wife had a Kia, my father has a Sportage and he taps his head getting in and out as the roof is fairly low. They are cheap and chearful and even with the warranty wouldn't be my choice. Im just interested in the electric side of the outlander as when not towing 95% of my weekly driving could be done on electric.
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tigerfish
My present Merc is the C350 Sport with the AMG trim and toys, I love it and personally have no problem with it (just the wife getting in and out as its low). That stats are all pretty much the same as yourself and that doesn't bother me either. I think the 'loud pedal' is going to get me some points soon lol. I just fancy the Outlander, and the electric running most of the time. !!
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how far would the outlander travel on battery only in winter when the heated rear window/heaters/lights etc etc are all on. bet its not far before engine kicks in to give a boost and charge. might be worth getting some info from some outlander forums first. get a true reflection of what you will get in real life terms.
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Hi lornalou1, we have towed with a PHEV for a couple of years now. As a tow car it very practical, solid and sure footed, even in bad weather. As you'll no doubt have guessed, the battery power runs out quite quickly when towing, say 10 - 15 miles tops, then it's petrol all the way. I don't have MPG figures sorry, but having towed with various cars over the years, I'd guess at 25 - 30. It does have very small tank too, so fill ups are more often when doing long distances.
It suits us, as like you, most of our daily commute is on battery only. In the summer months, unless we are away, we rarely have to put petrol in. In the winter as you suspected, due to needing the heater on, the engine runs more, so more petrol. I suppose you can avoid running the engine if you keep the heater temp down a bit, but it'll still run the battery down quicker.
One nice touch is the app. You can see if the car is charging / charged etc. from the house. You can even put the heater on in the morning from the house, defrosting and heating the car before you get in. No more scraping / driving windows.
Good luck, Alex
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Apologies lornalou1
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Alex, I would add that most of the benefits you refer to have nothing to do with your car being a PHEV. I had a car 13 years ago with a cabin pre heat system as you describe...... and as for sure footed so are lots of cars. I also suggest you carry out a real world check of your towing economy..... those figures look very optimistic to me for a petrol tow vehicle.
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Hi Alex
Thanks for your feedback on the towing side. I actually had a test drive in the outlander today, and i must say I was impressed. As I have stated in my first question/query its more the towing side I'm interested in as i know the battery isn't going to last long. Im used to 25-30mpg towing and that doesn't phase me as pretty much when not towing, could be done on battery as my daily commute is only 2 miles each way and as I live in Mid Devon, north or south coast is only 30mile away for a jolly on a day out.
I also like the huge boot space as i often have to load a lot into the boot, so pretty much made up my mind it will be an outlander for me.
Many thanks for your feedback
Steve.
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If your daily commute is only two miles, I would have thought a bike would be better than any sort of tug.
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When howling a gale and launching it down with rain, why would i ride a bike.
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Hi,
tow a 1390kg van with an Outlander PHEV,
just for information I press the 'save' button when the battery is down to around 70%. I find the car goes very well and if I come to a hill I have power in reserve to keep going with no trouble and no high revving engines.
it works really well. I suggest PHEV owners try it.
The only downside is the small petrol tank. Otherwise it a brilliant towcar if used accordingly.
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Hi Paddie
Having had the outlander for 5 months now, and 5 trips towing the caravan (1300kg) i have experimented all options and have to agree, hitting the save button works best of all, although on one trip i still managed to flatten the battery (very hilly towing) and hit the charge button only to find it revved the engine to what sounded like it was going to pop out the bonnet !!! when pulling really hard up hill, and made very little difference in charging the battery. So popped it into just D for drive and was much better without so much of the revving.
MPG, varies on the roads, Motorways average 27MPG,
The 'hilly trip' 18mpg so not really impressive to be honest, BUT, i average my costs of motoring over a 12 month period, and when not towing i do 95% on battery, and with a fast charge point 1 mile from my home which is on a free vend (for 15months now) pretty cheap motoring, so overall, for me personally the outlander works very well.
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I saw a review on Youtube a while back and it seemed to tow very well, apparently you can get about 20 miles on battery towing.
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Mitsubishi are going to replace the current facelift 2018 in 2020, apparently they are going to use the current powertrain but increase the battery size.
In the last couple of year EV/PHEV technology is coming forward before long we will see EV with 400/500 and PHEV with 100 mile plus range.
To balance thing out the new BMW and Mercedes diesels are producing considerably less NOx than some of the cleanest petrols
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Surely all you have to ask would you have bought a petrol engined SUV to tow with in the past- almost certainly no. Currently it all comes down to your driving requirements I can cee Chippyblokes point if you do shortish journeys over the course of the year i.e. a commute it can certainly pay off or break even
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