2025 model year: CVT, transmission, or one gear direct drive?

[Hhl1]

On the earlier Outlander the engine does about 3000rpm at 110 in parallel mode, similar to 4th in ICE cars and it spins the generator fast enough to still put some charge into the battery when driving on flat ground. Acceleration or going uphill sometimes needs help from the electric motors, so the state of charge varies a bit. My car will often put enough energy into the battery when driving at 110 to go for a couple of km without the engine running, it does that periodically on a long drive. It is a clever system and it seems some of the chinese models have also adopted this. Other PHEVs have opted for a different approach, like sandwiching an electric motor between the engine and gearbox and variations of that. The main disadvantage I can see in the Mitsubishi is the fact that the car can only start off using electric power and that can be problematic when starting with a heavy load on a steep incline. There is not much torque until the motor starts spinning! The other issue is the electric motors are always engaged and they will spin at quite high rpm at highway speeds, something like 12,000 rpm. It does not seem to be a real issue though as there are quite high mileage cars now and there are few reports of motor bearings failing.

 

[AndyInOz]

"There is not much torque until the motor starts spinning!"

That's unusual.

I've seen many, many people stating that the benefit of electric motors is that you have maximum torque at 0 rpm.

 

[Hhl1]

"There is not much torque until the motor starts spinning!"

That's unusual.

I've seen many, many people stating that the benefit of electric motors is that you have maximum torque at 0 rpm.

There is lots of torque, I think the problem at high startup loads is more to do with the electronics being able to supply very high currents without letting the smoke out. People have been caught out at boat ramps etc. The trick was to chock wheels of the trailer and roll back slightly taking some of the load off, that usually worked. It may also be fixed in the current generation.

 

[evman77]

PArdon my ignorance. What are MITO and ICM?

Sorry, I used MITO dealer for Mitsubishi Dealer and it should have been ICE not ICM. Engine not Motor

 

[evman77]

PArdon my ignorance. What are MITO and ICM?

I used MITO for Mitsubishi Dealership and ICM for Internal Combustion Motor.

 

[LanderCT7]

This is all interesting but what’s going on mechanically when the car malfunctions and the EV System Service Required warning pops up when transmission fluid is overfilled and spills out. Is the fluid getting on to an electric motor if the car goes into limp mode? Then if you pull over and shut the car down and restart it and everything’s fine, was the issue just a sensor or something related to hybrid battery? Way too confusing to get to the root of the problem when the car’s EV system starts acting up in relation to highway speeds and the transmission.