About to buy - a couple of queries

[jamiewakeham]

Hi all

I'm about to replace my Skoda Yeti with an Outlander PHEV. I'm pretty sure my usage suits the car well - I work from home in the daytime, and commute ~20 miles in the early afternoons. I've a 5.7kWp PV system to charge from.

I've got my eye on a used GX4h - I really want the powered seat with lumber support. I'm looking at a '15 plate with 9k on the clock, advertised at £22k, which seems a pretty fair price.

Couple of questions, if anyone can help. Firstly, I've seen it suggested that it's worth having a battery condition report done. Can anyone suggest how to do this? I've asked the dealer if they've done one but I suspect they'll not have bothered.

Secondly, is there any particular drawback to only ever charging through a three pin connection? I understand it'll be slower, but I'll never be in a hurry, and keeping the power down will reduce the amount of energy I have to buy in from the grid - as long as the car is drawing less than the PV system is providing, it'll be free. That'll usually be the case (at least, for 8-10 months of the year) for a 10A slow charge, but not so often for a 16A charge.

And, not that this is critical, but: I have a hard drive based 120GB iPod. Is there an audio jack in for the stereo so I can play it directly? If not, is the stereo intelligent enough that a regular iPod-> USB cable will let them talk to each other?

Cheers
Jamie

 

[jthspace]

I can help on the second question.

There is little difference, other than time, between using the supplied 3 pin charger and a wall mounted 16 amp charger. The difference is a couple of hours. (From memory, about 5 hours rather than 3).

You can also pick up the 16 amp chargers to mount on an outside wall. I got one from eBay for under £150. You would need a sparks to fit a 20 amp circuit for it though.

Not sure where you are but most PHEV dealers have very low milage / pre-registered 4h's and I saw one in my dealer yesterday for 22K but don't now the mileage. It may be worth checking that the 15 plate comes with a 5 year warranty. It was upgraded from three to five mid-year so check the one you are looking at has the 5 year warranty. If offered, buy the three years servicing plan for £500 (I did). The price for the first service (12 months) seems to be on average about £350 (see other posts on this).

Hope this helps and good luck with your search.

Jeff

p.s. The ipod/music player on the PHEV seems to cause some people issues but I do not have the experience on this to comment specifically as I like peace and quiet when I drive

 

[jamiewakeham]

Thanks, Jeff.

As long as a regular three pin charger will satisfactorily bring it to 100% charge (albeit in a longer time) I'll probably stick with that - my consumer unit is literally on the other side of the wall to where the car is parked, so putting a waterproofed plug point there will be trivial. And I'd actively prefer to charge slowly, in order to maximise PV self-consumption rather than buying in from the grid.

In fact, I wonder if charging the battery more gently in this way might even prolong its life a little..? I've read that excessive use of a rapid charger is bad, so is the converse likely to be true also?

I've picked up on the change from three to five year warranties and will make certain I only buy the latter! I'm based in Oxford, so if anyone happens to spot a bargainous GX4h in the area please shout.

Ooh - one other question - does the remote charging control through the smartphone app play ball with the three pin charger? Or does that only work with a 16A outlet?

Cheers
Jamie

 

[jaapv]

Hi all

I'm about to replace my Skoda Yeti with an Outlander PHEV. I'm pretty sure my usage suits the car well - I work from home in the daytime, and commute ~20 miles in the early afternoons. I've a 5.7kWp PV system to charge from.

I've got my eye on a used GX4h - I really want the powered seat with lumber support. I'm looking at a '15 plate with 9k on the clock, advertised at £22k, which seems a pretty fair price.

Couple of questions, if anyone can help. Firstly, I've seen it suggested that it's worth having a battery condition report done. Can anyone suggest how to do this? I've asked the dealer if they've done one but I suspect they'll not have bothered.

Secondly, is there any particular drawback to only ever charging through a three pin connection? I understand it'll be slower, but I'll never be in a hurry, and keeping the power down will reduce the amount of energy I have to buy in from the grid - as long as the car is drawing less than the PV system is providing, it'll be free. That'll usually be the case (at least, for 8-10 months of the year) for a 10A slow charge, but not so often for a 16A charge.

And, not that this is critical, but: I have a hard drive based 120GB iPod. Is there an audio jack in for the stereo so I can play it directly? If not, is the stereo intelligent enough that a regular iPod-> USB cable will let them talk to each other?

Cheers
Jamie

Any Mitsubishi dealer should be able to do a battery check for you and discuss the result. It should not be expensive, well below 10 pounds.

 

[Kesto]

4h doesnot have lumbar support. Using 3 pin is supposed to be best. Regarding wall charger , it depends, for me no need, I come from work and plug in 3 pin by 10 pm it is fully charged . Only hassle is taking charger out of the boot. But then you need to spend another 300 -400. Rolec may be cheaper. I do a long trip on motorway may be once a month and without charge it does about 40 -44mpg . So best to buy your car see for a month what you really need. Then decide. With tethered the advantage is you get home and you plug in and easier in bad weather

 

[greendwarf]

Any Mitsubishi dealer should be able to do a battery check for you and discuss the result. It should not be expensive, well below 10 pounds.

Should - but won't/can't in my experience :?

 

[HHL]

Any Mitsubishi dealer should be able to do a battery check for you and discuss the result. It should not be expensive, well below 10 pounds.

Should - but won't/can't in my experience :?

The best way is to use the EVBATMON app... however, if you don't want to buy this and the required adaptor at this stage there are a couple of things you can do to get an idea.
First, ask the dealer to fully charge it and take it for a drive and drive it gently without making the engine start until it shows 1 or no bar on the battery meter.
That should get you between 40 and 50km on reasonably flat terrain. I did that before i bought mine did 49km before the engine started, so, I figured the battery can't be too bad.
The other way takes more time. Plug it in when it is showing 1 or no bar and it should take close to 5 hours to charge on a 10A charger.
Finally, set the charge cost per kw/h in the MMCS to 1. When it is fully charged and you go into the charge cost display, it shows exactly how many kWh went in, no maths required....... it usually is between 8.5 and 9.5 in my case.

Having said all that.... it is unlikely that the battery has significant capacity loss.

 

[jamiewakeham]

Thanks, all.

The GX4h doesn't have adjustable lumbar support? Dammit. I read '8-way powered seat' and assumed it would. Hmm. Will have to try one very carefully - I've only driven a GX3+ so far.

 

[jaapv]

Any Mitsubishi dealer should be able to do a battery check for you and discuss the result. It should not be expensive, well below 10 pounds.

Should - but won't/can't in my experience :?

Really? Mine does so standard with the 20.000 km maintenance.

 

[greendwarf]

Any Mitsubishi dealer should be able to do a battery check for you and discuss the result. It should not be expensive, well below 10 pounds.

Should - but won't/can't in my experience :?

Really? Mine does so standard with the 20.000 km maintenance.

I only have the choice of 2 dealers in Sarf Lundun and both are poor at customer service

 

[jaapv]

Bad luck - I am in a 50.000 small town and have three within 20 minutes, and two more near my work - they can't afford to give bad service.
Whatever else, I would walk away from any used hybrid without a satisfactory battery condition report.

 

[Albacore]

I've had a 4hs for a couple of months now. The most annoying thing about the car is that there is no lumbar support. I'd previously borrowed one of our directors 5h for a day or so, and that does have nice support. So I was really disappointed when I got my car to discover the seats weren't the same. Solved the problem though by getting a Medipac memory foam lumbar support.

 

[jamiewakeham]

Cheers, all.

This is making my decision even trickier! I don't really want to shell out for a GX5... I almost wonder if I'm better off saving some money by going for a lower spec car, and then treating myself to a retrofit lumbar support afterwards.

 

[jthspace]

I've had a "bad back" since a motorcycle accident years ago - I find the seats comfortable, the only problem I found is that after a few miles, I find myself unconsciously "slipping" or slouching and have to re-sit up straight. This may be something to do with the leather?

As to the powered seat, I always think these are a gimmick - once I set the seat how I like it, I never really change the settings again. The only car I had that had a seat memory was a Citroen C8 - and the seat remembered the settings based on two drivers remote controls. As we have two cars, I am the only driver of this one, so that doesn't matter.

If you go for a lower model, you lose out on the MMCS stereo and other bits and pieces.

Overall, I am very happy with the car. My most favourite car was a C4 Picasso and I miss that one.

Jeff

 

[Hypermiler]

Yes, the charge timer and app work fine using normal socket. It draws about 2.3kw peak.
Cheers
H

 

[Kesto]

Jth I will still suggest 4h due to its features or at least 3H+ with the heated seats you will have a soothing back and wont need to heat the whole car and I think is runs on aux battery so there is no reduction in EV range at least I have not noticed. Passenger seat is also heated but 5h has all seats heating .

 

[jamiewakeham]

I agree that electric seats are a bit of a gimmick - I'm the only one who'll drive this so I just need to set it up right and leave it! I was only valuing the powered seat when I thought it included lumbar support...

My dealer is getting a 5h in for me to try, just in case that seat is somehow better for me. If it's not I actually think I drop right back to a 3+... built-in sat nav and DAB are nice things but I don't think they're worth that price difference. I don't need too much help to park, and I'd actually prefer not to have all-leather seats.

Even a 15 plated 3+ will have heated front seats, remote control of charging and pre-heat via the app, won't it?

Away for a few days now so excuse my lack of quick reply!

 

[anko]

... I think is runs on aux battery so there is no reduction in EV range at least I have not noticed.

And what do you think feeds the auxiliary battery?

 

[greendwarf]

I've got a 2014 Gx3h and don't miss any of the additional features of the higher spec models - esp. MMCS. If however, I was buying now, I would pay the extra for the heater in the "+" model, but even this is marginal in the tropics of Sarf Lundun.

 

[SolarBoy]

I have a GX4hs. The '5' wasn't announced at the time I ordered, given a choice now I'd got for the '5'.

The electric seats fail in that there are no saved-memory positions. My wife keeps stealing my Outlander and it is a pain to have to move the seat back manually.