Are dealers simply ignorant, or dishonest?

[ThudnBlundr]

I got accosted by a fellow who'd just bought an Outlander and wanted to know how reliable I'd found ours. He mentioned that he was only going to do 5k miles a year, and I said that the PHEV should be ideal for that. It was only then that he said he'd bought a diesel as the dealer had said the PHEV wasn't good for much except driving around town! He also said that he'd been told that it would only work in EV to 30mph. So the dealer sold him a diesel, which will have problems with the DPF at such a low annual mileage, and dissuaded him from the PHEV which would have been ideal and far cheaper to run!

Was the dealer just trying to get rid of the car? :roll: :twisted:

 

[Regulo]

Shame there aren't "PPI" style firms out there who can claim for mis-selling cars. This sort of behaviour has always been prevalent, and I think you have it spot on when you say the dealer probably just wanted to unload a diesel on the guy!

 

[jaapv]

This was of course dishonest sales talk; the dealer should be shamed in Google Reviews. However, buying a car without at least reading some reliable reviews just because some salesman spins you a yarn is unbelievably naive.

 

[MadTechNutter]

If that happened in Australia I would not even call it dishonest, just a standard mental state.
The Mitsubishi PHEV is so rare here that it is likely your average dealer might think it is the same as a Toyota hybrid.
EVs in general are unwanted.
Not hard to find reviews bagging the PHEV from Australian 'reviewers' claiming it less economical than a diesel.
Considering the new price, distances driven and the cost of electricity here, they are not actually that wrong.
It is all about how you use it, like mostly in EV mode and if you can use solar, etc.

 

[michael8554]

The non Mitsu dealer I bought my used PHEV from said the steering wheel paddles were for gear changing.......

Michael

 

[NightPHEVer]

I work for a car dealer (not Mitsubishi). Salesmen are only interested in selling what they have in stock to sell. You didn't mention if this was a Mitsubishi franchise or not. I seriously hope it wasn't! If it's a car supermarket or non-franchise they're not likely to have any PHEV vehicles as they can't really service or diagnose them and as a result have probably never seen one. The only people who know anything about PHEV's are those that have driven them for a while - although I suspect there are many PHEV company car driver's who have them for the tax breaks and still don't know how they work, or ever charge them up. There are a lot of cars (including many new models) at the dealership where I work but mine's the only PHEV. No charge points either. What surprises me the most is how many new cars I drive that have a manual gearbox. ie. most of them!

 

[EssexBoy]

... What surprises me the most is how many new cars I drive that have a manual gearbox. ie. most of them!

Yup. In the UK there are still so many who see the manual as a 'pure' driving experience or remember the days of automatics costing 30% more to run. I can't imagine going back to a manual or for that matter even an auto. The typical manual driver does all that pushing, pulling and pressing only to get to top of the box as quickly as possible where they can labour the engine and lose whatever performance they have available in the belief they are driving economically. Auto drivers commonly can't be bothered with overriding the gearbox regardless of circumstances and eventually get so lazy they are either pressing the right pedal or standing on the left pedal (usually at the traffic lights with me behind them). Proper use of a gearbox is beyond most drivers so should be eliminated from the equation - enter EVs.

 

[mellwaters100]

The typical manual driver does all that pushing, pulling and pressing only to get to top of the box as quickly as possible

I still break into a grin pulling away from a boy-racer fossil at lights as they continually drop back each time they have to press the clutch! That's what I love about this car, just instant and constant acceleration from 0 to whatever. For a big car, I have certainly upset a few 'sporty' types!!!

 

[MadTechNutter]

The typical manual driver does all that pushing, pulling and pressing only to get to top of the box as quickly as possible

I still break into a grin pulling away from a boy-racer fossil at lights as they continually drop back each time they have to press the clutch! That's what I love about this car, just instant and constant acceleration from 0 to whatever. For a big car, I have certainly upset a few 'sporty' types!!!

Not so much 0-100 but 75-130 is where the traction power of three motors gives you a bit of F1 advantage over the petrol purists.
Thats the only time I open the ICE for a bit of fun and this seat really moves like a small jet accelerating on the runway, otherwise I am an EV purist :mrgreen:

 

[MadTechNutter]

The non Mitsu dealer I bought my used PHEV from said the steering wheel paddles were for gear changing.......

Michael

I almost always drove manuals and always felt unsafe in automatics. I like to switch back gears before a curve or down slopes and have control of the car with the motor brake and my throttle foot rather than swimming around with the brake pedal on autos.

So 'shifting down' with the paddles actually does the same for me and this helps me a lot with the transition to an otherwise automatic car.
It is the best of both worlds.

BTW I could never use the left foot for braking as I always used it for the clutch. It is just wrong for me to be able to press the brake and accelerator at the same time.

 

[jaapv]

Especially if you drive both manual and automatic/EV vehicles. Sadly, the art of shifting gears is getting lost. Double Clutching is becoming an esoteric art, as is Heel-and-Toeing, let alone operating a crash-box. I am getting to be one of the few drivers who can shift gears without touching the clutch. Came in handy a few years ago when a rubber in the clutch hydraulics gave way a long way from home. The only giveaway is the jump when starting the car in second gear. :mrgreen:

 

[ThudnBlundr]

I taught myself to brake with my left foot when I first got an automatic many years ago, and only once had a minor issue soon after I started. I was much younger then and wouldn't try to learn it now (old dog, new tricks), but I still don't find I have any problem switching between driving with 2 pedals or 3. YMMV

I have had a problem a couple of times with manuals in some sports cars: the racier ones used to have first out on its own, left and back, opposite reverse. I did occasionally set off in reverse from a standstill, as left and forward is a very difficult habit to forget with a manual gearbox. Thank heavens I never did it when I was in a hurry, as a rapid start in reverse is not a good idea in a queue of traffic!

A problem that the PHEV has introduced for me is when I can simply switch it off and it goes into Park. Our Zoe has a gearlever physically connected to the mechanism: I only drive it occasionally, but it beeps at me furiously if I forget to shift it into Park when I switch it off. And I'm starting to forget to get the key out in cars that don't have smart keys...

 

[ChrisMiller]

BTW I could never use the left foot for braking as I always used it for the clutch. It is just wrong for me to be able to press the brake and accelerator at the same time.

Yes, as others have pointed out, my (the wife's!) other car is a manual, so learning to left-foot brake would be a bad habit. It's surprising how easy it is for the mind to switch from one car to the other, though I (very) occasionally forget I need to depress the clutch when coming to a stop in the manual.

 

[MadTechNutter]

I have had a problem a couple of times with manuals in some sports cars: the racier ones used to have first out on its own, left and back, opposite reverse. I did occasionally set off in reverse from a standstill, as left and forward is a very difficult habit to forget with a manual gearbox. Thank heavens I never did it when I was in a hurry, as a rapid start in reverse is not a good idea in a queue of traffic!

A problem that the PHEV has introduced for me is when I can simply switch it off and it goes into Park. Our Zoe has a gearlever physically connected to the mechanism: I only drive it occasionally, but it beeps at me furiously if I forget to shift it into Park when I switch it off. And I'm starting to forget to get the key out in cars that don't have smart keys...

I still have troubles after 2 months with my PHEV starting in reverse sometimes.
First gear has always been for me moving the shifter forwards, why does the PHEV then go in reverse when I push it forwards.
There is no logic here.
It should be push forwards for forwards and pull back for reverse.
I drive RC cars and can fly my drone like that.

...bloody automatics :evil:

 

[jaapv]

I think it is standard for automatic transmissions and similar.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

Not really. The standard for automatics for many decades was "PRND(21)", pulling back or down from 'P' into 'R' and further back for 'D'. I'm not sure what it is now with 8 or 9-speed auto gearboxes, but our Zoe is 'PRND' too, as was a Toyota C-HR Hybrid we were given as a hire car on holiday. I can't think of an obvious reason for the PHEV's layout

 

[ChrisMiller]

It's Japanese! Same reason their motorbikes do everything the opposite way round to European ones

 

[user 3859]

In my experience, the dealer was stupid! 3.5 years ago when I was looking for my previous company car, the Mitsu salesman told me that my 20 miles each way commute was unsuitable for the PHEV as I would be using some petrol. Perhaps that's why the Reading dealership isn't there any more.

I took him at his word and got a diesel BMW. In lost fuel and income tax savings, he cost me several thousand pounds :-(((((((((((

 

[jaapv]

Not really. The standard for automatics for many decades was "PRND(21)", pulling back or down from 'P' into 'R' and further back for 'D'. I'm not sure what it is now with 8 or 9-speed auto gearboxes, but our Zoe is 'PRND' too, as was a Toyota C-HR Hybrid we were given as a hire car on holiday. I can't think of an obvious reason for the PHEV's layout

Well, given that the home position for the PHEV is "N" , with "P" a pushbutton, I think it behaves exactly the same.

 

[MadTechNutter]

Not really. The standard for automatics for many decades was "PRND(21)", pulling back or down from 'P' into 'R' and further back for 'D'. I'm not sure what it is now with 8 or 9-speed auto gearboxes, but our Zoe is 'PRND' too, as was a Toyota C-HR Hybrid we were given as a hire car on holiday. I can't think of an obvious reason for the PHEV's layout

Well, given that the home position for the PHEV is "N" , with "P" a pushbutton, I think it behaves exactly the same.

The PRND(3)21 setup is mode selector, while the RND on the PHEV is a joystick with a neutral center.
I understand that it has been derived from the selector of automatic cars but this is actually not the same. The selector function in automatics doesn't confuse me but this two way 'joystick' does.