How much to charge via fuel

[Mightgetone]

Sorry if the question doesn't make sense.

I am considering a phev as my company car. I drive about 13 miles each way to work every day, and have read a few posts which lead me to believe I may or may not actually get to and from work on electric alone.

When I popped in to a dealers he explained that the car will charge whilst running on the motorway, but I was just wondering how much fuel this uses, and therefore how much a petrol based charge will cost me??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Marksuk]

I would think many people will give you a similar answer....
You might or might not use all your (daily/nightly?) battery charge depending on
1 The temperature.
2 Your driving style.
TBH there are so many variables that affect whether or if your car will charge or not.
As for charging costs from fuel it also would also depend on the temperature and your driving style/speed/type of journey etc.
In the present (cool) weather you will not be running on electric alone for all the time, your car will determine what method is required by its own inbuilt algorhythm and when, generally it is out of your control. So depending on the weather it would alter how the car actually works in practice.
There are some little "dodges" that require wearing thick clothing and some button pressing that will also affect what charging by the engine is needed/or not.
Charging by petrol is an uneconomical method and its not quite as clear cut as the dealer has told you at all. In all fairness they are only interested in selling them.
The largest benefit for yourself (company car) would be the tax advantage, not in any fuel/electric economy.
I just look at the car as it does about 45mpg (in the winter) including electricity cost. I dont do any "dodges" and it just works like any other car really. I can get well over 70mpg but it really depends on the journey/temperature.

Because of all the above variables I am not aware of a definative petrol charging cost alone, sorry.
I just cant really see how you can work it out.

 

[Ozukus]

The MPG you get will depend on a number of key factors.

Are you getting a GX3h or a GX4h as with the GX3h the only way to heat the car is by obtaining residual heat from the engine whereas the GX4h you can preheat the vehicle.

Can you charge at home and is there an option to charge at the office.

You need at least one consistent charge point.

I have a GX3h and on a 34 mile commute cross London if ICE is running to heat the car I find that the initial fuel consumption is quite poor however by the end of the journey I have attained over 70 miles per gallon. If I don't need heat in the car and let it do its own thing then on the trip to the office I get over 100mpg. I also tested pure EV range under this circumstance and got about 26.5 miles before the ICE kicked in.

Technically on a full charge you should be able to get to and from the office with minimal ICE usage.

 

[jaapv]

In general running on fuel uses less fuel than generating electricity to run on.
But: As the efficiency of the car on electricity is considerably higher at low speeds than running on the ICE it makes sense to preserve electricity on the motorway by pushing the "save" button.
If you need a full battery further on in the journey, for instance when approaching mountainous terrain or an emission controlled zone, the car can charge up to 80% by using the "charge" button.
Normally 13 miles should be fine as a commuting distance with no opportunity to recharge.

 

[Mightgetone]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I am quite surprised how 'inefficient' people are reporting the car to be.

I was hoping that with my 26 mile round trip (with no chance to charge at work) I would not use any fuel.

In my current Skoda Octavia, the MPG to get to work is quite low at about 35mpg, although this morning it was 58mpg.

Although the BIK is low, the leasing costs are quite high (4h, 15k with maintenance £475) I would have to pay towards it, which leads me to do a number of calculations.

At present I am spending about £120 per month just commuting to and from work, so I would hope that this would drop to 'negilgable'.

 

[greendwarf]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I am quite surprised how 'inefficient' people are reporting the car to be.

I was hoping that with my 26 mile round trip (with no chance to charge at work) I would not use any fuel.

In my current Skoda Octavia, the MPG to get to work is quite low at about 35mpg, although this morning it was 58mpg.

Although the BIK is low, the leasing costs are quite high (4h, 15k with maintenance £475) I would have to pay towards it, which leads me to do a number of calculations.

At present I am spending about £120 per month just commuting to and from work, so I would hope that this would drop to 'negilgable'.

Unless you are "unlucky" with the car and/or heavy footed, your 26 miles will almost all be on EV - so your petrol costs ARE going to be negligible :mrgreen: As mentioned above, you will also find ways of squeezing more out of the battery by using the paddles etc. but as also stated there are so many variables, even day to day, which makes predicting costs difficult. However, unless you are paying a lot for your domestic electricity your commuting will certainly be cheaper.

 

[maby]

Thanks for the answers so far.

I am quite surprised how 'inefficient' people are reporting the car to be.

I was hoping that with my 26 mile round trip (with no chance to charge at work) I would not use any fuel.

In my current Skoda Octavia, the MPG to get to work is quite low at about 35mpg, although this morning it was 58mpg.

Although the BIK is low, the leasing costs are quite high (4h, 15k with maintenance £475) I would have to pay towards it, which leads me to do a number of calculations.

At present I am spending about £120 per month just commuting to and from work, so I would hope that this would drop to 'negilgable'.

The EV range is very dependent on driving conditions and, in particular, temperature. In the warm weather - 20 degrees or above - you should manage the 26 miles on pure EV without too much difficulty provided you are not a boy-racer. In the winter, the range will drop off quite a lot. I took delivery of a GX4h in September and demonstrated that it was capable of 29.5 miles on pure EV driving perfectly normally on suburban roads - with an air temperature of 20-something degrees. The same car being used on similar roads is now doing about 18 miles on EV. There are several factors contributing to this difference - the days are shorter, so we are using the lights more; the weather is cooler, so we are using the heater more; the weather is cooler which makes air more viscose and increases tyre rolling resistance.

Do also bear in mind the difference between a GX3h and GX4h - the GX3 does not have an electric heater, so you cannot pre-heat while it is plugged up to the mains - unless you are prepared to drive in a very cold, and misted up car, you will burn petrol to heat it.

You need to consider the running costs of the car over a full year, not week by week. Your 26 mile trip is a decent fit viewed in this way, but you are going to burn petrol in the winter. It's not particularly difficult to model in Excel - I ran my usage pattern through a simple spreadsheet before buying and the figures that came out are very close to those that I am seeing in real life now.

 

[Marksuk]

So in essence nobody can answer your question really, what I would say is take anything a Mitsubishi dealer tells you with a "pinch of salt" as their answers border on "little fibs" really.
Any if economy is paramount then look elsewhere.

On an unrelated issue this forum is very slow/unreponsive and unobtainable at times recently.

 

[maby]

So in essence nobody can answer your question really, what I would say is take anything a Mitsubishi dealer tells you with a "pinch of salt" as their answers border on "little fibs" really.
Any if economy is paramount then look elsewhere.

On an unrelated issue this forum is very slow/unreponsive and unobtainable at times recently.

If economy is your primary requirement, then definitely look elsewhere. The Outlander is a large, heavy and expensive car - the overall cost of ownership is good compared with other large, heavy 4WDs, but you can buy a perfectly serviceable Skoda for £20k less which will do 50mpg without too much difficulty - an Outlander at its absolute best will never save that much over a reasonable life expectancy. If you are going to buy a 4WD anyway, then the Outlander merits consideration, but unless you really are going to use it as an up-market milkfloat, then fuel economy is not sufficient justification alone for buying it. It is a nice car to own and drive and we are enjoying ours, but the deciding factor was the low BIK and ability to write off against tax in the first 12 months.

And yes, this web site is running like a dog at the moment!

 

[Marksuk]

I like the up-market milkfloat bit.

 

[MHS]

I like the up-market milkfloat bit.

Is that: "Ernie, and he drove the fastest (up-market) milk float in the west!!"

 

[MHS]

So in essence nobody can answer your question really, what I would say is take anything a Mitsubishi dealer tells you with a "pinch of salt" as their answers border on "little fibs" really.

This is the case with all manufacturers. They work out their efficiency figures based on Euro rules, and obviously all are based on perfect conditions.
A bit like 0-60 times, they're not really relevant in the real world.