New owner haven't got a clue. Help and tips needed please!

[Lizzybeans1975]

So my husband and I have just bought a mitsubishi outlander ghx4s. I did very little research and I've no idea what I need to do to get the best out of the car, the battery, efficient driving etc. All hints and tips gratefully received please! Preferably in simple to understand terminology. Thank you

 

[ps44]

Interesting.
Hard to offer much advice without knowing what your pattern of use is going to be, and what constraints/opportunities exist.
But you can just drive as you would any other car and charge it when you can and fuel it when necessary.
There is possibly 10% (?) optimization from smart charging and driving.

 

[Lizzybeans1975]

So I drive mon - Friday to my daughters nursery, then to the train station then to pick her up later in the day then home. I reckon it's about a 12 mile round trip on bumpy lanes with speed limits of 30-40mph but I reckon I'll be doing an average of 30mph max. Weekends could be anything from a few miles each day to a weekend away. Thanks!!

 

[Regulo]

So in the week you won't be using any petrol at all. What about your weekend trips? How far? What roads? Any opportunity to charge at your destinations?

 

[Kesto]

From what you say you will be pure EV driving 100% during weekdays. Weekends depends how many miles you do. But overall your average a month should be around 80-90 mpg. You have to use 15litres of petrol in 3 months or the engine will start and consume petrol. If stop and start is on your daily route use regen as much as you can.

 

[Claymore]

So my husband and I have just bought a mitsubishi outlander ghx4s. I did very little research and I've no idea what I need to do to get the best out of the car, the battery, efficient driving etc. All hints and tips gratefully received please! Preferably in simple to understand terminology. Thank you

There's that word again!

You've had some responses here but it's not possible to even start to give a considered response without knowing whether you have a charger at home and if yes whether it is used?

Regarding your very far reaching request to avoid having to do a lot of reading like most of us have had too........ I'm afraid I can't see any other option but to knuckle down and start reading.

It's pretty much all in this forum.

Jim B

 

[jaapv]

One thing - if the battery is still (nearly) full, say less than 2 bars down, do NOT reconnect to "top up" That may shorten battery life considerably.

 

[tweedie]

Sounds like pretty much what I do each day during the week day. school run about 12 miles a day. If you drive sensibly, stick ECO on, and if you can manage it - turn off heating/air con (use heated steering wheel and/or heated seats as its better eco wise). you could get away with charging at least every other day overnight.

 

[Austen]

There are 53 pages in this section, nearly every topic must have been covered, the best thing would be to start at page 53 and work back.

However I have owned one for 2 months now and here are some suggestions if you want the best economy;

1) use a very light right foot.
2) stick to speed limits.
3) mainly use B0 to freewheel when possible (slight down hill gradients).
4) use the left paddle progressively to regenerate when down steeper hills or coming to a stop.
5) anticipate traffic conditions and drive smoothly (no rapid acceleration/de-accelration).
6) plan your journeys, try to arrive home with <5 miles range.

OTOH if mpg doesn't worry you just drive it like any other car and enjoy it, it's a nice car.

 

[Lance]

The only thing I slightly disagree with is point 6 where I would argue you should arrive home with zero (or as close as possible) electric range (assuming at some point petrol had to be used on the journey).

 

[anko]

The only thing I slightly disagree with is point 6 where I would argue you should arrive home with zero (or as close as possible) electric range (assuming at some point petrol had to be used on the journey).

Haha. several times I have actually brought my car to a halt close to home (< 1km), to stop the hysteresis cycle from recharging my battery with power I did not need for the remained of my trip.

 

[Austen]

The only thing I slightly disagree with is point 6 where I would argue you should arrive home with zero (or as close as possible) electric range (assuming at some point petrol had to be used on the journey).

I wasn't sure exactly what value to put there and I agree less is best.

For the benefit of the OP to add to (6) if the journey is greater than the EV range and the Save button is used only use it enough to realise the sort of value we have been discussing on reaching home (IMHO)

 

[Austen]

The only thing I slightly disagree with is point 6 where I would argue you should arrive home with zero (or as close as possible) electric range (assuming at some point petrol had to be used on the journey).

Haha. several times I have actually brought my car to a halt close to home (< 1km), to stop the hysteresis cycle from recharging my battery with power I did not need for the remained of my trip.

Hi Anko

I know you are very experienced and knowledgable PHEV driver so could you please explain in different way your statement?

 

[anko]

When the battery is 'near empty', the ICE will be started to drive the car and recharge the battery while doing so. after some time, the battery is no longer 'near empty' and the ICE will stop. And so on. The moment the ICE is started is dictated by the low water mark. The high water mark dictates when the ICE is turned off again. The high and low water marks are not totally fixed, but depend on factors as speed and whether the ICE is already warm (a warm ICE is happy to provide power immediately, so the low water mark can be set lower).

This mechanism is called the hysteresis cycle. Now imagine you reach the low water mark at 1.5 km from your destination. After for example half that distance you may have recharged enough power to reach your destination in EV mode before hitting the low water mark again. But, not knowing what your destination is, the car insists on completing the hysteresis cycle until the high water mark is reached. Consequently, you are generating power that you do not need in order to get to your destination.

Stopping or slowing down the car may change the cars mind on completing the hysteresis cycle. Sometimes, it seems slowing down to almost 0 MPH is sufficient, sometimes I really need to make a full stop to brake the cycle.

 

[Austen]

Anko, thanks for the clarification and extra information, I will bear it in mind.

 

[anko]

I will bear it in mind.

I advise you not to. Or you will end up as obsessed as I am :mrgreen:

 

[maby]

I will bear it in mind.

I advise you not to. Or you will end up as obsessed as I am :mrgreen:

:lol:

 

[user 1877]

This mechanism is called the hysteresis cycle. Now imagine you reach the low water mark at 1.5 km from your destination. After for example half that distance you may have recharged enough power to reach your destination in EV mode before hitting the low water mark again. But, not knowing what your destination is, the car insists on completing the hysteresis cycle until the high water mark is reached. Consequently, you are generating power that you do not need in order to get to your destination.

Stopping or slowing down the car may change the cars mind on completing the hysteresis cycle. Sometimes, it seems slowing down to almost 0 MPH is sufficient, sometimes I really need to make a full stop to brake the cycle.

Anko thank you for a clear and illuminating explanation of how the hysteresis cycle works in the Outlander. Having a relatively new car I am lucky enough to have an EV switch. I haven't used it much yet because in the mild weather the ICE is pretty reluctant to get involved until the main battery is down to one bar. However, the posts above make me wonder whether selecting EV when the ICE is in the middle of the recharge phase of the hysteresis cycle will cause the ICE to switch off. Probably not but I will check next time I can.

 

[anko]

Probably not but I will check next time I can.

Bets are made. Keep us posted!

 

[Claymore]

Just wondering where the OP has disappeared to.

JimB