New owner questioning MPG Figures !!!

[Jelly]

Hello Everyone.

Myself and My partner took delivery of our new PHEV 4 weeks ago. Whilst we are delighted with it and love the comfy drive and all mod con's, our main reason for purchasing it was the staggering fuel economy it boasted.

However, we don't seem to be getting anywhere near the figures boasted. The maximum we have acheived is on a 90 mile journey where we got 45 mpg. We are also trying to get the full 32 mile range in the batteries when charging but can't seem to get more than 25 miles. And even when we get 25 miles we are lucky if we get a range of 10 miles when driving.

We have driven the car in the most economical manner, i.e, set to 'B0' and coasting where possible, and made use of the regenerative breaking when slowing down. Are we expecting too much or are these figures what we should expect ???

 

[geoffshep69]

The MPG figures are hugely dependent on the type of journeys you make. If you drive mainly short journeys, and are therefore using the battery, you can easily achieve 100+ mpg, but if you are doing longer journeys, and therefore using petrol, this will fall significantly. In petrol mode, you should get between 30 and 40 mpg depending on how hard you drive it.

My daily commute is 13 miles each way, and I can do most of that on pure EV so my mpg is infinite. Obviously I have paid for the electricity (c. £1 for a full charge) so factoring that in had I spent it on petrol, means that I am getting the equivalent of c. 120mpg for my daily commute.

The mpg figures quoted by Mtisubishi are based on the standard test cycle and are therefore not false, but in reality you will not get this figure unless you are doing short journeys and never burning fuel.

The quoted range is a 'guesstimate' so don't worry too much about the quoted figure, its more important to see how many miles you can actually get from a full charge. The quoted 32 miles is pretty optimistic and needs perfect conditions, most people reckon on about 25 miles being a more reasonable figure. The battery range is also dependent on ambient temperature and how much electric devices (e.g . lights, wipers, air con, etc) are being used, so you should see the range increase as we get into warmer months.

 

[Tipper]

Like many I also think the mpg figures are pure fiction! Unless you always do short electric only journeys then you will get widely varying mpg figures even as low a 30mpg on a motorway run. However there are various factors that affect performance of the car in everyday use, eg,

Ambient temperature - the battery takes less charge and performs worse when the ambient temperature is low as it has been in the UK recently and of course over the winter, hence less battery range showing. It will improve in the summer and I also think it varies with previous journey's usage and driving style.

Running the heater and aircon use up battery power. Some turn it all off after each journey. I just leave it alone as the car shoiud have some automatic convenience features imho.

Running the heater when the ambient temp is below 10C will run the petrol engine.

Have you checked the overall mpg by selecting 'Manual' on the display rather than 'Auto'? Manual will display mpg since last 'manual' reset rather than auto reset which resets it every individual journey. Sadly it defaults to Auto on every start which is annoying!

The standard test method is also subject to criticism and much of it is calculated so not real life.

There are many threads on economy and such on this forum to the point where you could spend days reading them all!

My philosophy now is JFDI!

 

[Uptodat]

I'm at about 20 months and 20k miles. I have logged consumption from the start using fuelly.com and you see the result shown below. Having changed from a diesel Xtrail, the DPF of which didn't like lots of short journeys from cold, I am very happy with the economy figures I get and the relaxed drive. I charge every night on cheaper units and survive mainly on battery alone a lot of the time, once cracking 153 mpg on a tank, but often do longer runs using ICE after battery used but still get 40 -45 mpg which I think is acceptable for such a car. IMHO official mpg and emission figures bear little relation to real world usage.

 

[Regulo]

25 miles on EV seems about right for this time of year (in the UK). But 10 miles is definitely not right. What journey are you getting that figure on? Is it fast A roads/ Motorway? Is the air con or heater on? Doesn't seem right to me. Worst I've got on EV is about 16 miles, straight onto a 70 mile an hour dual carriageway, and driving at 65.

 

[jaapv]

Hello Everyone.

Myself and My partner took delivery of our new PHEV 4 weeks ago. Whilst we are delighted with it and love the comfy drive and all mod con's, our main reason for purchasing it was the staggering fuel economy it boasted.

However, we don't seem to be getting anywhere near the figures boasted. The maximum we have acheived is on a 90 mile journey where we got 45 mpg. We are also trying to get the full 32 mile range in the batteries when charging but can't seem to get more than 25 miles. And even when we get 25 miles we are lucky if we get a range of 10 miles when driving.

We have driven the car in the most economical manner, i.e, set to 'B0' and coasting where possible, and made use of the regenerative breaking when slowing down. Are we expecting too much or are these figures what we should expect ???

If you want to attain the official figures you will have to drive exactly the same pattern as the official EU test run.
Having said that, Mitsubishi did drive the car from Basel to Amsterdam with a sealed fuel tank, no charging and not avoiding motorways - but with a champion economy driver at the wheel.

 

[Steel188]

I am now 9 weeks in and have hit the 6500 mile mark (over 700 this week alone).

At the moment I can only charge fully at work, and when I leave for the 11 mile journey home I never fail to get less than 800mpg! So when the home charger is fitted in a few weeks,going to and from the office will be very economical.

However, cruising the motorways at a Sat Nav regulated 74mph I am achieving mid 30's mpg which to be honest is pretty good for an 1800Kg brick moving at those speeds.

Whilst I always hit Save to keep battery power for the city at the other end of my trip, I never turn the aircon off, use the heated seats whenever I feel like it and always plug my phone in to keep it charged. My default temperature is 19degrees and the fan is always on speed 2 or 3.

Knowing all of the above, I still wanted the car for its comfort and space as it's more important to still be able to walk when I've driven from my office to Edinburgh than it is to gain a few mpg, yet the ability to drive and park in Central London for free is a bonus along with the very low BIK tax.

Unless you can optimise your driving to the scope of the electric range (few miles a day, low cost charging every night) no one should expect to come close to the stated figures after all, as I said above, it is an 1800Kg brick!

 

[Jelly]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

So I guess our fuel consumption on a motorway journey is pretty good but clearly there is something wrong when we are on the urban circuit on battery.

Last sunday I took the car for a short urban spin. Before I left the battery said I had a range of 25 miles. I drove extremely conservatively using the Brake regeneration when I could. Very little turned on, electrical wise, but got less than 10 miles before battery was flat and engine cut in.

I think the Dealership are sure something isn't right as they have asked to have it back for a couple of days for testing next week. I'll update all when I know anything.

 

[maby]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

So I guess our fuel consumption on a motorway journey is pretty good but clearly there is something wrong when we are on the urban circuit on battery.

Last sunday I took the car for a short urban spin. Before I left the battery said I had a range of 25 miles. I drove extremely conservatively using the Brake regeneration when I could. Very little turned on, electrical wise, but got less than 10 miles before battery was flat and engine cut in.

I think the Dealership are sure something isn't right as they have asked to have it back for a couple of days for testing next week. I'll update all when I know anything.

EV range is very dependent on ambient conditions and your driving style. The headline 32 miles is very difficult to achieve and 25 is far more realistic. That said, the range will decrease significantly in cold conditions and is also pulled down by the use of heating and lights. The PHEV is also capable of turning in a very respectable acceleration for its size and if you get a bit carried away, that can also pull the range down heavily. If, like me, you tend to accelerate hard off the lights, then in cold weather the EV range can certainly get down to 12 miles or less. While a PHEV will never beat a sports car that is trying, it can give drivers of fast cars a surprise.

The key is a very light right foot and early light braking. By all means play with the regen settings, but don't expect massive differences in fuel economy - they are more a way of setting the car's response to fit your natural driving style.

 

[northantsphev]

What others have written on this post I agree with.....had my PHEV since late January, nearly 3000 miles. Cold weather hits EV range badly (well under 20 miles lowest I measured 16 in -2 degrees) but in recent warmer weather into low/mid 20s. Lucky that I can charge at home and at work and commute is about 16 miles each way (mix rural lanes/dual/urban). On rarer longer journeys (70-90 miles before a charge) nearer 30/35 mpg. Use B3/4 regen, eco mode and keep to about 60-65 mph on duals (pushing it nearer 70 ish MPH seems to disproportionately use the battery power). Key message is: more than 25-30 miles between recharges starts to affect mpg significantly (obvious I suppose!!) and this is a car for short, regular journeys with good charging opportunities inbetween.

 

[Steel188]

Jelly,

Where abouts are you? How hilly is it?

I mentioned above that I can drive from my office to home at 800mpg, but the journey is 11 miles of country lanes and very hilly, and it takes 80% of a charge to do so.

If you live in a hilly area this will seriously affect the EV range as (see above) the car is an 1800Kg brick!!!

 

[anko]

10 Miles is wrong. Full stop.

 

[Steel188]

Anko,

Most of your beautiful country is relatively flat, but much of ours isn't. My road is a 1 mile long 1:6 hill, some of the side roads are 1:4. This is typical of much of our town, yet within a half hour drive I can be on roads that are as flat as a snooker table for miles in any direction.

Look at Hampstead and Highgate in London on a relief map and see the hills there.

My point is that it takes far more energy to drive up a hill than you can possibly hope to regenerate going down the other side, especially in a UK town or city, or than it takes to cruise along a flat road. Hence the reduction in EV range. Don't forget that the average traffic speed on the main commuter runs in our towns and cities, during rush hour (or three!) is about 10mph due to the constant stop start required. In London, it can take an hour to move a mile sometimes, and it's considered normal.

Also, what's the point of not keeping up with the traffic flow, even if you're being careful??

 

[anko]

Most of your beautiful country is relatively flat, but much of ours isn't.

You are absolutely right. And as a consequence, I can never benefit from any downhill regenning. And yet, I often achieve 25+ miles under current whether conditions :mrgreen:

What I mean to say, the hilliness (is that a word?) of the environment should not make that much of a difference. When on vacation in the French Alps I do not get significantly less range than I het in the Netherlands. Sometimes even better. Unless I start measuring at the bottom of a mountain pass and drive 10+ miles straight up. But I would assume if TS meant he only gets 10 miles when only driving uphill, he would have said so. And even you get better than he does. So it seems.

BTW: With my previous, conventional cars I usually got about the same MPG in mountain areas as I did back home. And these could not even recover energy during descents.

 

[ufo]

Yes, cold weather, turning A/C on and other things affect the EV range but even though PHEV have been out there for more than 2 years, I believe there are so many owners/drivers who have no idea as to how to drive this vehicle.
I am not going to write a long post and try to lecture people on it, there is plenty of info out there in cyberspace. But a very good example of one of those drivers is my wife.
She always gets the ICE kick in when moving uphill or from standstill by pushing the accelerator pedal too much even though there is plenty of juice in the battery and guess what that does to your mileage ?!?
When I drive, I always get more than 50km pure EV range without A/C on, she doesn't even come close.

 

[jaapv]

Most of your beautiful country is relatively flat, but much of ours isn't.

You are absolutely right. And as a consequence, I can never benefit from any downhill regenning. And yet, I often achieve 25+ miles under current whether conditions :mrgreen:

What I mean to say, the hilliness (is that a word?) of the environment should not make that much of a difference. When on vacation in the French Alps I do not get significantly less range than I het in the Netherlands. Sometimes even better. Unless I start measuring at the bottom of a mountain pass and drive 10+ miles straight up. But I would assume if TS meant he only gets 10 miles when only driving uphill, he would have said so. And even you get better than he does. So it seems.

BTW: With my previous, conventional cars I usually got about the same MPG in mountain areas as I did back home. And these could not even recover energy during descents.

Yet I find a small but significant difference driving into the Alps on the motorway compared to driving home. The only factor I can think of is the height, unless you blame the weight I lose by skiing for a couple of weeks.

 

[AndyInOz]

My guessometer had me in stitches this morning.

After a full night of charge, it was showing an electric range of 74 km!

After driving to and from work (16km), it is showing 44 km of electric range.

I have no idea how it has become so confused.

I should have taken a picture!

 

[Barnfather]

I'm seriously flabbergasted that someone has paid £30k+ on a car based on the advertised MPG figures from the manufacturer, and had not been advised that this is an 'ideal scenario' MPG by either the dealer or by reading any review of the car.

Getting 35mpg on a long run in a heavy SUV such as this is a good return.
If you drive solely on electric and charge at home, you would expect MPG figures far better than the quoted average.

As others have said, the PHEV is a car that will have significant MPG variance based on the type of journeys, temperature, terrain, use of on-board equipment and style of driving. The same can be said for other PHEV's such as the Mercedes or BMW versions.

For the record, I'm travelling 25 miles to work (50 mile round trip), charge overnight, Weekend longer motorway runs. And I'm averaging about 50mpg, which is excellent for this type of car.

 

[Freeman38]

We have driven the car in the most economical manner, i.e, set to 'B0' and coasting where possible, and made use of the regenerative breaking when slowing down. Are we expecting too much or are these figures what we should expect ???


For a starters you should be in B5 to get the most of the regenerative braking. We average 80 to 100 mpg over the last 13000 miles.
On a long run we get 45mpg, which is 50% more than our XC90 which we had before. So not sure what the original poster was expecting to get.

 

[HHL]

My guessometer had me in stitches this morning.

After a full night of charge, it was showing an electric range of 74 km!

After driving to and from work (16km), it is showing 44 km of electric range.

I have no idea how it has become so confused.

I should have taken a picture!

Mine does that when I have been running in hybrid mode for a while before charging, but it soon comes back to reality when I start driving.