Now Delivered! Company Car - Outlander GX4hs

[lg1726]

You're right about the width thing - had ours 5-6 weeks and I still think it's wider than it is! We have a narrow gated drive and despite the fact that the PHEV is exactly the same width as our previous SSAB estate, I still inhale through my teeth when I back in through the gate! Cant seem to get over that!

We got an extended test drive before buying and took on the school run, shopping and did just normal things with it to get a sense of how the range worked for us. Then we took it on the motorway for a few miles to get a sense of what else it can do. I also, for about 2 weeks, kept a daily log of our journeys, the milage of each round trip and gave a bit of thought to the charging opportunities etc. It's quite a different test drive to that of previous car purchases in that you are not just assessing all the usual stuff, but also these new elements, range, differing driving modes etc etc!

 

[SolarBoy]

You're right about the width thing - had ours 5-6 weeks and I still think it's wider than it is! We have a narrow gated drive and despite the fact that the PHEV is exactly the same width as our previous SSAB estate, I still inhale through my teeth when I back in through the gate! Cant seem to get over that!

We got an extended test drive before buying and took on the school run, shopping and did just normal things with it to get a sense of how the range worked for us. Then we took it on the motorway for a few miles to get a sense of what else it can do. I also, for about 2 weeks, kept a daily log of our journeys, the milage of each round trip and gave a bit of thought to the charging opportunities etc. It's quite a different test drive to that of previous car purchases in that you are not just assessing all the usual stuff, but also these new elements, range, differing driving modes etc etc!

It's not just me then ... though I am used to bigger cars, driving these has been in the US or Canada where the roads are wider

We have more driving tomorrow, and Mrs SolarBoy will give it a go on Sunday.

I can feel a pre-flight checklist coming together ... my only concern is reversing into my garage instead of going forwards ... now that'd be super bad ... perhaps the GX4hs reversing sensors would help there!

 

[Regulo]

I have to reverse into my aunt's garage, but drive forwards into mine (due to the siting of the charge stations). Funnily enough, I prefer to reverse! The large mirrors seem to make it easy to line up reversing, but like yourselves, I can't "get" the width of this car going ahead.

 

[jthspace]

What I really miss from my last car, a Nissan Juke, are the headlights which you could see from the driving seat which meant that you had a good idea where the "corners" were day and night.

 

[lg1726]

my only concern is reversing into my garage instead of going forwards ... now that'd be super bad ... perhaps the GX4hs reversing sensors would help there!

I have to say that the parking sensors are the only missing option for me. I thought the camera would be good, but I don't think its as effective as the sensors i had in the SAAB. now wondering about a retro fit!

 

[SolarBoy]

Took the kids to the seaside, about 17 miles there and back.

There is certainly an issue with the range or the battery with the demonstrator as even after a full charge + driving it on 30/40mph zones the indicated EV range is stuffed. This is not a problem though ... just a continued observation.

I must say it is not a "Drivers Car" - my first car in the 80's was a 2.0S Capri. In comparison the Overlander is quite boring to drive, it has to be said it is also very easy to drive (apart from Width Anxiety).

The placement of the various buttons on the dashboard is abysmal, from the driving position a whole bunch of them are invisible. It took a read of the manual to find the button to press to change the dashboard display. Quite why Save & Charge are hidden out of sight is also beyond me. There are a bunch of other buttons that are stupidly placed as well. I've not really played with the sat nav / radio unit, it also looks to have the user interface from hell and I gave up on it.

The dashboard digital display is also awful, confusing, and doesn't clearly display to the driver what is going on.

Don't get me started with the automatic transmission selector ... why can't it be mike a normal car and click into a physical position? So instead of clicking a selector into t 'D' for drive and then getting on with the job of driving, it's a case of selecting 'D' then checking the Dashboard to see that indeed I'll be going forward instead of backwards. And as for the 'P' for parking brake button ... seriously?

I really do not like the dash layout, the buttons, it is totally unintuitive and will put a lot of drivers off.

Technically, with what the car does, it is brilliant.

Vent over.

Last day of the test drive is tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to add their comments

 

[greendwarf]

I must say it is not a "Drivers Car" - my first car in the 80's was a 2.0S Capri. In comparison the Overlander is quite boring to drive, it has to be said it is also very easy to drive (apart from Width Anxiety).

The placement of the various buttons on the dashboard is abysmal, from the driving position a whole bunch of them are invisible. It took a read of the manual to find the button to press to change the dashboard display. Quite why Save & Charge are hidden out of sight is also beyond me. There are a bunch of other buttons that are stupidly placed as well. I've not really played with the sat nav / radio unit, it also looks to have the user interface from hell and I gave up on it.

The dashboard digital display is also awful, confusing, and doesn't clearly display to the driver what is going on.

Don't get me started with the automatic transmission selector ... why can't it be mike a normal car and click into a physical position? So instead of clicking a selector into t 'D' for drive and then getting on with the job of driving, it's a case of selecting 'D' then checking the Dashboard to see that indeed I'll be going forward instead of backwards. And as for the 'P' for parking brake button ... seriously?

I really do not like the dash layout, the buttons, it is totally unintuitive and will put a lot of drivers off.

I know I've had mine a year now but almost wonder if you're writing about a different car. :lol:

I find the stability & acceleration very good for the size of car especially when overtaking better than most cars I had in 50 years and the low centre of gravity means I can throw it round corners at passenger scaring speeds

But I can't agree about the rest of you comments. I have no problem with the auto stick - how can you say you don't know if you are in drive or reverse when you have you move it down or up to engage :?: BTW other posts suggest nobody uses Park as it auto engages when you turn off.

 

[SolarBoy]

I must say it is not a "Drivers Car" - my first car in the 80's was a 2.0S Capri. In comparison the Overlander is quite boring to drive, it has to be said it is also very easy to drive (apart from Width Anxiety).

The placement of the various buttons on the dashboard is abysmal, from the driving position a whole bunch of them are invisible. It took a read of the manual to find the button to press to change the dashboard display. Quite why Save & Charge are hidden out of sight is also beyond me. There are a bunch of other buttons that are stupidly placed as well. I've not really played with the sat nav / radio unit, it also looks to have the user interface from hell and I gave up on it.

The dashboard digital display is also awful, confusing, and doesn't clearly display to the driver what is going on.

Don't get me started with the automatic transmission selector ... why can't it be mike a normal car and click into a physical position? So instead of clicking a selector into t 'D' for drive and then getting on with the job of driving, it's a case of selecting 'D' then checking the Dashboard to see that indeed I'll be going forward instead of backwards. And as for the 'P' for parking brake button ... seriously?

I really do not like the dash layout, the buttons, it is totally unintuitive and will put a lot of drivers off.

I know I've had mine a year now but almost wonder if you're writing about a different car. :lol:

I find the stability & acceleration very good for the size of car especially when overtaking better than most cars I had in 50 years and the low centre of gravity means I can throw it round corners at passenger scaring speeds

But I can't agree about the rest of you comments. I have no problem with the auto stick - how can you say you don't know if you are in drive or reverse when you have you move it down or up to engage :?: BTW other posts suggest nobody uses Park as it auto engages when you turn off.

I should add I am a Ford Fan Boy, their dashboards and switchgear are very well laid out and go through decent ergonomics testing, eg stick the boot release where one can actually see it rather than duck down and fumble around release the bonnet then pop the boot! (okay slight exaggeration).

I am an I/T person, I help design systems for ease of use.

Took the car our in the rain last night, the autowipers kicked in though the car started to mist up - I had to ask the passenger to find the correct buttons and press them in the correct sequence. On my current Ford press one single button and the windscreen demists no matter what the other settings are with the environment controls. On the Outlander we had to push demist then find the fan speed. Well I didn't the passenger did. I wasn't in a safe place to stop. I wasn't expecting the car to mist up so quickly though it did demist quickly it has to be said.

Quite why the Satellite system music thingy has a dozen buttons around the side is beyond me, my iPad / iPhone / Nexus Android has just one physical button apart from Power/Volume and they have a ton more function than the built in unit.

Just my 2 pence.

Okay taking the Mrs SolarBoy out now in the Outlander - wish us luck!

 

[Barnfather]

I had a GX3 ('old' model) on demo the other week, so my thoughts are....

A couple of buttons ARE in stupid places - namely the ones that hide behind the steering wheel to change the display. I don't understand why there aren't steering wheel buttons for this like there are on nearly every other car. I do think the dash display of info is not sufficient for such an advanced car technically although the MMCS (stereo system) supposedly has far more info.

The fuel flap button took some finding in a garage (and yes I popped the bonnet first).

As for the stereo, I can't comment precisely as the GX3h had some old-school non-Nav arrangement however I've demo'ed several cars, including a Quashqai (which I have as I type) and many have the display with the buttons down the side. Comparing with an iPhone is wrong, as drivers need quick access buttons to things, and can't push a home button and then swipe in and out of functions. I also believe that whilst it is basically a similar unit, the 2016 year GX4h is supposed to have an 'improved' system although thats just reading all the blurb,

Performance I found satisfactory although if you try to accelerate quickly from a standing start there is a noticeable 'lag' in getting the car to respond. Certainly compared to my current hybrid which provides instant power. Again, reading the blurb this is something they have improved on the new model.

My only gripes with the car from the demo were - The tailgate needed more of a push to shut than I expected, resulting in the warning appearing when I tried to drive off a few times. Again, with a GX4h the electric tailgate should avoid this. The warning lights about people sat in the back kept appearing however I think this may have been because I put the back seats down and may not have clicked them all into position properly. And finally, the charging flap seemed tinny and easy to damage to me and needed to be handled with kid gloves. No issues with the rest of the car and I LOVED being able to see the bonnet when driving...so many new cars are shaped so you never see this.

 

[SolarBoy]

I had a GX3 ('old' model) on demo the other week, so my thoughts are....

A couple of buttons ARE in stupid places - namely the ones that hide behind the steering wheel to change the display. I don't understand why there aren't steering wheel buttons for this like there are on nearly every other car. I do think the dash display of info is not sufficient for such an advanced car technically although the MMCS (stereo system) supposedly has far more info.

The fuel flap button took some finding in a garage (and yes I popped the bonnet first).

As for the stereo, I can't comment precisely as the GX3h had some old-school non-Nav arrangement however I've demo'ed several cars, including a Quashqai (which I have as I type) and many have the display with the buttons down the side. Comparing with an iPhone is wrong, as drivers need quick access buttons to things, and can't push a home button and then swipe in and out of functions. I also believe that whilst it is basically a similar unit, the 2016 year GX4h is supposed to have an 'improved' system although thats just reading all the blurb,

Performance I found satisfactory although if you try to accelerate quickly from a standing start there is a noticeable 'lag' in getting the car to respond. Certainly compared to my current hybrid which provides instant power. Again, reading the blurb this is something they have improved on the new model.

My only gripes with the car from the demo were - The tailgate needed more of a push to shut than I expected, resulting in the warning appearing when I tried to drive off a few times. Again, with a GX4h the electric tailgate should avoid this. The warning lights about people sat in the back kept appearing however I think this may have been because I put the back seats down and may not have clicked them all into position properly. And finally, the charging flap seemed tinny and easy to damage to me and needed to be handled with kid gloves. No issues with the rest of the car and I LOVED being able to see the bonnet when driving...so many new cars are shaped so you never see this.

Neither of us can see the "Start" button ... comparing with the Tesla ... I believe it's swipe only though I've only seen a few of the videos. If it wasn't for the stupid lease prices, 3.5x that of the Overlander I'd have gone for the base 'S' model

Do like the way that other folks get out of the way of the Overlander though ... and the hilarious look on pedestrian's faces as 2 ton of 4x4 glides past silently whilst in stealth mode. One blokes jaw just dropped ...

Bit worried about the range at the battery goes flat so quickly, never showed more than 17 miles range, we never got less than 4 leaves after a 'proper' journey.

Just waiting for a quote back for the GX5hs in red ...

 

[SolarBoy]

P.S. .... after day 3 .... despite it's faults .... I really like it!

 

[Regulo]

I've got to agree with all that's been said about the switches and MMCS. But I think you'll get used to most of it, given time - I have, and I found it an absolute nightmare at first. It's like modern washing machines, 28 programmes, but you only use 3 of them! Once you've set the MMCS and dash display to show what you want, I find I rarely change anything. For one thing, it's too distracting while on the move to fiddle with.

 

[Neverfuel]

I had a GX3 ('old' model) on demo the other week, so my thoughts are....

A couple of buttons ARE in stupid places - namely the ones that hide behind the steering wheel to change the display. I don't understand why there aren't steering wheel buttons for this like there are on nearly every other car. I do think the dash display of info is not sufficient for such an advanced car technically although the MMCS (stereo system) supposedly has far more info.

The fuel flap button took some finding in a garage (and yes I popped the bonnet first).

As for the stereo, I can't comment precisely as the GX3h had some old-school non-Nav arrangement however I've demo'ed several cars, including a Quashqai (which I have as I type) and many have the display with the buttons down the side. Comparing with an iPhone is wrong, as drivers need quick access buttons to things, and can't push a home button and then swipe in and out of functions. I also believe that whilst it is basically a similar unit, the 2016 year GX4h is supposed to have an 'improved' system although thats just reading all the blurb,

Performance I found satisfactory although if you try to accelerate quickly from a standing start there is a noticeable 'lag' in getting the car to respond. Certainly compared to my current hybrid which provides instant power. Again, reading the blurb this is something they have improved on the new model.

My only gripes with the car from the demo were - The tailgate needed more of a push to shut than I expected, resulting in the warning appearing when I tried to drive off a few times. Again, with a GX4h the electric tailgate should avoid this. The warning lights about people sat in the back kept appearing however I think this may have been because I put the back seats down and may not have clicked them all into position properly. And finally, the charging flap seemed tinny and easy to damage to me and needed to be handled with kid gloves. No issues with the rest of the car and I LOVED being able to see the bonnet when driving...so many new cars are shaped so you never see this.

Neither of us can see the "Start" button ... comparing with the Tesla ... I believe it's swipe only though I've only seen a few of the videos. If it wasn't for the stupid lease prices, 3.5x that of the Overlander I'd have gone for the base 'S' model

Do like the way that other folks get out of the way of the Overlander though ... and the hilarious look on pedestrian's faces as 2 ton of 4x4 glides past silently whilst in stealth mode. One blokes jaw just dropped ...

Bit worried about the range at the battery goes flat so quickly, never showed more than 17 miles range, we never got less than 4 leaves after a 'proper' journey.

Just waiting for a quote back for the GX5hs in red ...

Surely you mean Outlander not Overlander?

 

[SolarBoy]

Went to local Mitusbushi dealer to look at 'Orient Red' in the flesh.

It looks more of a burgundy than a red to me, so I am not sure now!

There is no cost difference from the lease company on colour ... (though small impact to BIK of course).

So thinking about white again ... then I find out there are two whites .... arrgghhhhh.

Which one is best?

"Frost White" or "White Pearl"?

 

[Barnfather]

I have the same quandary about the red. My favorite car colour would be 'candy apple' red - a really metallic deep red - all because I had a toy Rolls Royce when I was a kid that was that colour... The closest I've seen was a few years back on some Peugeot cars. Was excited by seeing the red as an option on the Outlander but I worry that they look wonderful when fully detailed and under bright light (or sunshine) but otherwise look like a fairly flat burgundy colour.

They have had this red on previous Mitsubishi's too (Lancer etc) and if you look at photo's of those, they tend to look a bit flat I think.

Just had a demo Quashqai in a metallic red too, and noticed the same thing. Under the right lighting conditions, stunning....under grey skies - fairly flat colour appearance.

I suspect I'll avoid white as my last two cars have been white, but I must admit the Ruby Black is currently tempting me...

 

[SolarBoy]

I have the same quandary about the red. My favorite car colour would be 'candy apple' red - a really metallic deep red - all because I had a toy Rolls Royce when I was a kid that was that colour... The closest I've seen was a few years back on some Peugeot cars. Was excited by seeing the red as an option on the Outlander but I worry that they look wonderful when fully detailed and under bright light (or sunshine) but otherwise look like a fairly flat burgundy colour.

They have had this red on previous Mitsubishi's too (Lancer etc) and if you look at photo's of those, they tend to look a bit flat I think.

Just had a demo Quashqai in a metallic red too, and noticed the same thing. Under the right lighting conditions, stunning....under grey skies - fairly flat colour appearance.

I suspect I'll avoid white as my last two cars have been white, but I must admit the Ruby Black is currently tempting me...

Agreed, my current car is black and has been my current car since 2002, problem with black is that NOBODY can see a black car.

Plus in the summer (if we get one) the black is going to be hot.

Probably going to go for Frost White, as not sure what Pearl White is really like.

 

[SolarBoy]

Ordered Pearl White GX4hs!

Mitsubishi Fleet have been great in answering my queries, and did a look-up against a number plate of a PHEV to confirm whether it was Frost or Pearl White.

The metallic was a bit cheaper than the solid, though the BIK put on an extra quid, still have £1.50 of my car allowance left over.

BIG THANK YOU to everyone that has responded to my odd questions!

 

[SolarBoy]

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask ... but as I have asked so many questions about my new car ...

I know I need to order a free Ecotricity card, and a PodPod Point card is £12 a year. Are there any other cards I need to buy? My wife can jiggle her day about to go charge at the local Sainsbury's once a week.

I also need a cable thingy for PodPoint chargers, and would prefer to go for a 32Amp version to future proof for my next car when this one's lease expires.

I got a 32Amp home charger installed last year, I know the Outlander will be 16Amp at best though due to my solar panels will probably charge via 13Amp socket to make the most of my solar energy.

Questions are:

1) Do I need to order any further charging cards?
2) What length cable is best to get?
3) What colour cable is best? Red or Black?
4) Are cables much of a muchness or is one brand better than another?
5) What should be my guide price for a cable?

Many thanks!

 

[mikehep]

Orde the full protection pack. Also rubber mats sets, dear at £70ish but one spilt mi...well you know the smell. Mines old shape, around 10k miles, 1st service next week, costing me a month what it used to cost per week (Sportage 2.0 6 speed diesel). That's for the electricity AND the petrol
Mike

 

[SolarBoy]

Orde the full protection pack. Also rubber mats sets, dear at £70ish but one spilt mi...well you know the smell. Mines old shape, around 10k miles, 1st service next week, costing me a month what it used to cost per week (Sportage 2.0 6 speed diesel). That's for the electricity AND the petrol
Mike

Sorry I should have said it is a company car. The mats are included.