O.K. - My head hurts - which buttons to press . . . .

[Ozukus]

No moral obligations? That's a pity

Please explain to me what my "moral obligations" are :?:

 

[anko]

No moral obligations? That's a pity

Please explain to me what my "moral obligations" are :?:

I guess that means "no" :mrgreen:

 

[Ozukus]

No moral obligations? That's a pity

Please explain to me what my "moral obligations" are :?:

I guess that means "no" :mrgreen:

In actual fact Anko, one of the obligations I believe I have is to provide a more balanced view with regard to PHEV ownership :idea:

There are too many people on here making it sound that unless you have a degree in electrical engineering and are willing to do a pre-flight check as if you need the skills of a pilot, then this vehicle is not for those mere mortals that actually want a car to get them from A to B.

Part of this site should actually promote ownership, not scare them away from purchasing a vehicle, that, if you so wish, like I do, that I can pretty well just get in it, turn it on, and drive it like any other vehicle :!:

 

[jthspace]

In actual fact Anko, one of the obligations I believe I have is to provide a more balanced view with regard to PHEV ownership :idea:

There are too many people on here making it sound that unless you have a degree in electrical engineering and are willing to do a pre-flight check as if you need the skills of a pilot, then this vehicle is not for those mere mortals that actually want a car to get them from A to B.

Part of this site should actually promote ownership, not scare them away from purchasing a vehicle, that, if you so wish, like I do, that I can pretty well just get in it, turn it on, and drive it like any other vehicle :!:

As the Original Poster - I would like to say "thank-you" for this response. I did not, and do not, want to cause offence and I was not eloquant enough to put into words what you have said above (high-lighted by me). I did read all of the posts by the posters who understand these vehicles to a far greater depth that I ever will - hence the title of my post "O.K. - My head hurts - which buttons to press . . . ." :lol:

 

[anko]

In actual fact Anko, one of the obligations I believe I have is to provide a more balanced view with regard to PHEV ownership :idea:

There are too many people on here making it sound that unless you have a degree in electrical engineering and are willing to do a pre-flight check as if you need the skills of a pilot, then this vehicle is not for those mere mortals that actually want a car to get them from A to B.

Part of this site should actually promote ownership, not scare them away from purchasing a vehicle, that, if you so wish, like I do, that I can pretty well just get in it, turn it on, and drive it like any other vehicle :!:

And this is why my first response in this thread was:

For the best economy, stay away from Save and Charge as much as possible. if you anticipate a stretch of "below 40 MPH driving", you may want to use Charge to collect the necessary charge to get across that stretch. That is a simple as I can put it.

But at the same time you can't deny that our car somewhat has a reputation of "driven by people that only care about BIK savings and don't care about the environment". When I see somebody write:

I could ... try and plug it in wherever I can (but can't be bothered and couldn't justify the £150 cost for the type1 to type2 cable), ...

that feels wrong to me as I believe this is bad for the environment and bad for the reputation of the car and all of us as owners. Also it sounds a bit awkward to me: you spend thousands of pounds on plug-in technology but you don't want to spent 150 pound to max out the (environmental) benefits of that technology. It simply doesn't make sense to me.

If this statement scares people away from buying one (which I do not believe at all), then there is not much I cannot do much about that. It just happens to be my opinion. Sorry for that.

 

[lg1726]

In actual fact Anko, one of the obligations I believe I have is to provide a more balanced view with regard to PHEV ownership :idea:

There are too many people on here making it sound that unless you have a degree in electrical engineering and are willing to do a pre-flight check as if you need the skills of a pilot, then this vehicle is not for those mere mortals that actually want a car to get them from A to B.

Part of this site should actually promote ownership, not scare them away from purchasing a vehicle, that, if you so wish, like I do, that I can pretty well just get in it, turn it on, and drive it like any other vehicle :!:

As the Original Poster - I would like to say "thank-you" for this response. I did not, and do not, want to cause offence and I was not eloquant enough to put into words what you have said above (high-lighted by me). I did read all of the posts by the posters who understand these vehicles to a far greater depth that I ever will - hence the title of my post "O.K. - My head hurts - which buttons to press . . . ." :lol:

I was glad you posted the original question as I too am a recent owner and today for the first ever time I pressed the save button and used petrol!! For the record and no I don't want to lectured at about what I could have done differently to save about 10p worth of petrol and/or battery charge; I have had the car for just over 5 weeks and done 680 miles and this the first ever time, so you know for me anyway, its enough to know that when I get to the 'fast road' I can save the battery for the other end and let the car do the rest.

Making the transition to EV is a big deal for many and the PHEV set up is a great bridge for those of us not quite ready for the full BEV, but sometime when I look at this and other forums I do wonder about how complicated either it is, or some would like to have me think it is! I want simple advice so that I can drive and enjoy the car and not an engineering paper full of three letter acronyms and all sorts of energy variables. It would be most unfortunate if potential owners looked on here and thought the whole thing too complex, reinforcing some pre-conceptions, and decided against buying. If any are reading this - it's a car, wheel at each corner and one to steer it. It uses battery or petrol, but is very clever and knows when to make the switch, but you can and do have an element of control. Its a great car to drive, in either battery or petrol mode and its, very, very cheap to run, wonderfully quiet and very eco-friendly. You don't need to know anymore really!

 

[Ozukus]

I could ... try and plug it in wherever I can (but can't be bothered and couldn't justify the £150 cost for the type1 to type2 cable), ...

that feels wrong to me as I believe this is bad for the environment and bad for the reputation of the car and all of us as owners. Also it sounds a bit awkward to me: you spend thousands of pounds on plug-in technology but you don't want to spent 150 pound to max out the (environmental) benefits of that technology. It simply doesn't make sense to me.

If this statement scares people away from buying one (which I do not believe at all), then there is not much I cannot do much about that. It just happens to be my opinion. Sorry for that.

Anko, you missed reading my driving style where I stated that I have a twice weekly lengthy commute, where I do take advantage of a fast charger. All my other driving is local, and I never actually drive anywhere locally that means I get a depleted battery before I return home. I can't justify the £150 spend because I would never recover enough "free" electricity to cover the costs. All my local driving is EV based (except for heating as a GX3h) with the electricity provided by my own home charge point.

I purchased the car as it is eco-friendly, I have over 2 feet of insulation in my home (rating it at the same level as a Northern Canadian home) and also have 2 of the most efficient wood burning stoves you can get. I do my bit with regard to the environment, however I am not going to go to extremes.

I bought an eco-friendly car that I could afford (hence the GX3h) that doesn't give me range anxiety on my commute, and I can just jump in it and drive it like any other car, knowing that compared to any other car I drive its far more eco-friendly.

 

[user 816]

In actual fact Anko, one of the obligations I believe I have is to provide a more balanced view with regard to PHEV ownership :idea:

There are too many people on here making it sound that unless you have a degree in electrical engineering and are willing to do a pre-flight check as if you need the skills of a pilot, then this vehicle is not for those mere mortals that actually want a car to get them from A to B.

Part of this site should actually promote ownership, not scare them away from purchasing a vehicle, that, if you so wish, like I do, that I can pretty well just get in it, turn it on, and drive it like any other vehicle :!:

As the Original Poster - I would like to say "thank-you" for this response. I did not, and do not, want to cause offence and I was not eloquant enough to put into words what you have said above (high-lighted by me). I did read all of the posts by the posters who understand these vehicles to a far greater depth that I ever will - hence the title of my post "O.K. - My head hurts - which buttons to press . . . ." :lol:

I was glad you posted the original question as I too am a recent owner and today for the first ever time I pressed the save button and used petrol!! For the record and no I don't want to lectured at about what I could have done differently to save about 10p worth of petrol and/or battery charge; I have had the car for just over 5 weeks and done 680 miles and this the first ever time, so you know for me anyway, its enough to know that when I get to the 'fast road' I can save the battery for the other end and let the car do the rest.

Making the transition to EV is a big deal for many and the PHEV set up is a great bridge for those of us not quite ready for the full BEV, but sometime when I look at this and other forums I do wonder about how complicated either it is, or some would like to have me think it is! I want simple advice so that I can drive and enjoy the car and not an engineering paper full of three letter acronyms and all sorts of energy variables. It would be most unfortunate if potential owners looked on here and thought the whole thing too complex, reinforcing some pre-conceptions, and decided against buying. If any are reading this - it's a car, wheel at each corner and one to steer it. It uses battery or petrol, but is very clever and knows when to make the switch, but you can and do have an element of control. Its a great car to drive, in either battery or petrol mode and its, very, very cheap to run, wonderfully quiet and very eco-friendly. You don't need to know anymore really!

Yes...and no.

The problem with the PHEV is the way its been reported, credit to Mitsubishi they have tried to be upfront with people but also have to promote figures in line with 'normal' cars. This leads to the problem.

If someone buys one without some understanding of the energy system they can get a big shock to find their 148mpg car only did 28mpg! (although you do have have to push a bit to get that low its certainly not that hard!)

But I have been out locally today various trips and did 99+

It helps if people know how it works to some extent and what circumstances will give good mpg and which bad so as to avoid disappointments.

 

[anko]

Anko, you missed reading my driving style where I stated that ....

Well, it was pretty much that one sentence that triggered my response. Sorry for that. Here in the Netherlands there are a lot of non-PHEV-drivers criticising the tax benefits associated with the Outlander and there are a lot of PHEV-drivers that give them all the good reasons to do so :x . But you say, there is no reason / opportunity for you to charge (other than at these fast chargers). Of course, that would be a different story.

 

[Regulo]

Hi Jeff,

One line answer: That's how I use it, pretty much same pattern of driving. Will that do?

Now you're going to get 40 different opinions, and be none the wiser after you've read them all!

Ooops! Underestimated! 45 so far (not including mine).

 

[jthspace]

:lol: :ugeek:

You can count the one-liners on one hand with change to spare. However, I did learn a lot from the replies and appreciate the responses from everyone.

I did learn my PHEV-Virgin first trips will use the Janet and John early-reader style of driving before progressing to a Lord of the Flies, culminating in Tolstoy's War and Peace by the time I have the first year under the belt.

After my first away from home trip I used the Save function at 10 miles remaining, it worked well and got me to my destination 60 miles away with 8 miles showing so I have enough to do the driving around here. I will do a plug in charge the night before we leave on Tuesday. Neat.

Regards to all the contributors.

Jeff

 

[lg1726]

:lol: :ugeek:

You can count the one-liners on one hand with change to spare. However, I did learn a lot from the replies and appreciate the responses from everyone.

I did learn my PHEV-Virgin first trips will use the Janet and John early-reader style of driving before progressing to a Lord of the Flies, culminating in Tolstoy's War and Peace by the time I have the first year under the belt.

After my first away from home trip I used the Save function at 10 miles remaining, it worked well and got me to my destination 60 miles away with 8 miles showing so I have enough to do the driving around here. I will do a plug in charge the night before we leave on Tuesday. Neat.

Regards to all the contributors.

Jeff

Have to say that's what I did on my trip yesterday when I went on the 'fast road'. I just hit Save when we were getting onto the dual carriage way with around 18 miles left and let the car sort it all out. Hit save again to switch off when we got there and used the battery when there and when we headed home we had 8 miles left, so did the same again with the save button on the fast road and got back with 7 miles on the battery to get from the outskirts of town to the house! Heading up the A9 next week, 180 miles each way and intend to do the same. Hit save when we get out of town and keep the battery for when we get there and there will be the chance to charge up before heading home! I get what some are saying here about maximising on the potential fuel economy, but we have done 680 miles in almost 6 weeks and its all been on battery. Trips such as these where petrol is a requirement are rare for us and so I'm not going to get too stressed about the odd £ saving or so on the very, very ocassional long trip. Perhaps if this was a regular thing that might be different, but I know that it will be a rare occurrence and this car replaced a 9 year SAAB turbo which had a very serious petrol drinking habit, so this will be a huge improvement in terms of petrol usage!!

 

[jthspace]

Thanks. I had done trips into Cambridge and back 100 percent electric which is really cool. Also all local driving the same. Our first 60 mile trip to Hunstanton in Norfolk was as almost as you described, I stayed on electric for 20 miles and then hit save, it was great doing 70 on the M11 and A14 totally on electric power. Big Righteous Feeling. Ran on petrol the rest of the way, save enabled with 10 miles showing. Been to the lighthouse today for dog walk (she is nearly 16 so gets driven to the big walk route) and a bit of shopping, still showing 7 miles range which will be enough to for us until Monday.

I will drop a 20 metre extension out of the window Monday night and charge the battery up but i wont need to save anything on the way back as I live near the M11 turnoff so dont need electric when I get home. It will be interesting to see average mpg on the way back. It was 42 on the way here. I wasn't holding back on the driving style either, accelerating past slow farm trucks and lorries as required. The nations sugar beet is on the move this week to the processing plants and the A10 is slooooow in places. Good harvest all round, though, so happy farmers (not that they will say that)

I had a Nissan Juke auto (CVT) and hardly ever beat 40, more often low to mid 30's so a petrol bonus already and in a much larger, heavier car. Not a big saving, but (and I hate saying this) "every little helps".