Wait for the Outlander or get a Volt?

[MNguy]

Greetings.
Long time lurker with a question.
I live in Minnesota (USA). We are super cold in winter but not a lot of snow (40-60 inch per year). But sometimes we do get a 12-18 inch blast. I am a doctor so cannot ever miss work even in a blizzard. Thus I've always had AWD. Last car was Passat AWD now we have Lexus RX330 and Infiniti g35x AWD. I want to dump ICE and go EV or PHEV. Don't want to pay for Tesla.

The Outlander is the only reasonably priced AWD SUV PHEV So I've been salivating over it.

I mainly ride my bike in Spring Summer and Fall. Mainly drive in winter (highs 0 to 35F). So want an EV that works in winter.

Here's the problem: Mitsubishi isn't selling the Outlander here yet and won't for a year. It's unclear if they'll sell in only CA or in MN as well. Volt is on sale now but is FWD.

So trying to figure out if I should wait for the outlander. Or just sacrifice and get a Volt which is here now and on discount.

My chief concern is that some Winter drivers have said that the Outlander runs mostly on ICE in winter. Is that true? I understand that the ICE will run to heat car etc but some forums have stated that the outlander is fully running on ICE only in winter.

Is this true? Did they fix that?

I'd be most appreciative of your winter driving results/thoughts

Regards

 

[maby]

I guess the answer depends very much on your driving style and the type of usage you are going to put the car to. The Outlander battery pack is not very high capacity and will rapidly deplete under typical patterns of winter usage. It is not true that it is incapable of running in EV mode in the winter, but it will not do so for very long.

0F is pretty cold and your range is going to be coming down to a small number of miles under those conditions, particularly if you need lights and wipers. Battery performance drops off with temperature and there will be a temperature below which the battery is incapable of driving the car - I suspect that that temperature is not a lot colder than 0F!

The temperature here in southern England hasn't dropped below 7C yet, but I am seeing reduced EV range. These days I'm following the principle of doing the first few miles on "battery save" (or even recharge) mode on the basis that it is not cost effective to heat the car from the battery - I make sure the engine runs until the car is up to temperature, then let it drop back to EV.

Of course, the same probably applies to the Volt - its battery capacity is not much more than the Outlander's!

 

[jaapv]

Yes, the ICE will run more in winter, certainly more and more as it gets colder, as it will on any hybrid. But it is the best choice for snowy roads by far and will outperform quite a few full-blown 4x4s due to the low-speed torque of the electric motors.

 

[Ozukus]

If your after a 4x4 and you don't mind waiting then

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/prius/61219/new-90mpg-4wd-toyota-prius-shapes

Personally that's a rather decent looking Prius and for it to be 4x4 and plug in, that will be a nice option.

 

[jaapv]

Hmmm... I would call the styling a matter of taste.
But one thing is certain, it does not look like a Prius any more, which is a good thing, I suppose....

 

[Ozukus]

Hmmm... I would call the styling a matter of taste.
But one thing is certain, it does not look like a Prius any more, which is a good thing, I suppose....

One thing I like about the Outlander is it isn't trying to look like an electric vehicle just a normal practical vehicle.

I don't really like the look of the existing Prius however that one I'd at least consider if I was looking for a 4 door coupe styled vehicle.

And it's a darn site better looking than the existing Prius.

 

[Lyra252]

Hi

Have a look at this, they work ok in Russia!!

http://www.carandsuv.co.nz/news/electric-outlander-passes-testing-russian-cold


Cheers

Chris

 

[maby]

Hmmm... I would call the styling a matter of taste.
But one thing is certain, it does not look like a Prius any more, which is a good thing, I suppose....

Looks ugly to me - why does everyone insist on these tiny rear windows these days? Don't passengers have a right to be able to see out???

 

[MNguy]

Thank you all so much for the replies. Something to chew on. Regardless the outlander PHEV is a great achievement!

 

[maby]

Ask some searching questions about the performance ofany electric (or hybrid) vehicle in seriously cold weather! Low temperature reduces battery yield. ..

 

[Ozukus]

The below table represents what the Nissan Leaf official site shows for different driving styles and weather.

Doesn't include night driving or rain so reduce that on a wet winter night and the max 124 range is based on the NEDC test, which means it only did about 6 miles to determine that estimate.

Have heard that some people on a Leaf can get less than 50mile range depending upon conditions and then suffer from range anxiety

Type Speed Temperature Heating or A/C Range
Leisurely 38MPH 20C Off 124
Easy Urban 24MPH 22C Off 114
Traffic Urban 15MPH -10C Heating On 77
Motorway 55MPH 35C A/C On 76

 

[maby]

The below table represents what the Nissan Leaf official site shows for different driving styles and weather.

Doesn't include night driving or rain so reduce that on a wet winter night and the max 124 range is based on the NEDC test, which means it only did about 6 miles to determine that estimate.

Have heard that some people on a Leaf can get less than 50mile range depending upon conditions and then suffer from range anxiety

Type Speed Temperature Heating or A/C Range
Leisurely 38MPH 20C Off 124
Easy Urban 24MPH 22C Off 114
Traffic Urban 15MPH -10C Heating On 77
Motorway 55MPH 35C A/C On 76

I can well believe those figures - I used to reckon on losing as much as 25% of my fuel economy on the Prius between summer and winter - and I'm talking about London winters which are not cold by many people's standards!