Mitsubishi’s family-sized SUV sips less fuel than a Prius
MITSUBISHI Outlander plug-in hybrid uses just 1.9L/100km: 50km on battery power before petrol motor takes you another 800km.
IT may sound like science fiction but an almost two-tonne SUV has become Australia’s most fuel-efficient family car.
The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid, which arrives in Australian showrooms this weekend priced from $47,490, runs on electric power as well as petrol.
It can travel 50km on battery power alone and then a further 800km using its petrol motor.
This driving range gives the Outlander a remarkable combined fuel consumption average rating of just 1.9L/100km; a Toyota Prius hybrid uses 3.7L/100km and a regular Toyota Kluger V6 SUV uses up to 14L/100km in city and suburban use.
The Outlander can be recharged in about four hours at a cost of about $2.50 but owners will need to upgrade a power point at home or work to 15 amps, which electricians say will cost about $200.
“This is about putting future technology in the driveways of mums and dads,” said Mitsubishi Australia spokeswoman Shayna Welsh.
“We believe this is the first practical use of this technology, in a car people can use every day.”
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is currently available with five seats but a seven-seater version may follow.
The $40,000 to $50,000 SUV market is one of the biggest, so Mitsubishi has high hopes for the Outlander PHEV.
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV uses its petrol engine at cruising speeds and electric power at slow speeds and when moving from rest.
The petrol engine is also used to charge the battery pack, as it does in the Holden Volt.
The Volt has longer battery-only range but the Outlander almost double the overall driving range.
The Volt has an official consumption rating of just 1.2L/100km, but as it is only a four-seater, it is not categorised as a “family” car.
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
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