Promotion: Plug-in hybrid's day in the sun

Element's James Russell is about to take a solar-powered Mitsubishi Outlander for a test drive. Photo / Supplied

Mitsubishi PHEV a game-changer

The staggering efficiency of the new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) - at 1.9L/100km - has rightly received plenty of press. It's a game-changing equation which, put together with solar power, provides for virtually cash and carbon-free motoring.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will do even better than 1.9L/100km provided you're driving less than 52km per day - the range of the vehicle's battery bank. Add up your commute, your trips to the shops - you're under that, right?

The average daily commute in New Zealand is a 38km round trip, so most of us are. At $1.41 for a full charge (6.5 hours from an internal household power point), you're doing well.

But you could do even better. Consider putting solar photovoltaics on the roof of your home or business - wherever your Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is parked most of the time.

With the appropriate solar array (see section below), your weekly travel is now completely free - in terms of both cash and carbon.

The Outlander PHEV will, of course, require some petrol for motoring from time to time - when you go on holiday, for example.

In Series Hybrid mode, the two 60kW electric motors run the wheels and the petrol engine charges the state-of-the-art lithium-Ion battery. The battery will be fully recharged in just 40 minutes, having used around three litres of fuel to do it.

In Parallel Hybrid mode, which kicks in at higher speeds, the petrol engine helps to drive the wheels. It's a combination of two electric motors and a 2.0L petrol engine (not to mention the three clever drive modes that bring it all together) and means the Outlander PHEV isn't bound by the range limitations of all-electric vehicles.

Even using fuel the vehicle has emissions of just 44 grams of CO2 per kilometre. The Outlander also uses regenerative braking to conserve even more energy. Thanks to the use of electric motors, torque is right there when you want it.

Little wonder Mitsubishi has positioned it as the performance model of the Outlander stable. And it's quiet; in fact, it has an alarm that warns pedestrians of its approach when it's in Electric Vehicle mode.

Its cruise control adapts to the vehicle you're following and it will even stop you to mitigate a collision if its radar detects a hazard but no brake input.

These are just some of the features that contribute to the 5-Star ANCAP safety rating.

The XLS starts the range at $59,990, but the VRX is where things get truly interesting and it lands at $66,990. The VRX gets all the exciting kit-satnav, forward collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control, a power tailgate, heated front leather seats and the full PHEV colour display screens - plus the PHEV remote app that is available for iOS and Android phones.

By the numbers

• Cost of a full charge on the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV = $1.41
• Kilometres the vehicle can travel on a full charge = 52
• Number of 250 Watt PV panels out of a solar array which would be utilised to provide the car's charge = 4
• Hours needed to charge car (less than sunlight hours even during winter) = 6.5
• Electricity costs per year (without solar panels, and based on 38km driven each day) = $196

In Element's next print edition on July 28, editor James Russell connects the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to his own solar array and puts it to the test.

This article is an Element Advertising Promotion.