A FOND FAREWELL

• Published date: 13 October 2021
• Publication title: Stratford Press

In summary, we thought it was timely to present the good and not so good points from our extensive time with the Outlander PHEV. So let’s dive in.

Good: A dedicated smartphone app allows it to not just charge at specific times, and an ETA to full charge, but also heat or cool the cabin, which was loved on cold Waikato mornings. Though it does need to be close to the car as it uses the vehicle’s own Wi-Fi.

Not so good: That climate control pre-conditioner will sap range, even if plugged in to the portable charger, unless recharging is scheduled.

Good: Claiming around 55km, with our driving, the predicted EV range dropped to around 46km with our time and driving style — still more than enough for nearby daily duties.

Good: Being a PHEV with a small battery, nightly charges from the domestic three-pin socket offer a full charge in six hours.

Not so good: But when using multiple trips a day (typically weekends), the battery is drained and the overnight charger isn’t quick enough, somewhat necessitating a “wallbox” charger.

Good: It was common to see 0l/100km shown on the fuel use display.

Not so good: But the meter resets itself with every EV full charge, making it challenging to see the true distance from a tank of unleaded, which was often well over 1000km.

Good: The ability to manually manage the battery though either Save or Charge modes, along with pure EV mode, offers real driver involvement and interaction. Though the car defaults to EV mode anyway, prioritising use of the battery first.

Good: Being a PHEV, there’s range without the anxiety. Once the battery is flat (which is actually 25-30 per cent of the battery’s actual capacity to preserve its longevity), it reverts to petrol — which can either power the wheels or recharge the battery, at the expense of a slight fuel-use rise.

Good (but odd): The power tailgate is great, activated via the keyfob or the dash button, but the button on the tailgate oddly needs to be activated by a dealer, a process which takes mere minutes.

Not so good: The centre console is poorly designed, with just a double cup-holder, and nowhere practical/visible to place wallet, phone, keys, etc. Yes, there’s the console bin, but out of sight ...

Good (kind of): Default regenerative mode is mode three (from five), though I always found myself selecting maximum five via tapping the left shift paddle to...