Test drive of Outlander PHEV vs Prius V

Post by **EmpowerRepower** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 02:47

I'm changing jobs, and sadly the 108km round trip is outside the range of my Leaf

We need one of our cars to be a larger one, and are looking at alternatives to our older Mitsubishi Grandis, so went for a few test drives this week. It is either a Outlander PHEV or Prius V. Both cars seemed reasonable, but neither was a clear winner, even though they both have lots of good features. I liked driving the Outlander in electric only, but the range would only make up a proportion of my daily driving to work.

PHEV vs Prius V test drives

I have some thinking to do, but suspect that Outlander PHEVs may be sold out by early next year when we'll be ready to buy.

How do those driving these cars feel about them?

Post by **T1 Terry** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 03:34

I have an '88 model Prius, ex Brissie taxi with over 700,000kms on the speedo. Still the original engine and transmission and has had the battery swapped for one out of a wreck after 600,000km. It is a pleasure to drive, I didn't expect it to go near as well as it does nor did I expect low 4ltr/100km on my drive from Lake Illawarra NSW to Mannum SA and I didn't drive it to get max economy, I drove it to get here and had to travel via some outback regions of Victoria to drop my daughter off at a friends place. The car was loaded to the roof with gear, yet drove really well. I think you will find the Prius hard to top in its price range

T1 Terry

Post by **antiscab** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 04:15

The prius will get better fuel economy if using petrol only.

no chance of charging your leaf at work?

Post by **mikedufty** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 06:51

The review says the Outlander has a selectable electric only mode. I'm pretty sure they don't, which seems silly when they manage to offer one in the Prius. Someone has even built an aftermarket accessory to give it one.

Post by **Johny** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 15:44

mikedufty wrote: The review says the Outlander has a selectable electric only mode. I'm pretty sure they don't, which seems silly when they manage to offer one in the Prius. Someone has even built an aftermarket accessory to give it one.

Just driven normally it's in battery electric mode. You have to force it into petrol mode (Charge) or let the battery pack get discharged whereby it starts the petrol generator. The Prius' 1.5km electric only mode doesn't really compare with the Outlander PHEV's 50km - plus plug in charging!

Post by **reecho** » Mon, 26 Sep 2016, 19:26

The Outlander will start the petrol engine on heavy acceleration as well.

It also runs the engine to assist in heating the cabin in temps below 10c.

Post by **4Springs** » Tue, 27 Sep 2016, 00:13

Very pleased with our Outlander, only annoying thing is that it swears a lot.
The Aspire model has the less comfortable seats.
Remember that the first 30-40km is electric, so be sure to include that into your fuel economy calculations when comparing cars.
You didn't negotiate a charging point with your new job?

Post by **Johny** » Tue, 27 Sep 2016, 14:56

4Springs wrote:...., only annoying thing is that it swears a lot...

Huh?

Post by **TooQik** » Tue, 27 Sep 2016, 18:07

Is there any particular reason you've ruled out the Toyota Camry Hybrids? You can potentially get one cheaper than either the Prius or Outlander, depending on which particular model you go for, and while you lose two seats when comparing it to the Prius V you gain towing ability of up to 300 kg.

(Edited post - originally stated 1200 kg towing capacity but it is only 300 kg for the hybrids)

Post by **4Springs** » Wed, 28 Sep 2016, 02:53

Johny wrote:
4Springs wrote:...., only annoying thing is that it swears a lot...
Huh?

The door is <beeeep> open.
Put on your <beeeep> seatbelt.
You're going around this corner too <beeeeep> fast.
You got out of the <beeeep> car without <beeeep> turning it off.

And my favourite:
There's <beeeep> something behind you!
To which I reply - "You <beeep> car, it's only <beeeep> grass!"

Post by **EmpowerRepower** » Sun, 02 Oct 2016, 19:15

TooQik wrote: Is there any particular reason you've ruled out the Toyota Camry Hybrids? You can potentially get one cheaper than either the Prius or Outlander, depending on which particular model you go for, and while you lose two seats when comparing it to the Prius V you gain towing ability of up to 300 kg.

(Edited post - originally stated 1200 kg towing capacity but it is only 300 kg for the hybrids)

I hadn't thought of it till last week, when we caught an Uber Camry Hybrid from Sydney Airport, and we were impressed with how quiet and comfortable it was. The fuel economy isn't quite as good as a Prius V, but it certainly should be cheaper in the base model to buy, so is now on the list for consideration. I did find the Prius V surprisingly noisy out of ev mode.

As to at-work charging, which a few people asked about, there don't appear to be any outside power points near the staff car park, but I'll look into it further.

Post by **bladecar** » Tue, 04 Oct 2016, 02:31

Hi,

We have a 2012 Prius and it is very reliable and that's very important, but for me, it's not the point.

We went to an event where the drive battery was showing mostly full and found ourselves in the carpark trying to leave after the event. The stupid thing had used up all its power and was endlessly starting and stopping the motor long before we exited the place.

What capacity do they go between? 40% and 80%?

We get around 5.2 L/100 which can go down to the lower 4's on a long trip with proper driving but there's no point going on a long trip just to see better economy.

If you think you can drive the Outlander more often than not within its battery range, that's what I'd be doing, if you see where I'm coming from.

To me, it depends on whether you'll never spend more than you really really have to or if you go with a thought-out decision (right or wrong

)