Tag Archives: PHEV
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Now Has More Capabilities
The current-generation Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has received very good reviews from critics and car enthusiasts alike. It was efficient, functional, fun to drive, and a relatively affordable plug-in hybrid, midsize, crossover option. For the 2019 model-year, on its home market in Japan, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is receiving a slew of updates—more electric power, a bigger gas engine, a bigger battery, better suspension, two new drive modes, and a number of design tweaks.
The car’s battery capacity has been increased to 13.8 kWh from 12 kWh. That will allow the car’s electric driving range to power to 40.4 miles from the regular 37.8 miles. There is also a boost in power coming from the rear electric motor/generator, and the gas engines increase its displacement from 2.0 liter to 2.4 liters.
There are new driving modes for this model—the Sport and Snow modes. Its 4WD Lock has also been adjusted to enable the better handling of poor road surfaces. This means the midsize crossover will be more than capable to handle off-road conditions.
To do this, the Japanese automaker must fit the Outlander PHEV with larger front and rear dampers with a new type of damper valve. For better steering feel and response, it will also come packed with a faster steering ratio and retuned electric power steering control.
For the exterior, the Outlander PHEV is now fitted with full LED headlights, an updated grille in front, and a new rear spoiler that improves aerodynamics and gives the midsize crossover a sportier look.
The cabin’s seats get leather wrapping with a diamond-quilt pattern. The door trim follows the same design. The front seats have been reshaped for added support.
These updates will likely make Mitsubishi’s midsize crossover more attractive for those looking for functionality and design. These updates are being offered to its Japanese market for now, but we think it’s more than likely we’ll see them in US soil.
2019 Subaru Crosstek PHEV Is Company’s First Plug-In Hybrid
Subaru’s third best-selling car, the Crosstek, will be the company’s first-ever plug-in hybrid. It’s quite telling, actually, that the automaker chose the Subaru Crosstek to be its first plug-in hybrid version seeing as it was the first conventional hybrid introduced for the 2014 model year.
Since the Crosstek is the company’s fast-selling vehicle, it makes sense that it would like to experiment on it as people are more open to shelling out their money for something they would choose to go with, in the first place. Subaru has yet to reveal photos of the plug-in hybrid variant, so we’re left to wonder how this would look like.
The Crosstek PHEV will be similar to the Subaru BRZ since both of them will benefit from Toyota technology—the hybrid system, that is. It will still be paired to a flat-four and will be capable of driving in full EV mode and in conventional hybrid mode. We have yet to receive information on what the range of the Crosstek PHEV will be.
What Subaru did reveal is that the Crosstek PHEV will be coming soon, even as early as the end of 2018. We might be seeing this in dealerships before the year comes to a close. Of course, while we’re on the subject of release dates and arrival in dealerships, this also signals that more information and details are bound to come in droves.
There aren’t many plug-in hybrid compact crossovers in the market, but there are a few and they are quite interesting. The closest competition of the upcoming Subaru Crosstek PHEV would be the Kia Niro PHEV, which claimed to have a range of 26 miles on a single charge and a solid 46 mpg when running with the gas engine. The Kia Niro PHEV has a starting price of $28,840, so we’re thinking the Crosstek PHEV might play near this number.
Another competitor is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with 22 miles of range and 25 mpg on gas. The Outlander has more cargo, but it has a higher base price of $35,915.
Chrysler Has A New Pacifica-Based Crossover SUV Coming
It looks like Chrysler is adding up to its lineup with a crossover SUV based on the Pacifica minivan. That is quite ironic since the brand repurposed the old Chrysler Pacifica crossover’s name for a minivan and then later on, that very same van yielded another crossover.
The information that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed in his interview with MotorTrend is an exciting development from Chryler. That’s because nothing much is going on with the brand in the past months, except for the departure of the 200.
With only the 300 and the Pacifica currently in its lineup, Chrysler is looking to market its brand to another market—specifically, people who doesn’t want either a large sedan or a minivan. Both these segments are giving up their share of the market for the crossover, which will have three rows and will reportedly in 18 months.
This is the right step for Chrysler since companies like Subaru and Volkswagen have also expanded their market to that of the crossover segment. The decision, of course, to use a Pacifica-based crossover will be beneficial to the crossover’s market. After all, a Pacifica platform offers more advantages than spewing just another model.
There are some “unique opportunities” in store for the new crossover since it will be using the Pacifica platform. Finally, we could have a crossover that has a spacious cargo and passenger space. There is also the possibility of adapting the PHEV powertrain to the new crossover.
Plug-in crossovers haven’t been tried by “ordinary” brands, except for Mitsubishi, though the Japanese automaker only tried the plug-in variant with its luxurious Outlander PHEV. That being said, the Chrysler has a chance to offer a larger PHEV than the Outlander.