Considering an Outlander, advice appreciated

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ordell98
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 9
  • Views Views 14K
O

Ordell98

New Member
Hi, I'm a tall (6'3'') guy with two small kids and a wife, and we are considering the Outlander PHEV, we currently have a 2010 Corolla.

How would you all rate the Outlander for road trips, and for daily driving? It seems like a good vehicle but the reviews vary greatly. Curious what the actual owners think!

Thanks!
 
Ordell98 said:
Hi, I'm a tall (6'3'') guy with two small kids and a wife, and we are considering the Outlander PHEV, we currently have a 2010 Corolla.

How would you all rate the Outlander for road trips, and for daily driving? It seems like a good vehicle but the reviews vary greatly. Curious what the actual owners think!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I really like mine, my previous Outlander XLS was faster, quicker in traffic and with quite incredible component life. At 130 miles I had done the spark plugs and brakes once. That being said I like the PHEV better, same seat height, leather perhaps not as soft, easy buttons etc. I would have liked to set the default mode for regen braking, ECO and hold but can certainly live with it as is. To me it is quite perfect. City driving less than 30 miles per day with an occasional out of town trip needing a gallon of gas for the return. I am in the 105+ MPGe range with 2300+ miles done. And I usually get more than 26 miles on a full charge AC and all.
 
I would never dream of telling anyone what car they should or should not buy; that's a very personal decision that will depend on your lifestyle, your needs, and what you do or don't like.

But I suggest you give the Honda Clarity PHEV a test drive before making your decision. The ~22 mile electric range of the Outlander PHEV is pretty small by today's standards.
​
 
My husband uses his Outlander PHEV for his 10 mile round trip daily commute. We haven't done a proper road trip yet, but we do take it to visit friends and family on the weekends. So far he loves it. The only complaint is that he added a roof rack (Dealer installed, Thule) and it whistles. He loves the cruise control. He's not a fan of leather seats (hot in summer), but he is dealing with them because a sunroof was very important to him.

To Pushmi-Pullyu's point on electric range, he went with the Outlander (22 miles EV) over the Pacifica (33 miles EV) because all wheel drive was important to him.
Comparison: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=39830&id=39483

The Outlander replaced our 2012 CR-V. It has fewer cup holders and cubbies, which we miss. The CR-V was more of a mom-mobile. The rear cargo area is on par. I can't comment on driver headroom - neither of us are close to 6 feet tall. We have fit 4 adults and 1 kid in a booster in the Outlander several times, but the other 2 adults were always doting grandparents who were OK with snuggling their grandbaby. The rear seat behind the driver is narrower than the rear seat behind the passenger and the buckles overlap so there's quite a dance to get everyone buckled, but it's doable for the drive to/from the airport, restaurant, beach, etc.

My only other rambling complaint is that the rear floor is not smooth. There's a weird gulley around the rear floormats which I'm certain will collect goldfish crackers and I'll need the crevice attachment to clean out. Like I said, the CR-V was more of a mom-mobile.
 
SilverNewt said:
My husband uses his Outlander PHEV for his 10 mile round trip daily commute. We haven't done a proper road trip yet, but we do take it to visit friends and family on the weekends. So far he loves it. The only complaint is that he added a roof rack (Dealer installed, Thule) and it whistles. He loves the cruise control. He's not a fan of leather seats (hot in summer), but he is dealing with them because a sunroof was very important to him.

To Pushmi-Pullyu's point on electric range, he went with the Outlander (22 miles EV) over the Pacifica (33 miles EV) because all wheel drive was important to him.
Comparison: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=39830&id=39483

The Outlander replaced our 2012 CR-V. It has fewer cup holders and cubbies, which we miss. The CR-V was more of a mom-mobile. The rear cargo area is on par. I can't comment on driver headroom - neither of us are close to 6 feet tall. We have fit 4 adults and 1 kid in a booster in the Outlander several times, but the other 2 adults were always doting grandparents who were OK with snuggling their grandbaby. The rear seat behind the driver is narrower than the rear seat behind the passenger and the buckles overlap so there's quite a dance to get everyone buckled, but it's doable for the drive to/from the airport, restaurant, beach, etc.

My only other rambling complaint is that the rear floor is not smooth. There's a weird gulley around the rear floormats which I'm certain will collect goldfish crackers and I'll need the crevice attachment to clean out. Like I said, the CR-V was more of a mom-mobile.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your perspective!!
 
We traded a 2017 Volt LT for the Outlander SEL PHEV, so far we charge to 28, and our Volt was 53.
The Volt is a great car, but it was very small and hard to get in and out of and no one fit in the backseat but small kids and of course it did not tow.
We also looked at the Pacifica Hybrid and loved it, but it does not tow at all and it seemed so much bigger than the Outlander
Yes we loved that we could make our 41.1 mile to work one way on a single charge.
But the Outlander is way more comfortable and the 2.0L is getting over 41mpg on the highway-Florida highways here...flat and smooth-disclaimer!
So far we have only had it 2 weeks, but love it!
 
Just bought a 2018 PHEV, GT model, last month for my wife. So far we love it. I also own a Volt, which goes further on a charge, but it’s small and very low to the ground. The Outlander is the only game in town for an SUV unless you want to fork out $85,000 for an X. We took on a 600 mile road trip over the weekend and averaged about 40 mpg overall, including 2 battery charges. Even when the battery is out, the car gets about 34 mpg on the highway, which is great for any SUV. Our 2004 Toyota Highlander Hybrid was getting about 30 mpg by contrast. With her daily commute and nightly charging she buys about 1/3 as much gas as she used to. The car has very good safety features (adaptive cruise control is fun), lane change warning, and blind spot warning. The stereo on the GT model is top notch. Very comfortable drive for long trips. Quiet and very smooth drive. I am (only) 5’ 10” but there seems to be a lot of head room in this car, even with the sunroof. Highly recommend this car. We also got a good deal as the local dealers were overstocked.


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs
 
Kenjones said:
Just bought a 2018 PHEV, GT model, last month for my wife. So far we love it. I also own a Volt, which goes further on a charge, but it’s small and very low to the ground. The Outlander is the only game in town for an SUV unless you want to fork out $85,000 for an X. We took on a 600 mile road trip over the weekend and averaged about 40 mpg overall, including 2 battery charges. Even when the battery is out, the car gets about 34 mpg on the highway, which is great for any SUV. Our 2004 Toyota Highlander Hybrid was getting about 30 mpg by contrast. With her daily commute and nightly charging she buys about 1/3 as much gas as she used to. The car has very good safety features (adaptive cruise control is fun), lane change warning, and blind spot warning. The stereo on the GT model is top notch. Very comfortable drive for long trips. Quiet and very smooth drive. I am (only) 5’ 10” but there seems to be a lot of head room in this car, even with the sunroof. Highly recommend this car. We also got a good deal as the local dealers were overstocked.


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs
Click to expand...

40 MPG on gas alone is crazy good for something this size. I really surprised this thing isn't selling like hotcakes. Maybe we just need a little jump in gasoline prices to bring people back to their senses.
 
Thanks for starting this thread!

I too am hoping to get an AWD SUV with a decent battery size (20 kWh would be nice!). Was holding my breath for the Subaru ... and am severely disappointed. I'm sure their "NEXT" model will be more to my liking but I don't know that my current vehicle will last another (several) years until they upgrade it sufficiently.

I see that Mitsu abroad has improved a lot on the Outlander PHEV. Hoping that their "summer 2019 USA release" is going to be that newer version that is being sold abroad! Atkinson, slightly larger battery, etc. I would scoop one up ASAP. Hoping current vehicle can hold out until *whenever* that newer vehicle is available, as all the other manufacturers seem to have recently released their versions of PHEV/SUV and I'm underwhelmed.

From where I sit (excess solar generation) it seems like all the manufacturers have completely missed the boat on our demographic. Homes with solar with INCREASING excess as our kids leave home and our appliances are replaced and become more energy efficient.

Since effectively I can only charge once a day (for free at home) I want a larger battery so I can use up all the excess. No point in going to a charging $tation when I'm overflowing with free kWh at home.

My excess solar generation right now runs about 4,500kWh/year so the current Outlander will absorb that, but as our kids leave (one by one) that excess increases!

Selling back to the power company gives me hundreds of dollars, but putting that electricity into my car as a fuel saves me THOUSANDS.

I'll wait. I can afford to wait. But not till 2021!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top