Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Sales Begin This Month In Japan

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Mitsubishi Motors has been struggling to sell cars — it sorely needs to produce a competitive vehicle to survive in today’s car market.

One attempt at this is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle), which goes on sale in Japan on January 24.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV propulsion system is comprised of two 60kW (60 kW = 80 HP) electric-drive motors, which are powered by a 12kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder MIVEC gasoline engine.

Each of the two 60kW electric motors is independent (there is one on each axle), while the gas engine can produce 85 kW (117 HP) and 137 pound-feet of torque (186 Newton-metres) when rotating at 4,500 RPM.

Combined, the two electric motors produce 160 HP, and all the motors combined produce 277 HP.

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This vehicle has a driving range of 37.4 miles in electric mode, and the combined fuel efficiency rating is 67 km/L (178 MPG US).

The hybrid efficiency is 18.6 km/L (44 MPG in the US), and the hybrid system allows the vehicle to operate in three different modes.

EV Mode

In this mode, the vehicle uses electricity only from the battery, allowing the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to achieve its best efficiency.

As you would expect, this mode propels the vehicle using only the electric motors, which will receive power only from the battery.

Series Hybrid Mode

In this mode, the gas engine generates electricity to directly power the 60kW electric motors when the battery’s charge is low.

Battery Charge Mode

Similar to the Series Hybrid Mode, there is also a Battery Charge Mode in which the gas engine generates electricity to charge the battery. This is similar to how the Chevy Volt works when the battery is depleted.

Parallel Hybrid Mode

This mode is activated at high speeds when the vehicle needs additional power. In this mode, the gasoline engine provides most of the power, and the electric motors assist it when going uphill.

This is the least efficient, but most powerful mode, allowing the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV superior versatility.

The MSRP is ¥3,324,000 to ¥4,297,000 ($38,972 to $50,380) in Japan, including consumption tax.

Source: Gas 2.0


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Nicholas Brown

Has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

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