Mitsubishi to unveil Outlander PHEV at 2012 Paris Motor Show
05 September 2012
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| Powertrain elements in the Outlander PHEV. Click to enlarge. |
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will present the global debut of the new Outlander SUV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) at the 2012 Paris Motor Show later this month.
The Outlander PHEV, which combines a Twin Motor 4WD system comprising two 60 kW independent electric motors (one on each axle); a 12 kWh Li-ion battery pack; and a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder MIVEC gasoline engine, has a targeted fuel economy in excess of 61 km/liter (143.5 mpg US, 1.6 l/100km) and a cruising range in excess of 880 km (547 miles). (Fuel economy figure is based on a combination of fuel consumption when driven in all-electric mode, called the plug-in fuel efficiency, and when driven in hybrid mode, called the hybrid fuel efficiency, measured via Japan’s JC08 mode.)
Depending on driving conditions and remaining battery charge, the Plug-in Hybrid EV powertrain automatically selects the optimum drive mode:
EV Drive Mode. EV Drive Mode is an all-electric mode in which the front and rear motors drive the vehicle using only electricity from the drive battery.
Series Hybrid Mode. In Series Hybrid Mode the gasoline engine operates as a generator supplying electricity to the electric motors. The system switches to this mode when the remaining charge in the battery falls below a predetermined level and when more powerful performance is required, such as accelerating to pass a vehicle or climbing a steep gradient such as a slope.
Parallel Hybrid Mode. In Parallel Hybrid Mode the gasoline engine provides most of the motive power, assisted by the electric motors as required. The system switches to this mode for higher-speed driving when the gasoline engine operates at peak efficiency.
Twin Motor 4WD System. In the Twin Motor 4WD system, the front motor delivers 137 N·m (101 lb-ft) of torque, the rear, 195 N·m (144 lb-ft). In addition to decreased friction loss, Twin Motor 4WD delivers better response and finer control than conventional mechanical systems. It accomplishes this without a propeller shaft or other mechanical components seen in conventional mechanical systems.
The Twin Motor 4WD system is integrated with Mitsubishi’s S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) integrated vehicle dynamics control system to deliver high levels of stability and all-terrain performance.
Battery pack. The high-capacity 12 kWh lithium-ion drive battery gives Outlander PHEV an EV Drive Mode cruising range of more than 55 km (34 miles) in the JC08 cycle, sufficient for all-electric operation in most everyday situations in Japan. A JCAP (Japan Clean Air Program) study conducted in Japan showed that on average, 85% of Japanese drivers drove less than 55km per day.
The driver can also manually switch to Battery Charge Mode in which the gasoline engine acts as a generator (70 kW generating capacity) and charges the drive battery whether the vehicle is stationary or on the move. Battery Charge Mode gives the driver the flexibility to use the gasoline engine as a generator at any time they want; for example if the driver wants to use EV Drive Mode at a specific time, they can make sure the drive battery has enough energy for that time.
Charge time at 200 V AC (15 Amp) is approximately 4.5 hours for a full charge; quick-charging time is approximately 30 minutes for an 80% charge.
The new Outlander PHEV is based on the new Outlander which made it debut in Russia in July and which will be introduced in other European markets starting from September. MMC will introduce Outlander PHEV in the Japanese market in early 2013 then sequentially roll out the model in Europe, North America, and other markets around the world.
Excellent fuel efficiency for a large vehicle.
It could be an excellent seller in North America if the price is right. The AWD will be a valuable asset for many.
Posted by: HarveyD | 05 September 2012 at 02:54 PM
Well, that could be my next car.
4WD - got to have it.
Small SUV body - need more than two seats and some space for bulky items.
34 mile electric range would get me to friends' houses and almost all the way to town. In town I could pick up a quick charge and avoid most of the fuel use coming back home. 50 mile range would make it a real winner for me, but it meets most of my needs.
Now, if they will set it up so that it could easily be used as supplemental storage for my solar system. An extra 12kW storage would get me through a lot of cloudy days that now call for generator use.
Posted by: Bob Wallace | 05 September 2012 at 03:16 PM
Bob, it could be your generator.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 06 September 2012 at 08:10 AM
Bob:
The Japanese companies are making a number of their plug in cars compatible with charging the home, after experiencing how useful it would be after the tsunami.
I have not heard anything about Mitsubishi making that available for this model though, still less for the US version.
Posted by: Davemart | 06 September 2012 at 08:27 AM
They are getting there. This is one I would seriously consider buying if the price is right.
Posted by: Lucas | 06 September 2012 at 10:04 AM
There is really no need for two motors in this car.. just a single motor/inverter driving the rear wheels in a thru-the-road hybrid configuration is all you need.. use that money for extra battery capacity or active battery cooling if it does not have it. Battery is recharged as needed by regen, natural while braking or forced when the car is moving.
Posted by: Herm | 06 September 2012 at 04:30 PM
Except the front wheels do most of the braking.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 06 September 2012 at 04:54 PM
The dual electric drive has many advantages, but must cost something extra. It could reduce the individual cost of each inverter/motor via volume. It clearly provides redundancy, and that is a good thing. I would rather have the larger motor up front, but that's a quible. Hope it's successful ehough to try the USA.
Posted by: william g irwin | 08 September 2012 at 06:03 AM
The Japanese companies are making a number of their plug in cars compatible with charging the home, after experiencing how useful it would be after the tsunami
Couple of immediate problems with that.
The increased cost of burning a fuel with a heavy road tax attached in order to provide domestic electrical energy is unlikely to be economic.
A residential house - despite being required to have a 200 Amp service entrance - only needs 1kw on average.
That said, the inefficiency of an idling 70Kw generator must be evident.
If you happen to be interested in CHP for the home you might know that Honda makes a small 1.5Kw generator which runs on natural gas and extracts thermal energy from the exhaust for space heating.
The Freewatt CHP system is available in the States but not in Canada where a marketing start up was prematurely shut down in 2010 - I presume because CHP has the propensity to allow the natural gas companies to provide competition to the electric utilities since you could effectively run off-grid. I read somewhere that although the residential energy demand is one third of the load, residential billing provides two thirds of the funding. Sure the authorities allow you to put up a 20Kw PV array or even annoy the locals with a private wind turbine tower, but a CHP system the size of a fridge is dangerous disruptive technology since its widespread adoption could prevent the privatisation of profits and socialising of costs necessary to support the electrical infrastructure for govt and industry. /rant mode off.
Anywhere in the snow belt I would rather see the use of 4WD to be encouraged for safety reasons rather than putting folks through the mandatory procedure for storing and installing snow tires as required in some areas right now. The Mitsubishi 4WD system has the advantage of dispensing with the mass of a transfer case and the mechanical inefficiency of turning power through 90 degrees to each axle. A win win there I think.
Posted by: T2 | 08 September 2012 at 07:44 AM
The Freewatt is a great idea also, but it really needs better integration with the grid and some heat storage. A 2-3 kW model with a heat battery would be just the thing for households with plug-in vehicles.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 08 September 2012 at 08:49 PM
"There is really no need for two motors in this car.. just a single motor/inverter driving the rear wheels in a thru-the-road hybrid configuration is all you need.. "
Then you would not have 4wd. You may find this hard to believe, but there are times of the year that you cannot get to my house with 2wd. And there are others like me.
"People burn road-taxed fuel in portable generators all the time. Few things are less economical than no electricity at all."
I do. There's probably some sort of paperwork I could do to recover the road tax on the 20-30 gallons of gen-gas I use a year, but it's not enough money to worry about.
Were I (or anyone) running their house a large portion of the year then things would change. Most people would use their car as an electricity generator only occasionally. When the grid goes down or when they are away from the grid.
"Bob, it could be your generator."
True, an it might very well serve that purpose. However, if I could go 4-5 days on battery power alone then I would rarely need a generator. Where I live the weather pattern is a few cloudy days followed by lots of sunshine. Extra panels could top the car up after a cloudy spell.
Posted by: Bob Wallace | 12 September 2012 at 06:03 PM