Automotive
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And how did the Outlander PHEV felt like? - You may ask.
Well, pretty much like every midsize
This was my first plug-in hybrid drive, so i can´t say if the transition (gas/electric) is better or worse than in other PHEV's, but after driving the Leaf or i3, everytime i went back to my regular car, i felt like i had left an iPod and was back an LP disc (Does anyone remember these?).
Not so with the Outlander, it probably felt the most simple to use and analogic plug-in i have ever tried (1), and probably that's one of its strengths, because many buyers feel a bit intimidated by the 22nd Century Technology and "The Future Is Today" tags that many times are attached to electric cars, if they find that their plug-in isn't that much different from their previous car, probably many would feel more comfortable with that.
Towards the end of the test drive, i saw a gravel road and asked if i could go there, and the sales guy said:
- Sure, after all, this is a 4WD!
"Now that's trusting your product!" - I thought, remembering that Lexus advises buyers not to off-road their hybrid RX's, "Because it might harm the electric parts of the car".
Finally, back to the dealership, i said that the Outlander PHEV was a bit more expensive than what o thought and asked i could get a discount, he replied that they didn't had margin for that, because the technology was new and it was already being sold with the lowest price possible, i asked if they could sell a demonstration vehicle with any discount, to which he said that the car had just been launched and you had to wait some 6 to 9 months in order to do that, so it was agreed that we talk again by that time.
Before i said goodbye, i asked if they were successful in selling PHEV's, to which he replied:
- No, not really...
- Because it's a new kind of technology and people aren't into that?
-No, because it is expensive, and buyers shy away from this to more affordable cars, i had one person that came here to see it (Outlander PHEV) and in the end, i sold him an ASX SUV, only because he didn't had the money to reach to the Outlander"
(1) - Except for the Mitsubishi I-Miev
