Mini Countryman Plug-In Hybrid: Do You Like It?

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wellygary

8315 posts

Uber Geek

#1860379 7-Sep-2017 15:46

djtOtago:

498km with a 36 litre fuel tank that = 7.2 litres / 100km. Not a great figure by today standards. And that no doubt is under ideal conditions.

Add a car load of people, plus some baggage and a few hills and I think it would struggle to get from Dunedin to Christchurch. At least not with out having to keep one eye on the fuel gauge.

Do I like it. NO.

The Countryman needs to go on a serious diet, is regular curb weight is ~1500kg, the AWD and Hybrid will prob add 100kgs or so on top of that..

Although to be fair the 2018 Leaf is around the same ~1500kg curb, EV batteries are heavy,

Heck the Tesla 60D only just scraps in under 2000kg, a X100 tops 2500kg, while a Bolt is slightly better at 1600kg

frednz

1467 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1860385 7-Sep-2017 15:57

wellygary:

djtOtago:

498km with a 36 litre fuel tank that = 7.2 litres / 100km. Not a great figure by today standards. And that no doubt is under ideal conditions.

Add a car load of people, plus some baggage and a few hills and I think it would struggle to get from Dunedin to Christchurch. At least not with out having to keep one eye on the fuel gauge.

Do I like it. NO.

The Countryman needs to go on a serious diet, is regular curb weight is ~1500kg, the AWD and Hybrid will prob add 100kgs or so on top of that..

Although to be fair the 2018 Leaf is around the same ~1500kg curb, EV batteries are heavy,

Heck the Tesla 60D only just scraps in under 2000kg, a X100 tops 2500kg, while a Bolt is slightly better at 1600kg

The question of the extra weight of a plug-in hybrid was discussed in this article:

"Minis are nimble and fun, hybrids heavy and slow right?

There’s plenty of truth in those generalisations, and the Countryman PHEV is indeed heavier – by around 150kg – than its equivalent, a Cooper with the same 134bhp three-pot, auto ‘box and four-wheel drive. But the PHEV is punchier and much quicker, thanks to its electric assistance."

So perhaps a "serious diet" isn't really needed in the case of the PHEV Mini Countryman?

wellygary

8315 posts

Uber Geek

#1860397 7-Sep-2017 16:09

frednz:

wellygary:

djtOtago:

498km with a 36 litre fuel tank that = 7.2 litres / 100km. Not a great figure by today standards. And that no doubt is under ideal conditions.

Add a car load of people, plus some baggage and a few hills and I think it would struggle to get from Dunedin to Christchurch. At least not with out having to keep one eye on the fuel gauge.

Do I like it. NO.

The Countryman needs to go on a serious diet, is regular curb weight is ~1500kg, the AWD and Hybrid will prob add 100kgs or so on top of that..

Although to be fair the 2018 Leaf is around the same ~1500kg curb, EV batteries are heavy,

Heck the Tesla 60D only just scraps in under 2000kg, a X100 tops 2500kg, while a Bolt is slightly better at 1600kg

The question of the extra weight of a plug-in hybrid was discussed in this article:

"Minis are nimble and fun, hybrids heavy and slow right?

There’s plenty of truth in those generalisations, and the Countryman PHEV is indeed heavier – by around 150kg – than its equivalent, a Cooper with the same 134bhp three-pot, auto ‘box and four-wheel drive. But the PHEV is punchier and much quicker, thanks to its electric assistance."

So perhaps a "serious diet" isn't really needed in the case of the PHEV Mini Countryman?

That's running with the ICE turning the front wheels and the EV running the back, its hardly what you would describe as economical motoring, - which is supposed to be the point of a PHEV,

The reviewer had his foot to the floor ( He got 8 miles from the EV battery- before it cut over to petrol)

I imagine is feels rather sluggish if you try to keep it as a pure EV, or even a pure petrol....

tdgeek

29746 posts

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#1860415 7-Sep-2017 16:21

frednz: Um...doesn't the new Leaf have a real world range of about 250km?

Does it? When they quote 400?

My car is 9.4 l per 100 km, that's real world. If EV real world is 250 and they quote 400 from the 40Kw engine , how can that be?

frednz

1467 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1860433 7-Sep-2017 16:43

wellygary:

frednz:

wellygary:

djtOtago:

498km with a 36 litre fuel tank that = 7.2 litres / 100km. Not a great figure by today standards. And that no doubt is under ideal conditions.

Add a car load of people, plus some baggage and a few hills and I think it would struggle to get from Dunedin to Christchurch. At least not with out having to keep one eye on the fuel gauge.

Do I like it. NO.

The Countryman needs to go on a serious diet, is regular curb weight is ~1500kg, the AWD and Hybrid will prob add 100kgs or so on top of that..

Although to be fair the 2018 Leaf is around the same ~1500kg curb, EV batteries are heavy,

Heck the Tesla 60D only just scraps in under 2000kg, a X100 tops 2500kg, while a Bolt is slightly better at 1600kg

The question of the extra weight of a plug-in hybrid was discussed in this article:

"Minis are nimble and fun, hybrids heavy and slow right?

There’s plenty of truth in those generalisations, and the Countryman PHEV is indeed heavier – by around 150kg – than its equivalent, a Cooper with the same 134bhp three-pot, auto ‘box and four-wheel drive. But the PHEV is punchier and much quicker, thanks to its electric assistance."

So perhaps a "serious diet" isn't really needed in the case of the PHEV Mini Countryman?

That's running with the ICE turning the front wheels and the EV running the back, its hardly what you would describe as economical motoring, - which is supposed to be the point of a PHEV,

The reviewer had his foot to the floor ( He got 8 miles from the EV battery- before it cut over to petrol)

I imagine is feels rather sluggish if you try to keep it as a pure EV, or even a pure petrol....

If I was driving a PHEV, I certainly wouldn't put my foot to the floor when in electric mode. Isn't the idea of a PHEV to use petrol when you are driving flat out on motorways and electric for slower driving through towns etc?

Of course, the "theoretical maximum" range of any EV is reduced substantially if you do a lot of fast motorway driving and very little slow driving around towns.

Some EV enthusiasts have said they are prepared to drive as slow as 80kph on a 100kph motorway in order to squeeze a bit more range out of the EV!

frednz

1467 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1860446 7-Sep-2017 16:55

tdgeek:
frednz: Um...doesn't the new Leaf have a real world range of about 250km?

Does it? When they quote 400?

My car is 9.4 l per 100 km, that's real world. If EV real world is 250 and they quote 400 from the 40Kw engine , how can that be?

This article explains that the new 2018 Nissan Leaf offers a range of 150 miles (approx. 242km). I think the EPA range is closer to the "real world" range than other estimates.

"That battery provides 150 miles of range under EPA estimates (400 km or 238 miles under the less conservative Japanese rating agency standards), which is better than the just-over 100 miles of the last generation, but below some of its key rivals at the entry-level including the Tesla Model 3 and the Chevrolet Bolt for range"

And here's a quote from a recent post by Linuxluver on this issue:

"I heard Nissan will now be reporting the usable part of the battery, not the size of the entire battery. So when the tech guy said the new LEAF would have a 40% greater range.....I did a quick calaculation and if the 28.1kWh max currently available in a new "30kWh" LEAF is multiplied by 1.4 that gives us about 39.34.....or "40kWh".

A 40% improvement in range would mean that a really bad, uphill, windy day range of 150km (worst case) of a 30kWh LEAF becomes 210km. MUCH better. But usually you could rely on 240km. A drive to Wellington from Auckland would still require about 3 charges on the way. Cambridge, Taupo, Mangaweka....and maybe a quick zap in Porirua on arrival. Still.....3 is better than 6.....which is what I did.

I'd still want a bit more, though....."

alasta

6703 posts

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#1860550 7-Sep-2017 20:34

Useless for me. If I am travelling less than 40km then I would normally walk or use public transport.

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