Plugged In: Meet the people who've already made the plug-in hybrid EV switch

David Lyons, a 37-year-old computer programmer from Perth upgraded to the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid EV after the birth of his son, and says he’s so far travelled more than 20,000kms — further than driving from Sydney to London — using just 360 litres of fuel, with most of his trips completed in silent all-electric mode.

Here’s why he made the switch to a plug-in hybrid.

Why did you decide to get the Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid EV?

I used to drive a hybrid, so I was already familiar with electric vehicles. The Outlander plug-in hybrid was in our price range and we just really liked the idea of having lower fuel usage, and being able to charge it, plus most of our journeys are fairly short. We were also looking for a slightly larger car because we had just had a child and had a fairly large pram!

What’s your favourite feature of your Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid?

We really like the fact we haven't had to put fuel in it for the past three months. I put fuel in it the other day, because it was telling me that the fuel was going stale, but otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. We've only used 360 litres of fuel in the past 12 months over a distance of 20,000 kilometres.

What’s a typical week look like while driving your Mitsubishi?

Most of the time we only travel short distances. I work from home and we have an eight month old, so it's often just driving somewhere to walk the dog, driving to my in-laws and back, trips here and there for my son - just small trips mostly. We only go into the city occasionally. Most days we're doing 40kms to 60kms in the car, and we do most of that on battery power.

How often do you drive in all-electric mode?

We pretty much only drive in all-electric mode. We occasionally use the engine if we have to go a bit further, but most days, it's electric.

Have you saved a lot in fuel costs?

Definitely! It’s great, especially with the rising cost of fuel.

Have you taken your Outlander on any adventures?

The week we got the car I drove it down to the Margaret River, which was two full tanks of fuel. My wife’s grandparents also live in the wheat belt, so that’s a couple of hours each way to visit them. So we’ve done some longer trips, too.

What’s your charging routine?

We got a powerpoint installed near the car. Pretty much when we get home we plug the car in most of the time. If it's only been used for short distances or we don't have much planned for the day, then we won't charge it because we prefer to charge overnight after 11.30pm when the tariff is cheaper. But otherwise we just recharge it most of the time and just plug it in when we get home.

Do you like the flexibility of having the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the battery-powered electric motor?

I do. I’m glad we have the option of the ICE, but we don’t need it most of the time.