What's to power to wheels strategy of the Mitsu PHEV?

acensor · Mar 28, 2016

I may be looking in the wrong place or just lazy but could not find this.

That is, does it, like a Prius, have both the electric motor and ICE driving the wheels thru a mechanical more-or-less-conventional drive train?

Or does it (like some others out there, if I have this right) have an electric motor at each wheel and power those from the battery, which is charged by the home charger or by the gas engine kicking in and generating power.

PV1 · Mar 28, 2016

I remember hearing that one axle is driven by gas/electric combo (front?) and the other by electric only (rear?).

Barbagris · Mar 28, 2016

There are two electric motors, front&rear, 60 kW each.

The battery can supply 60 kW. If you need low power, the 12kWh battery do the job. If you need more power, the gas engine kick on, as a power supply to the front motor, and the battery feed the rear one.

There is no gearbox. There is a clutch that can directly engage gas engine to the wheels, at enough speed, if appropriate.

If you drain the battery, PHEV maintains enough charge to work as a hybrid. Gas engine, if working, is engaged to the wheels at enough speed, or working as a generator at low speed.

Good info here:

http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1278

I apologize for my bad english.

jray3 · Mar 28, 2016

PV1 is correct. Here's a simplistic video followed by a detailed article.
http://insideevs.com/video-complex-operation-of-mitsubishi-outlander-phev-dumbed-down-to-the-extreme/
The engine is coupled to a generator and also turns the front drive motor through a clutch, enabling electric-only AWD, engine-tied cruising, and also use of the engine as a generator only. It's similar to the Chevy VOLT, but with a second electric drive for the other axle!
http://www.hybridcars.com/mitsubishi-reveals-more-info-on-its-outlander-phev/
I would've liked to see a simpler, cheaper approach that used only two motors, opening the range for FWD stripper and the premium AWD version. I guess high demand vs low supply dictated a single variant at the higher content/price level, and in using just a variant of the i-MiEV motor, they needed two of 'em to be able to push the heavy beast! A FWD version might've retained 3rd row seating, which could've been a much more economical offering than the upcoming Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for those who need more than 5 seats.

While on the speculative note, has any maker offered the simplest plug-in hybrid of all- a single motor in the driveline with clutches on both ends, enabling EV mode and also functionality like both a Series and Parallel Hybrid? The Prius met that mission, but with two motor/generators and a very complicated gearset, while the 2nd generation Honda IMA came very close with their dual-clutch IMA, though still with a relatively weak motor.

ie: Declutch the engine for motor regen without engine braking, re-engage for engine braking during descent with full regen if still accelerating downhill, and declutch between motor and driveline for stationary or coastdown generator operation. For 'mountain mode', have the engine provide excess power for both traction and a bit of regen to fill the battery prior to an ascent.

acensor · Mar 28, 2016

Barbagris said:
There are two electric motors, front&rear, 60 kW each.

The battery can supply 60 kW. If you need low power, the 12kWh battery do the job. If you need more power, the gas engine kick on, as a power supply to the front motor, and the battery feed the rear one.......

.........I apologize for my bad english.

Hi Barb.

Thanks,
That is exactly the information I wanted.
It is a very interesting configuration with some real advantages.
It is surprising that I didn't easily find it on the Mitsubishi website or advertisements.

Your English may not be perfect, but it does the job, and is far better than my non-existent ability at any other language than English (except a little German.)

There is a joke that goes:
"What do you call a person who speaks two languages?"
The answer is "Bi-lingual."
"What do you call a person who speaks three languages?"
The answer is "Tri-lingual."
"What do you call a person who speaks only one language?"
The answer is "American."

PV1 · Mar 29, 2016

Jay, I think the Hyundai Sonata hybrid comes the closest to what you are looking for. It uses a setup almost identical to a standard ICE with an auto transmission. The difference is that an electric motor and clutch replace the torque converter. The second motor/generator is belt-driven. It seems like a pretty simple system, but some of the fuel economy claims said the opposite (barely touching 40 MPG).

Chrysler keeps throwing me off with their naming. Every time I see Pacifica, I think of the SUV, not a minivan.

Glad to see Mitsubishi doing something with US plug-ins. The alarming silence on the i-MiEV was driving me nuts. Even the NA reps don't know what's going on until there is an official announcement.