EssexRRS wrote:

@RRSman, the power change over in my car is virtually undetectable, to the point that I actively have the tachometer on the dash so I can tell when the petrol is running. Sure, you can feel it at times, especially if you’re flooring it, but it’s a completely different car to the SDV - you can’t expect the same responses. Maybe your demo car is not working well? With the SDV, you floor it and then count to ten whilst is thinks about a throttle response. The PHEV is instant.

Thanks Tim. I had applied to Chargemaster, but the quote was ridiculous. Waiting for new one from Stirling firm. I’ll avoid the tethered versions of whichever one I end up with cos I want to able to switch between the different plug types (until I ordered the p400e I hadn’t realised different manufacturers use different pin-counts. Grrrr).

Rene,

I have to make a general post - I’m not allowed to PM you as I’m so new and I may be spam....

The little storage space under the boot floor is as wide as the boot, but not more than 15-20 cm deep. It’s nowhere near as large as a space wheel space but large enough for some basic tools and a power lead I think (not tried)

I’m out of the country so I can’t photograph but I hope this helps

Spooked,

I was told that it’s basically only Mitsubishi that use a different type of connector - all others now use a 5 pin standard so I’m going tethered so I haven’t got to get my lead out of the car each time

Tim in Scotland seems to know his onions on this so maybe he can confirm

What is known as a Type 2 plug is now EU wide standard for both chargers and cars but of course they still have to cater to the various plugs and sockets on cars supplied up to last year as well so there are often 4 different connections and a 13amp socket as well - the odd one out is Tesla’s Superchargers that will only take the Tesla plug which I think is called a Chademo socket/ plug however there are adapters available to Tesla owners that let them use other chargers. I just took delivery of my Mini Countryman PHEV today and because we still have some chargers without thethered cables on them in this area I also purchased a 2nd cable just in case I get the a charger with no cables at all at £165........... of course the car has a 1.5 Petrol engine too but my intention is to try to use EV mode as much as possible as that is only £20 pa for me to use as much public charging as I like!

Plugged in on the timed charge on my drive 1hr ago - the car’s computer is set to charge the battery on off peak rate electricity at 0430 and if necessary to pre-condition the battery to allow me to drive off tomorrow morning in EV mode without starting the petrol engine. I can get into town and out the other side on a single charge but as the Range us 26 miles in EV mode I have to recharge in town to get the 16 miles home again in EV mode
Charging set to come on in the cheap rate offpeak period tomorrow

The car end of the plug

The socket on the car
 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Battery recycling bins lined up at the ready?

Seriously, I love that Mini. Great choice. Not a RR, but genius alternative and very nicely specced. Tempting way to save buckets of my son’s inheritance.  L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso
RRS TDV6 HSE Lux (MY2011)... Nara Bronze / Arabica - now gone!

EssexRRS wrote:

Rene,

I have to make a general post - I’m not allowed to PM you as I’m so new and I may be spam....

The little storage space under the boot floor is as wide as the boot, but not more than 15-20 cm deep. It’s nowhere near as large as a space wheel space but large enough for some basic tools and a power lead I think (not tried)

I’m out of the country so I can’t photograph but I hope this helps

EssexRRS wrote:

@RRSman, the power change over in my car is virtually undetectable, to the point that I actively have the tachometer on the dash so I can tell when the petrol is running. Sure, you can feel it at times, especially if you’re flooring it, but it’s a completely different car to the SDV - you can’t expect the same responses. Maybe your demo car is not working well? With the SDV, you floor it and then count to ten whilst is thinks about a throttle response. The PHEV is instant.

I’ve only used it for a week (on holiday currently) but first impressions are good - hopefully I won’t regret my choice

Maybe buddy who knows! Glad you are enjoying your new car. My review was just that..my review...and it was based on the car I drove...the electric range made no sense to me at all and I could not live with the constant jerk that I could feel in that car but hey this is why we have the choice right?

You seem to be loving it and I wish you well...keep us informed of how it behaves.

EssexRRS wrote:

I took delivery of mine about 3 weeks ago at the same time as the dealer demo car

And it's very very good

I've read with interest the various comments about test drives etc. but I have to say it is every bit as good as I expected. Initially I was disappointed to find it won't charge itself, but then I spoke with a mate who's Passat does charge and his mpg halves. It kind of makes sense - why use petrol to charge a battery to save petrol? The laws of physics say you'll lose energy in the process so it's very logical not to charge from the petrol engine. Which is plenty fast and smooth, btw. Again, reports of noisy and unrefined driving are not what I experience and it's way more refined than my old 3L SDV, which rattled like a bag of spanners when pushed.

I'm still working the car out but I think it's a case of a different mindset, which we will all need as PHEV or all electric becomes the norm. For me this is a great solution to getting away from diesel (and needless tax bills) without losing overall mpg or performance. Real world running, I'm getting 45mpg including long runs. It feels every bit as fast as my SDV, even on petrol alone - faster with electric too. And yes the BIK is a wheeze, but who cares - it works! Clever Land Rover, I say

If your driving suits it, and you've got one on order, you will not be dissapointed

No,I haven’t experienced that at all. The car moves off in electric only and only fires up the petrol when it needs to. I also read about the need for batteries to warm up but only in this forum. There are instructions about preconditioning but I think this is for the cabin. I’ve just about mastered the sun roof so my it’s all work in progress for me. Maybe if it’s sub zero outside the batteries have to warm up but I would speak with Land Rover on this.

Like many here, I took a gamble and ordered a PHEV as soon as they announced the model. I had one of th first diesel hybrids and for various reasons did 3,000 miles in an SDV6 and about 8,000 in a petrol V8 before the 50,000 in the diesel hybrid. And all without any issues - loved the V8, but the hybrid was better and more economical than the simple SDV6.

And like virtually everyone....I am rung once a week to be told of further delays. Am currently told I am unlikely to get it before 26th June.

On the upside, this has allowed me to properly test drive a PHEV: with thanks to Harwoods, Basingstoke.

In short, very good, and I expressly tested it for jerkiness and sluggishness / straining on the motorway at speed and under hard acceleration when just using petrol. You can ensure you just use petrol power by hitting the ‘save’ battery power button. And re a comment above about not starting up in battery mode....one can ‘pre-condition’ and programme the battery such that it will always kick-off under electric power in the morning, other than ( I think) in very cold conditions.

In hybrid mode, it is excellent. I could feel moments when it was switching between the two power sources, but nothing that could be described as irritating. I did wonder if the pick-up was quite as instantaneous as a non-hybrid. Possibly not quite as seemless and swift from stationary....but didn’t irritate and possible just the RRS habit of starting in 2nd gear. Once on the move, it felt very slick around a series of roundabouts and short stretches of dual carriageways. Half way to the motorway, I switched it to petrol. No radio on. A series of relatively hard accelerations and then a couple of junctions worth of the M3 gave it a good run at the sort of pace I would conduct a long journey at. When accelerating, you can hear the engine....but not over loud or unpleasant. And on reflection when comparing 20 mins later to my diesel, neither noticeably quieter or louder. And when fast lane cruising, I am not sure I would be able to tell the difference.

So, all in all, put my mind at rest having been a bit concerned with an earlier road test reported on here. Not entirely sure I like the new dash layout....but otherwise very much looking forward to taking delivery. On the face of it, given my mixed city, motorway and off-road driving, it feels like an excellent all-rounder. And with road tax, CC levy and electric only for daily commutes.....it’s out of town MPG would have to be truly dreadful not to make it a much more economic drive for me and I suspect many others than other RRS models.

In fact, my only quibble is the lousy choice of colours unless one wants to spend a fortune on a special extra colour. Black or silver.... it really is nothing more than that unless you want to spend ££££.....and that is pretty rubbish.

I’m sure the RRS PHEV is the same as my car - don’t panic if on a warm day you come out to the car and hear a cooling fan running and you haven’t set park cooling 9if you have it), it is the warm weather equivalent of seeing smoke from the front nearside of your RRS on a cold morning.........
After a bit of googling I have found that this is part of the pre-conditioning system of PHEV’s and pure EV’s and the advice given is on sunny days when the car’s body is likely to get warm, to try and park your PHEV in a shady place, in a garage or a covered car park. To maintain optimal efficeincy our big battery packs need cooling in hot weather as well as warming on cold days. What I haven’t found out is if this fan is powered from the car’s 12v battery or from the HV battery for the electric engine........ hot days could mean a flat 12v battery if the cooling fan has to run a lot and could be an issue if you are leaving the car at an airport carpark for a couple of weeks in the summer and not plugged into a charging point........ 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

One for the battery boys
http://www.disco4.com/forum/jc-right-chinese-coming-172702.html In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

Good to hear the feedback from those of you who have driven the PHEV. Mine remains on “hold” even though it’s sat at the dealer and I understand we’re still looking at July 7th for release - which is rather convenient given I’ll be driving to Italy on 5th July!

A couple of points:

1. Chargemaster - i had a charging point (tethered) fitted. I have to say the installation engineer did a superb job. Really neat fitting. I upgraded to the black, tethered version as it matches the house better and I figured a tethered cable would be easier to use. And great to get £500 OLEV funding as cash generally seems to flow to the Govt rather than the other way ...

2. Courtesy car: despite having paid for my car, I’m told that I can’t actually get it until it is released from on hold. In the meantime I’ve lost two buyers for my existing car and am incurring duel running costs insuring both cars. I know it’s maybe not material in the scheme of things but it would make my life a lot easier if I could sell my existing car as one of the buyers remains keen. Is there any obligation for the dealer to provide me with a courtesy car as it feels like I’ve paid for transport that I don’t actually have? Any thoughts?

Will let you know what it’s like if it ever turns up....

ab601 wrote:

Awaiting an update on Monday

Hi ab601

Im in the same position! I only found out 1 hour before collecting the vehicle Today!

Car paid for in full too!!

Iv been told next update on the 26tg...in a loan 2017FFRR at moment...doesnt fill me with confidence if you have been in the same position since earlier this month...im pretty sure my car has been registered, hope it doesnt drag on for another month or else new reg will be out by the time i return from holiday and i will have not even driven the car!!! RRSport - 2010