Electrify My Life - Dr Anthony Hancock and his Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV

Sure, most people do a bit of research when they buy a new car, but Dr Anthony Hancock is not most people, and when it's time for him to step up to a new model, he's the kind of bloke who really wants to get into the detail.

Dr Hancock, who lives in Townsville, does a lot of driving - usually at least 400km a week, running around his three kids, working or kicking back at karate - and for that reason he'd always had diesel cars in the past, so that he could enjoy better fuel economy, and less precious time spent at a service station.

This time around he decided it was time to try a new technology - a Plug-in Hybrid EV - that would allow him to achieve the kind of fuel economy he could only have dreamed of in a diesel, and to spend even less time fuelling up.

The Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV he chose also offered him the opportunity to reduce his emissions and put a satisfied smile on his face that says, "I made the right decision."

Dr Hancock is continuing to examine the detail, even six months into his Outlander ownership, which is why he could tell us, off the top of his head, that he's been averaging an astonishing fuel-economy figure of just 0.7 litres per 100km in his Outlander.

That's because, most of the time, he's driving it around Townsville as an EV, and thus the Mitsubishi's petrol engine is rarely called into action at all.

"The fuel efficiency in this car is vehicle is astounding," Dr Hancock exclaims. I've only filled the tank three times in the six months that I've owned it, and the only reason I've done that is so that the fuel doesn't go stale in the tank. I could have run it on EV mode for probably 98 per cent of the time.

"The main reason I bought this Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid EV was because it has essentially unlimited range; it can travel pretty much anywhere in Australia, even where there's no charging infrastructure, plus Mitsubishi has been building this particular car for a number of years and that made me feel comfortable that they understood the technology."

Clearly, the economy Dr Hancock was looking for has been even better than he'd hoped. He says he charges the Outlander's battery most nights and that he rarely uses more than half or three quarters of the battery's range each day.

"When I can, at weekends, I do also charge it up during the day, so I'm using my solar panels, and that means you're actually running the car for free, using only solar power," he adds.

The other thing that has surprised Dr Hancock is how much he's enjoying the experience of driving his Mitsubishi Outlander, which, with its instant shove of EV torque, is a lot more exciting than all the diesels he's previously owned.

"I've driven a large number of vehicles in my time, and this car, it outperforms them all," he enthuses.

"I often accidentally leave people at the traffic lights, just by accelerating in the way you normally would, and that's in Normal mode. You put the Outlander in Power mode, and it's a different story again. It handles like a sports car."

While there's no question that Dr Hancock is thrilled to bits with his choice of new car, he says it's hard to put his finger on just one thing that he loves about it the most. The economy is up there, of course, and the driving involvement, but he's also quite taken with the safety features - particularly the Auto High Beams, which dim for oncoming traffic, but still light up the passenger-side of the road so you can keep an eye out for wildlife.

His children, on the other hand, would vote for the automatic rear tailgate, which they love to help operate by waving a foot under the rear of the car.

"I think over all, the thing I like about this vehicle is just how much thought Mitsubishi has put into it," Dr Hancock concludes.

"There's a lot of little features that you think, 'well, that's great, why didn't anyone else think of that?'"