2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer review

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are presented as the ‘best of both worlds’ solution to curbing fuel use and minimising emissions outputs while maintaining ease of use for long-distance drives. Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi has arguably done the most for the niche technology with its introduction of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV more than a decade ago.

Whereas other car makers have stuck with the tried-and-true simplicity of regular ‘closed-loop’ hybrid powertrains, or gone full electric, Mitsubishi persists with the plug-in hybrid approach in the latest-generation (fourth) Outlander.

The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid offers some pretty decent boasts that aren’t always common in the medium-sized SUV segment. These include its electrified powertrain (which we get stuck into shortly), its seven seats, and also the strong 10-year warranty.

We’ve stepped back behind the wheel of an Outlander PHEV, in top-spec Exceed Tourer guise, to find out whether it continues to provide weight behind the idea that you can have your cake and eat it too.

Buyers after fuel-saving plug-in hybrid technology can get themselves into an Outlander for as little as $57,290 before on-road costs. But we’ve got the flagship Exceed Tourer variant that costs $71,790 (plus ORCs).

Over and above its predecessor, the Outlander plug-in comes with a larger 20kWh battery, higher-output electric motors, a bigger 84km claimed electric driving range, and the simple fact that you can now have seven seats with the electrified variant – that wasn’t a thing in its last generation.

In something of a win for buyers, the plug-in hybrid powertrain option is available at almost every price point of the Outlander line-up, meaning the Outlander ES, Aspire, Exceed and Exceed Tourer all have that electrified option, with only the Outlander LS not having a plug-in option.

Alternative electrified rivals such as the Nissan Qashqai e-Power, Honda CR-V e:HEV or Toyota RAV4 Hybrid offer frugal powertrains, but without plug-in capabilities, these rivals can’t touch the Outlander’s lowly 1.5L/100km fuel claim – if used in the right way.

Standard features across the range include a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 9.0-inch touchscreen, LED headlights, climate control, eight airbags, and advanced safety features including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring.

However, we’ve got the flagship Exceed Tourer variant that impresses thanks to its two-tone exterior paint. On most cars this adds a black roof, but because our tester’s base colour is black, the roof is finished in contrasting silver… an interesting look. Let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

You also get massaging front seats, two-tone leather-upholstered cabin, and rear seat heating on this Exceed Tourer spec.

The Exceed Tourer shares some of its equipment with models lower down in the range, such as a panoramic sunroof, tri-zone climate control, 10-speaker Bose sound system, and rear door sun blinds.

But you do pay for it, and the price has crept up by more than $3000 compared to when this car arrived in Australia roughly 18 months ago.

The Outlander PHEV is powered by a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine paired with electric motors at the front and rear. According to Mitsubishi, combined outputs stand at 185kW/450Nm.

Connect the Outlander’s 20kWh battery to a DC fast charger and you’ll have 80 per cent charge in just under 40 minutes. On a regular 240-volt home outlet, a 100 per cent charge will come in 12 hours.

Interestingly, power also goes the other way. The Outlander comes with the capability to divert its charge using V2G or V2L technology. The latter is handy to power devices while camping, for example, and is accessed via the boot.

Inside, our specification Outlander gets two-tone leather-appointed seats with a unique diamond stitch pattern. Normally it’s the kind of thing you see in Bentleys, but I quite like the increased sense of style it gives to the Outlander’s cabin. That said, the ‘tan’ leather colour is far too orange for my liking.

There’s good space around me, and I found it simple to touch and prod all controls without reaching. It all feels quite nice too, apart from the door cards that have a bit too much flex to them and the steering wheel that has a hollow feel to it.

Another gripe I have with the Exceed Tourer spec is its incandescent interior lamps – you can’t have something so old in a $71,790 car, where LED cabin lighting should be fitted.

The interior storage space is standard fare really. There’s a centre console bin, twin cupholders, wireless phone charger, and of course a deep glovebox. It also gets some narrow slots beside the transmission tunnel, plus a USB-A and USB-C port for charging devices.

I love the airy cabin feel provided by the sunroof, even with the dark headliner.

Second-row passengers get a bit of a raw deal. The seats recline, the base slides forward and back as you need, but the head room is encumbered by the sunroof in this variant. The leg room is only so-so.

Air vents and a USB-A and USB-C port are found behind the centre console bin, plus a full three-prong 220V power outlet. It also gets air controls and heated outboard seats.

It is slightly trickier to gain access to the Outlander’s third row than, say, a large SUV with seven seats. This is due to a tight aperture to sneak through.

It’s a pretty tight space and I don’t physically fit, but then again I’m 194cm tall. The third row doesn’t have air vents either, though there are two cupholders back there.

In terms of storage capacity, there is 191 litres of space behind the third row, 461L behind the second row, and 1387L as a maximum.

As a point of comparison, the rival-sized Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace stocks 230L to the third row, 700L to second row, and 1775L to the first row. However, it doesn’t have to hide a big battery under its floor.

A tyre repair kit is found beneath the boot floor. Sorry, no spare.

Mounted centrally on the dashboard is a 9.0-inch touchscreen – the same size you get in other variants in the range. Maps and menu screens present with nice looks and navigation between the various settings is straightforward. If you’re not such a fan of the system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring is available as a backup with wired connectivity for both, or the option of wireless Apple CarPlay.

Screen sizes on top-grade rivals include 12.3 inches for the Nissan X-Trail e-Power or 10.5 inches for the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

The infotainment screen handily has an array of shortcut buttons and dials to change items when on the go. You can also arrange the home screen how you want it with configurable icons.

On this Exceed Tourer model grade, buyers get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that uses interesting dial-like graphics to show powertrain activity and speed, plus there’s also a changeable display right in the centre. It is also equipped with a head-up display to show things like speed in front of the driver, so no excuses for venturing over the posted speed limit.

Mitsubishi offers some smartphone companion apps in other markets outside Australia, so Outlander PHEV owners can schedule services for example, but the local support for these apps is limited. I wasn’t able to connect my test car to the smartphone app on my iPhone and other users report poor in-app experiences.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was safety-tested and scored by ANCAP in 2022 and its five-star rating is valid until December 2028. This is done against ANCAP’s 2020–22 protocols.

Breaking it down, the Outlander scored 83 per cent for adult occupant protection, 92 per cent for child occupant protection, vulnerable road users get a protection rating of 81 per cent, and safety assist technologies get an 83 per cent score.

Comparing the above individual scores, the rival Toyota RAV4 Hybrid scored 93 per cent for adult occupant protection, 89 per cent for child occupant protection, 85 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 83 per cent for its safety assist technologies.

Beyond the list of safety inclusions below, the Mitsubishi Outlander is equipped with an audible ‘bong’ played to the exterior of the car while it’s in reverse gear. The bell-ringing noise sounded funny to my ears, but it does aid pedestrian awareness of the car’s low-speed manoeuvring. It also gets eight airbags including a front centre airbag.

In terms of functionality, the below systems operated without fault, and I was pleased with how well the car kept up with traffic ahead while using the adaptive cruise-control system.

Mitsubishi covers Outlander PHEV buyers with a generous 10-year/200,000km warranty, though the caveat is you’ll have to service exclusively within the Mitsubishi network otherwise the deal reverts to five years and 100,000km.

Servicing should take place every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever occurs sooner) and is price-capped up to 10 years (to match the warranty). Three years of servicing costs $1197 or five years costs $2045.

This compares to the Nissan X-Trail that has upfront servicing costs of $1158 for three years or $2020 for five years. However, the Nissan’s service intervals are shorter – 10,000km or 12 months (whichever is sooner).

Roadside assistance coverage for the Outlander PHEV extends to four years as long as servicing is completed within the Mitsubishi network.

The Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer PHEV will cost $1699 per year for comprehensive insurance based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

This compares with a comprehensive quote of $1460 for the Toyota RAV4 Edge Hybrid or $1189 for the Nissan X-Trail Ti-L e-Power. However, these cars have a lower purchase price compared to the Mitsubishi and aren’t direct rivals.

The big boast for Mitsubishi’s Outlander PHEV is its claimed fuel efficiency of 1.5 litres per 100 kilometres. This is far more fuel-efficient than Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid (which claims 4.7L/100km) and Nissan’s X-Trail e-Power (at 6.1L/100km).

However, this can only be achieved by ensuring the car runs smoothly on electric power, meaning it needs to be regularly recharged. If the car runs out of battery, it ends up dragging the heavy battery around on petrol power.

There are four modes to the Outlander PHEV’s powertrain: Normal (cycles between petrol and electric), EV (uses electric power), Save (saves the battery’s charge level for a later date), or Charge (which charges the battery using the onboard generator). With the latter mode, this can charge the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 1.5 hours. Both front and rear electric motors can act as generators to replenish the battery too, harvesting power when slowing or coasting.

The Outlander is capable of DC charging through a CHAdeMO connector or can accept AC charging at home. Mitsubishi doesn’t quote a maximum charge capacity for its CHAdeMO DC charging capability, but I saw a max output of 20kWh.

In practice, I saw fuel consumption as low as 0.6L/100km when the electric battery was in use. However, that lasted about 70km in my testing. After that point, the petrol motor took over and I started to see higher consumption between 5–6L/100km.

You might’ve seen Mitsubishi’s ads, featuring Australian TV’s lovable larrikin Russell Coight, perpetuating the idea that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is simply an electric vehicle.

This generation of Outlander PHEV is designed to feel more like an electric vehicle than ever before – but it’s not quite. It’s designed to be an electric vehicle for up to 84km, before reverting to its 2.4-litre petrol motor.

In any case, the resulting feel of the Outlander PHEV is very much like an electric vehicle when you first start driving. In Normal mode the car uses battery power until either the battery is depleted or it can’t provide enough shove to match the throttle input.

On electric power alone, the 85kW front/100kW rear motors provide ample acceleration off the line, and the car quickly scoots up to the speed limit without needing petrol power.

The petrol part of the powertrain comprises a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine that outputs 98kW on its own. Mitsubishi claims combined outputs of 185kW/450Nm through a Super All-Wheel Control (all-wheel-drive) system and a single-speed transmission.

Noise from electric motors is non-existent, and the car should easily last the average Australian commute distance of 16km. In fact, it could even last two days between charges if commutes were that short.

But once the petrol engine fires up, the switch between both forms of power is smooth and seamless, as you’d find in other regular hybrids such as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. It is quite noisy, however, especially when the powertrain is set to Charge mode to replenish battery levels.

In addition to the changeable battery modes mentioned in the section above, the Outlander comes with seven separate terrain modes that prime its all-wheel-drive system for different surfaces.

It’s also equipped with a one-pedal drive mode, which can slow the car down to a crawl while simultaneously recuperating energy for the battery. It does not slow to a stop, though.

Other than the noise emitted by the engine, I noted a fair amount of tyre slap from the front axle going over scrabbly roads in Melbourne. It didn’t upset the experience, but it’s certainly noticeable around town. The car is a hefty 2145kg, so it can feel its weight going around corners and lugging over speed humps.

That said, the comfort levels are high for a mid-size SUV, and between the plush seats and soft ride quality, the overall Outlander experience is comfortable.

While the Outlander PHEV’s steering efforts are light, making it an easy thing to drive around and slot into car spaces, the system is devoid of feel. Fair, no one looks to a mid-size SUV for steering feedback, but there’s a distinct lack of it that I noticed.

Otherwise, vision out of the cabin is easily managed and the high-set driving position helps to keep other cars in view.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can tow up to 1600kg on a braked trailer. Unbraked trailers are capped at 750kg.

The maximum towball weight is 160kg. The maximum roof load is 80kg.

There’s no doubt the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV achieves what it sets out to do. If used in the right way, this car makes a lot of sense – drive to and from work on electric power, and have the petrol engine cover the shortfall when it can no longer run on battery power.

But that means owners will need to be strict with their recharging of the 20kWh battery, which either means you need to live close to a public charger, or install extra-cost charging solutions at home or work.

When you add those extra costs on top of the Exceed Tourer’s $71,790 base price, this car starts to lose its shine. Add in the mismatched materials in the interior and the lack of space in the second and third rows, and the Outlander PHEV experience starts to sour at this premium price point.

Don’t get me wrong, the car does a great job at what it’s designed to do, but it’s such a narrow band of operation that won’t make sense to every buyer.

We’ve driven the flagship Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer variant, which is the most expensive way you can buy into the Mitsubishi Outlander range. While the plug-in hybrid technology is good under the skin, I’d argue it’s better applied to the Aspire specification.

This costs $63,790 before on-road costs, which is far easier to stomach (as a price point) compared to where the Exceed Tourer sits. There’s also a good balance of equipment and luxuries inside its cabin.

Mitsubishi says there is “currently strong demand in the network so there is limited unsold stock available. It’s best for customers to contact their local dealer to check”.

“It does look like more unassigned stock will flow through from April and then into May and June.”

The next step on the purchase journey is to check the Mitsubishi website for stock of your preferred Outlander PHEV variant. You can also find Outlanders for sale at Drive.com.au/cars-for-sale.

We strongly recommend taking a test drive at a dealership before committing because personal needs and tastes can differ. Find your nearest Mitsubishi dealer via this link. We’d also recommend test-driving the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid because it is popular with consumers and is a good benchmark.

If you want to stay updated with everything that’s happened to this car since our review, you’ll find all the latest news here.