2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Review
The hybrid gateway to electric living
BOSTON — I've spent considerable digital ink spelling out my fondness for plug-in hybrid vehicles as a gateway drug to the world of electric vehicles.
Plug-in hybrids, or PHEVs, are basically hybrids combining a standard gasoline engine with an electric powertrain. They have a significantly larger battery that can be charged by plugging it in.
Whereas normal hybrids like the Toyota Prius only have enough battery for a quarter- or half-mile of range, a plug-in hybrid, like the Chevrolet Volt that I used to own, can get as much as 50 miles of electric range before it starts using gasoline.
This means that if you charge your PHEV every night — which you can easily do with a standard 110-volt power outlet without the need for a specialized EV charger — you can do much of your day-to-day driving without using a drop of gasoline.
One of the more interesting plug-in hybrids is the Mitsubishi Outlander, a three-row mid-size SUV equipped with a 20 kWh battery good for 38 miles of electric range for around $50,000. The Outlander is a bit larger than similarly-priced PHEVs like the Toyota RAV4 Prime, and it comes rather well-equipped.
The all-wheel-drive Outlander has a modern, attractive interior, and Mitsubishi has significantly advanced from its position just a few years ago. It's certainly not a luxury vehicle, but it reminds me of a Mazda-level vehicle — at least on the surface.
There's a 12-inch digital dash cluster (although the graphics are somewhat uninspiring) and a 9-inch infotainment screen with a surprisingly solid 9-speaker Bose stereo, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 360-degree camera, and three-zone climate control.
The interior surfaces look great, though they feel a bit cheaper than you might hope for a $50,000 vehicle. My tester had an attractive orange-and-black theme to the interior, with several large splashes of color on different elements like the armrests and matching quilted stitching.
Above your head is a giant panoramic sunroof that lets in lots of light, and within easy reach is a spacious compartment below the center stack for storage. However, there's quite a bit of wasted space in the center console with some awkwardly placed vehicle controls and two mystifying buttons to control the electrified elements of the powertrain.
As a vehicle to get you from point A to point B, and when it comes to the laundry list of safety features like adaptive cruise control, active lane-keeping assist, blind spot warning and even automatic emergency braking when in reverse (a feature every car should have), the Outlander is excellent. There's even a bright and easy-to-read head-up display.
But it's far from refined. The 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine is noisy under acceleration. You might even call it loud, which is not what you'd expect from a car at this price point. It wouldn't be quite so bad, except it's nearly silent (aside from normal wind noise) when in electric-only mode. When the engine kicks on, it's jarring.
I'm not sure how many Outlander buyers would even notice this, but if you're cross-shopping this and something like a Toyota Highlander, you might hear the difference on a test drive... at least if you put your foot down.
But it goes 38 miles on a charge and then delivers 26 mpg combined, which is pretty impressive considering this is a three-row SUV (albeit with a third-row that is only meant for very tiny humans).
If you have a dedicated 240-volt EV charger, it can charge from 0 to 100 in about 6 hours, while plugging into a standard household outlet will take about twice as long. This should suffice for those who regularly park overnight.
As an added (but weird) bonus, the Outlander PHEV actually has a ChaDeMo DC fast-charging port on higher trims. That's the same as the Nissan Leaf (Nissan and Mitsubishi are corporate siblings), and there are tons of little-used ChaDeMo chargers floating around.
If you have the opportunity and want to top up your PHEV battery, you can — but I'd be surprised if more than 5 percent of Outlander owners ever utilized that port.
The Outlander PHEV is one of the most affordable plug-in hybrids and certainly the one with the best size-to-price ratio. The 38-mile range is hugely useful for day-to-day driving, and the exterior, which I've barely mentioned, actually looks great for a mid-market SUV.
I will happily preach the cult of the plug-in hybrid to anyone who will listen, and for a whole lot of people, the Outlander PHEV is the perfect first plug.
