Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (2026 - ) review

Being a plug-in hybrid has its perks. The new Outlander PHEV can provide up to 53 miles of electric range (up from 38 miles thanks to a larger 22.7 kWh lithium-ion battery), with the hybrid system – a clever combination of a 2.4-litre petrol engine with two electric motors on the front and rear axles – giving you up to 420 miles (petrol and electric combined) to play with. You also have some additional features like ECO mode that can help to optimise the efficiency of the hybrid system and make the most of your fuel and battery power. Charging times are relatively slow, however, with a DC fast charge taking nearly half an hour to get to 80 per cent charge – so this is one of those plug-in hybrids that’s best used if you have access to home or destination charging. But not everyone does. Interestingly, you get a choice of connectors to use with ports for standard Type-2 and CHAdeMO plugs – hence the longer charge times! The up-front purchase price is currently hovering under £50K, but a good finance or lease deal will help break that down. So, it’s efficient but raises the whole question of whether a hybrid will work for you if you DON’T have access to charging facilities.

Mitsubishi has always had a relatively good reputation for the reliability of its cars, which is backed up by the company’s confidence in its warranty lengths. You get a 10-year / 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, a five-year / 60,000-mile vehicle warranty, and five years of roadside assistance bundled in with every new Outlander PHEV – that speaks volumes. Mitsubishi has also changed the materials in the bonnet and front wings from aluminum to steel, which improves durability, and reduces noise and vibration. It’s too early to peg a shelf-life on the car’s components and its overall reliability right now, but we will update this section if and when any reliability issues/boosts come to light.

The latest Outlander PHEV boasts an array of safety systems and features designed to make this the safest Outlander yet. The press info went into significant detail about the car’s ‘RISE’ construction – Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution – which uses ultra-high-tensile steel and hot stamping of major parts to absorb and spread impact energy during collisions. We never drive with the intention to crash, so we’ll take Mitsubishi’s word for it. The car also benefits from the Super-All Wheel Control system combining Active Yaw Control, Active Stability Control and ABS to keep all four wheels in check to maintain stability on rough terrain. We’re pretty sure we experienced this when we took it to our local woods and drove it the gravel bowls up there… you can feel the wheels hugging the ground and shifting power to the front and back axles. Other than those highlights, the cabin is snug and your driving position high enough to give you command over the road. We didn’t once feel unsafe, which is probably the best indication of its safety level. And, it isn’t one of those cars that bings and bongs at you obnoxiously every five minutes… which we really appreciate!

The base Nativa trim level is the seven-seater version, with the high-spec Diamond trim seating five people. We had the base seven-seat version on loan, so let’s go with that one. You get a standard three-row seating setup with two in the front, three in the middle and two on the back fold-up row. The very back row is easy to unfold with numbered instructions showing you how to do each step… just note the rear seats are clearly designed for children or smaller adults as the legroom is very limited. The interior is nice and classy with the seats featuring synthetic leather with diamond stitching, although you can opt for light gray synthetic leather with suede-like fabric inserts, which is what we had. You get heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, front-seat massage functions, and even a heated steering wheel (if you spec the car to have one). Storage is generous in the doors and glove box, and the Outlander’s center console armrest storage is 45 per cent larger than the previous model. You also get a crisp 12.3-inch infotainment touch-screen and same-sized driver information screen, which is further boosted by Apple CarPlay and Android Auto screen mirroring working seamlessly with little lag. In short, it’s a very nice cabin, with well-utilised space and ample storage, feeling just about big enough to hold seven people… although, as we said, the back row should be reserved for smaller travelling companions.

Aside from the features we’ve already listed, the Outlander PHEV is a well-equipped beast. At the base trim you get an eight-speaker Yamaha sound system with a bigger 12-speaker system available on the top trim. Both models get the 12.3-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with an angled wireless smartphone charging pad. You can opt for a digital rearview mirror (if you like that sort of thing), and signing up to the Mitsubishi Connect App will let you use features such as remote climate control scheduling, remote start, vehicle finder, and navigation send-to-car features. There’s a lot to see here, that’s for sure.

The hybrid system pumps out 297 horsepower for you to enjoy, switching nicely between electric and petrol power when needed to maintain that output. An interesting feature of the all-wheel-drive electric powertrain is that rear-wheel drive is 100 per cent electric with no mechanical link to the front wheels. Seven selectable drive modes (Normal, ECO, Power, Tarmac, Gravel, Snow, Mud) allow you to shift that power around when needed, and we found the regenerative braking (adjusted using paddles either side of the steering wheel) allowed for pretty good single-pedal driving. On town roads it felt confident with its high driving position and responsive brakes. As we shifted up a gear to motorway driving we noticed the petrol engine engaged to give us more power, and again found ourselves driving confidently never wanting for an extra boost. Mitsubishi has found a good balance with power distribution and the Outlander PHEV definitely boasts one of the best hybrid powertrains we’ve driven to-date. However, we know hybrids won’t work for everyone… especially those requiring plug-in charging. It’s a shame, because the Outlander PHEV (despite being more expensive than some of its rivals) is well worth the consideration that its hybrid nature will deny it.