Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Aspire 2014 Long-term test - 1

From time to time we also take the opportunity to spend more time in a vehicle. These longer-term tests can be as short as a couple of weeks or up to six months.

Long-term tests give our staff writers and contributors a chance to get to know a car as an owner would. While the car is with us, we pay for fuel, pay for the servicing and generally use and live with the car as a new owner would.

Manufacturers tend to have a love-hate relationship with long-term tests. Six months is plenty long enough to fall out of love with the latest and greatest, and start to nitpick -- just like real owners do.

That said, we believe long-term tests give car buyers an added insight into the vehicle on test. Not to mention the qualities behind the brand and nameplate.

Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire PHEV
I was astonished after my first 25km drive in the new motoring.com.au long-term Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle). The fuel consumption read 1.0L/100km – quite incredible considering the majority of that drive was spent in 80km/h traffic and the petrol-electric hybrid was set to normal (rather than ECO) mode.

Then, I glanced at the remaining battery range, which was already down to single-kilometre figures. I made a note to hit the charge button for the return trip, remembering the line given when I picked the car up earlier: “Hit the charge button on the road, it takes about three litres for a full charge”.

My next trip was longer, around 60 kilometres, with the charge button on from the outset. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol combustion engine made its presence constantly known, its modest 87kW/186Nm charged (no pun intended) with providing drive and charging the 80 cell lithium-ion battery pack contained within 1810kg of reasonably spacious medium SUV.

The engine, humming blandly, sounded strained, and another look at the consumption revealed its work: 10.7L/100km. And it still hadn’t fully charged the battery.

Although the Outlander PHEV is supplied with a charging kit, it requires a 15-amp power outlet; not something the majority of domestic households currently use. Of course, if you were in the market you would make that upgrade, charge the PHEV overnight and make the most of its surprising electrified performance, which can steadily accelerate the SUV to the suburban limits, and hold it there, with no petrol engine intervention. In that regard, the Outlander is mightily impressive.

Moving away from the obvious, our Outlander is in the premium Aspire specification. At $52,490 (plus on-road costs) it is $8600 more expensive than its 2.4-litre petrol-powered (124kW/220Nm/7.5L/100km/CVT) equivalent. On the other hand it’s only $3690 more than the last i-MiEV, making it a relative bargain – and shows that the cost of battery production has come down significantly over a relatively short period of time.

In terms of standard equipment, the Outlander Aspire trim brings a lot to the table, and builds on an already-impressive kit list. There are leather seat facings, the front pews with seat heating and the driver’s with power adjustment. There’s also an electric sunroof and powered tailgate, while the already five-star ANCAP rating of the entry Outlander is enhanced further with forward collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control.

Bespoke decorative items such as the chrome door handles and side window garnishes, along with scuff plates, add a subtle prestige to the Aspire. There’s also a very clever Smartphone app which can be used to set the battery charging timer, as well as prime the vehicle’s climate control and headlight activation.

Those extras build on standard all-wheel drive with a locking function (known as ‘Super All-Wheel Control’ in Mitsubishi-speak) 18-inch alloy wheels, HID headlamps and LED tail lamps, satellite navigation, a leather multi-function steering wheel, dual-zone climate control with rear-seat outlet ducts, keyless entry and go, rain sensing wipers, seven airbags, ISOFIX child seat mountings and six-speaker stereo with Bluetooth audio streaming and phone capability.

In practice, most of these features are as advertised, but early attempts to make the powered tailgate either open or shut on demand proved tricky; I look forward to seeing if others in the office have the same issue, and hope to record their frustrations.

The ‘leather’ is of the hard-wearing variety, with no real ambience, but the seats themselves are comfortable enough and offer a good view of the road ahead. The heating function, however, is most welcome during a Melbourne winter.

On the road, the combination of a single reduction gear (3.45:1 ratio) and an underpowered four-pot make for underwhelming progress. Put your foot down further and it catches up, the electric power adding a useful boost, but the range meter reduces rapidly as a result.

Driving on pure electric power, the road noise remains well supressed, which is impressive given there’s no engine noise to cover up wind or tyre roar. The Outlander PHEV also seems to corner better in this mode, without the petrol motor’s influence on the front wheels.

On first impressions, the PHEV’s power system is impressive, despite limitations. It is no doubt the way forward for the automotive industry. Both range and power production are big steps forward over earlier hybrids, but it still feels a few years away from its best. And I’m not sure why the Outlander PHEV has been saddled with such a lethargic, thirsty petrol motor.

Regardless, Mitsubishi should be applauded for bringing the future to market; hopefully it will see them ahead of the game when the rest of the pack catches on.

2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire PHEV pricing and specifications
Price: $52,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol / electric
Output: 87kW/186Nm
Transmission: Reduction gear
Fuel: 1.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 44g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star (ANCAP)