Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 2020 Review

There is an all-new, fully-redesigned Mitsubishi Outlander on the way in 2021, but right now the emphasis is on providing the right showroom bait for buyers. So, while the world waits for the new-generation Outlander, Australia is getting an update for the ageing original PHEV mid-size SUV.

“This is a model-year update. We’ve realigned some of the range. It’s fundamentally the drivetrain that was in last year’s big update,” explains Mitsubishi Australia’s senior manager of product strategy, Owen Thomson.

“One of our challenges is to build the awareness and the relativity of the PHEV to the marketplace. The PHEV has been around now since about 2015. It doesn’t represent a huge percentage of sales. Overall, a little less than five per cent.

“But it varies by customer types, as it’s more of a fleet vehicle with around 10 per cent of sales. In absolute volumes, it’s the large corporates and privates who are the biggest groups.”

After the 2020 model-year changes introduced late last year, which included a bigger 2.4-litre petrol engine, the latest changes are relatively minor.

At the entry level, the Mitsubishi Outlander ES picks up extra safety equipment and is now $600 dearer at $47,990 plus on-road costs ($51,990 drive-away). It gains radar cruise control, lane-departure warning and forward collision mitigation with escalation to autonomous braking to boost its safety.

At the top end, the flagship Outlander Exceed starts $100 higher at $56,490 plus ORCs ($60,990 drive-away) and now allows access to an app for remote control of the air-con and checking the charging status and parking location.

The biggest news, however, is that there is now a mid-level PHEV variant, the new Mitsubishi Outlander GSR priced from $52,490 plus on-road costs ($56,490 drive-away).

It’s a badge that has been used many times before, most notably on early hot versions of the Mitsubishi Lancer before the Japanese brand moved into the EVO era.

This time, the key is much better suspension. The springs are more taut – 11 per cent in the front, five per cent in the rear – with Bilstein dampers.

There is also a rear spoiler, a different design for the 18-inch alloys, micro-suede seat trimming with faux leather side bolsters, and a darker look to the bodywork with trim pieces from the previous Black Edition.

The pricing across the MY21 Mitsubishi Outlander range is relatively high when you consider the Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester hybrids (which are not plug-in variants) are priced well below $50,000.

But it lines up evenly with the soon-to-be-launched Ford Escape ST-Line PHEV, which is set at $52,940 plus ORCs.

Mitsubishi is talking big about the next development in plug-in hybrids and EVs, bi-directional charging – which means the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV can take and give battery charge.

That said, Mitsubishi Australia admits the first three compatible suppliers in Australia (no names yet) will not be online until sometime next year. And it’s only working on the flagship Exceed for the moment.

The key is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) operation, where the Outlander can give or take, depending on needs. So it can work as a battery during a black-out, help provide “home or grid security”, or take solar charge from a home system.

Bi-directional charging, says Thomson, is more than just a dream and is already working – he does not have numbers, but admits they are small – in a pilot scheme in Japan. (A V2G trial involving the Nissan LEAF electric car is also running in Australia.)

“We’ve had it since the 2017 model year but we haven’t been able to use it. The V2X (vehicle-to-everything) is the catalyst. It’s built today for tomorrow,” Thomson says.

“It’s our vision for the future. We are confident that it will be a reality sooner than you think. It’s already in place in Japan. It has been commercialised.”

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the most powerful of the Outlander models, thanks to its electrification.

With 94kW and 199Nm from internal combustion, it gets an extra kick of 60kW from the front electric motor and 70kW from the rear, with maximum torque of 137Nm in the front and 195Nm in the rear in a vehicle with two electric motors for all-wheel drive.

With a drive-battery capacity of 13.8kWh, Mitsubishi says the potential electric-only range is 55km, and the total distance available – with regenerative braking in five increments – takes it well past 400km without much effort.

It all sounds complicated, with three modes – pure electric, combustion-charge for the battery, and combustion-plus-battery for maximum power – but Mitsubishi says the SUV does all the work as it switches between EV, series and parallel hybrid operation.

“The driving experience is seamless,” says Mitsubishi Australia’s Outlander PHEV product specialist, Tim Clarke. “What it means, really, is that it will take off from a standing start as an electric vehicle. It can also drive as an EV up to 135km/h.”

EV is always the priority, and the petrol engine functions almost solely as a range-extender, only helping to drive the wheels under heavy demand.

Typically for Mitsubishi, which loves acronyms and technology, there is active yaw control and active stability control in cornering. It’s all combined through Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC).

“The key objective is to get a nice linear response – to get the systems to work in harmony together,” says Clarke.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV might be a tech champion, but there is nothing to shout it to the world.

The styling is looking very outdated, even with the (very) slightly bolder darkness of the GSR. And it’s much the same inside, although the infotainment screen is big and clear and compensates a little for the tiny digital speed readout.

The Sydney preview of the 2021 model was restricted to the GSR, which is no bad thing. From the get-go it feels more taut and together than I remember from previous time with the Outlander.

It’s not a Lancer GSR, of course, but there is good wheel control at all speeds and it copes easily – and confidently – with all types of lumps and bumps. On the same roads where I drove an MG ZST the week prior, the GSR feels a class ahead of the smaller Chinese-built SUV.

The cornering balance is good, at least for a family SUV, and it stops well.

Dipping into the technology, without worrying about the charging time comparisons with a wall socket, home box or fast charger – 6.5 hours to 100 per cent, 3.5 hours to 100 per cent, 25 minutes for 80 per cent respectively – I can have some fun and create a driving challenge with the variable re-gen system.

It’s easy to avoid the brakes entirely, toggling down with what would normally be shift paddles to lose speed.

It’s also good to watch the system operating through the infotainment screen, again setting a challenge to get the best numbers.

The battery lasts for 45km on the tunnels and freeways out of Sydney, then it’s a question of using the petrol engine to keep the battery topped. The sound is not too intrusive, more of a gentle hum, but when I trigger the Sport button in the console for maximum power it does get much more vocal.

The PHEV is very quiet as I expect in EV mode, and there is very little of the typical Zzzzzzzz away from the lights, but the rest of the package is ho-hum.

The seats are not particularly supportive or cushy, the plastic parts are not up to Korean standards (let alone the best Japanese), and it never feels like a cutting-edge green car.

The Mitsubishi Outlander GSR PHEV is a smart upgrade for the brand’s plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV. It gives a new point of difference and makes it more than just another wannabe green SUV.

The PHEV also works well as a range-extender hybrid, removing the spectre of range anxiety with the petrol package while also giving enough pure-electric range for many people’s daily commute.

There was no need to take it off-road, and no chance to explore its claimed finesse in low-grip situations like snow, but the electric all-paw package should work well enough.

It might not be as trendy as a Toyota, or as modern as many others in the mid-size SUV battle, but it should do better in showrooms as more people think about the environmental impact of their motoring.

How much does the 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander GSR PHEV cost?
Price: $52,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 94kW/199Nm
Electric motor output: 60kW/137Nm (front), 70kW/195Nm (rear)
Transmission: Single-speed multi-mode reduction gear
Fuel: 1.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 43g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2014)