Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid arrives in Australia: On sale August
The new Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid will go on sale from August 15th, 2022.
Outlander PHEV will be available in four model grades: ES, Aspire, Exceed and flagship Exceed Tourer.
Prises will be starting at $54,590 for the ES base model, $60,990 for Aspire, $65,990 for the Exceed and an eye-watering $68,490 for Exceed Touring - all before on-road costs. The old Outlander topped out at just over $60K.
So you can have the regular Outlander models for $35,490 on the cheapest possible two-wheel drive variant which Mitsubishi Australia tells me you’ll need to negotiate with the dealer for because they typically reserve it, and Aspire 2WD, for fleet buyers only. The ES AWD 5-seater is about $42K, the LS (2WD 7-seat) is $43K or LS (AWD 7-seat) for $45K.
Then in AWD-only, seven-seat-only variants, Aspire is $49K, Exceed comes in at $53K, and the top-of-the-range Exceed Tourer is $56K.
Or the PHEV models you can get at $54,590 (ES entry level), $60,990 (Aspire), $65,990 (Exceed), or $68,490 (Exceed Touring).
The new PHEV system claims up to 84km of electric-only propulsion, but expect closer to 60-70km in real world applications.
Exceed and Exceed Touring will be the only models available with seven-seat capacity, meaning ES and Aspire can only be had with five seats.
The PHEV’s battery pack is now 20kWh - which is a massive 45 per cent increase from the 13.8kWh in the old PHEV Outlander. The front axle motor generates 85kW, up from 60kW in the old car, just as the rear motor is up from 70kW to 100kW.
Regenerative braking will be adjustable using paddles behind the steering wheel, in the same way Hyundai’s EVs Kona, Ioniq and Ioniq 5 do.
When using Outlander PHEV in ‘series hybrid’ mode, you effectively render the 2.4-litre petrol Atkinson cycle combustion engine to a ‘generator’ to charge the battery - according to Mitsubishi. In parallel hybrid mode the front wheels are driven directly by the engine, which is enabled at cruising speed or under high driving load. The 2.4 also gets 4 additional kiloWatts, 98 up from 94.
Impressively, all these improvements in the powertrain’s output have not been at the sever expense of space, because the fuel tank size has increased from 45 to 56 litres.
According to Mitsubishi’s press release, the front axle motor in the hybrid,
“…generates 85kW, up from 60kW, while taking up a similar space within the vehicle.”
The word ‘similar’ is important here because any opportunity to boast about a significant weight reduction or size reduction, a carmaker will jump on and use in a press release and the brochure. Because ultimately this is news worth spreading. Makes sense?
“The rear motor features a new, integrated motor control unit occupying a smaller space than before, enabling the new Outlander Plug-In Hybrid EV to offer a three-row, ‘5+2’ seating configuration for the first time (on Exceed and Exceed Tourer)”, Mitsubishi Australia says.
See what I mean? I think Mitsubishi deserves some early praise for this, because they’ve tried to offer you maximum vehicle capability with the innovation of having a plug-in hybrid. But they haven’t tried to do a sneaky switcheroo of, say, worse-performing smaller motors to take up less room, but giving you a bigger battery to increase range, while ditching the row-3 seats for combustion models only or whatever. They’ve genuinely tried to give you the breadth of options - which is important given you might be considering spending $68,000 here.
“The new drive battery is situated low in the chassis, fitted between the axles for optimum weight distribution”
This might be why Mitsubishi has been able to increase output without sacrificing available space underneath.
However, having driven the new Outlander in pure internal combustion form, the cabin - in spite of the vehicle’s overall size, does feel slightly compromised in headroom. This might suggest the battery under the floor pf the PHEV might be fractionally taller and raising the floor a few millimetres might have helped make everything fit and deliver more oomph.
Engineering is an inherently vicious compromise - you cannot have something more without sacrificing something else.
Outlander PHEV supports multiple charging modes: Mode 2 (standard 240V AC); Mode 3 (fast 240V AC, with dedicated Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)) charging; CHAdeMO which enables Mode 4 DC rapid charging. Mode 2 and Mode 3 charging cables come as standard equipment across the range.
To read about the new Outlander PHEV or just the rest of the range in detail, here is the original press release in full: 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV press release_
Once I have tested the PHEV my full in-depth review will be made available ASAP, kid duties pending, of course.
If you can’t wait for me, click the button below to get a discount on the new Outlander Plug-In Hybrid without being tortured by a dealership_