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America Needs More Cars Like the 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Mitsubishi’s PHEV take on the Nissan Rogue may not be glamorous, but America deserves more plug-in hybrid crossovers.

Published February 24, 2024

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In the midst of our rush towards a future full of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids have been left somewhat in the dust. Unfairly, I might add; for many buyers, PHEV vehicles offer a near-ideal combination of electric driving for around-town operation and gasoline-aided long ranges for road trips. Plus, their comparatively-small lithium-ion batteries mean you can often top up their charge on a regular household outlet — no special wiring required.

Yet weighed against the booming ranks of EVs and the depth of the roster of pure internal combustion vehicles, the PHEV supply seems slim. Even in the super-hot crossover realm, where the heart of the market lies, the ranks of plug-in hybrids feels slim. Want a PHEV crossover from Chevrolet, Honda or Volkswagen? Tough luck. Subaru or Nissan? Sorry, no dice.

Well, actually, there’s a caveat to that last one. You can kinda-sorta score a plug-in hybrid Nissan crossover; it’s just found in Mitsubishi dealerships, and goes by the name of Outlander PHEV.

See, the fourth-generation Mitsubishi Outlander introduced for 2021 is based on the third-gen Nissan Rogue — the ninth-best-selling passenger vehicle in America last year. While the regular version uses the same unremarkable four-cylinder as the Rogue, the PHEV uses an upgraded version of the powertrain Mitsubishi developed for the previous pluggable Outlander back in 2012, combining a gas-powered inline-four with a pair of electric motors.

The fourth-generation Outlander is much more attractive than its predecessor, with a bolder, more assertive stance.

So, taking one of America’s favorite vehicles and giving it a PHEV powertrain seems like a win, right? One perhaps worth taking a risk on the barstool ridicule that might come with driving a Mitsubishi? To find out, I took one for a spin for a couple hundred miles to the Catskill Mountains and back in the winter to see how it held up. Here’s what I found.

2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: What We Think

The Outlander PHEV is a solid midpack entry in the somewhat sparse world of mainstream plug-in hybrid crossovers. While its electric-only range isn’t groundbreaking, it’s reasonable enough — and it stands out of the pack with a unique design and a solid feature set, including fast-charging capabilities.

As Mitsubishi’s priciest model, it’s no bargain, at least at full price. Still, if you can find one for a compelling lease deal — which Mitsubishi seems quite happy to provide — it could make a decent addition to any household that needs an AWD family crossover with road-trip range but wants to take a step into the EV realm.

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The Outlander PHEV delivers decent electric range, and works seamlessly

The Outlander PHEV’s system is biased towards electric action: the 2.4-liter inline-four spends a large part of its time feeding the 20-kWh battery, which in turn feeds the electric motors found on the front and rear axles. The inline-four can also drive the car directly, but only sends power to the front wheels; there’s no direct mechanical connection between engine and rear axle, so all-wheel-drive is accomplished solely via the stern electric motor.

It’s a complicated powertrain — it’s easy to get lost in the animated power flow diagram that can be summoned on the instrument panel — but it works seamlessly. I didn’t even notice much in the way of noise from the engine as it powered up, except when I had the throttle to the floor and needed it to rev hard to make tasty electrons for the motors.

With 250 horses and 332 lb-ft, the Outlander PHEV isn’t fast, but it isn’t slow, either; it’s more than capable of scooting through traffic Around town, the electric motors that provide primary thrust give it the sort of zippy reaction we’ve come to expect from EVs, which gives you a nice bit of confidence when trying to cut through Manhattan traffic or merge into a busy roundabout.

After spending a night on a Level 2 charger to score a full battery, the Outlander’s instrument panel offered an estimate of 37 miles of range, but that turned out to be optimistic. The battery only lasted closer to 30 before the gas engine had to resort to propulsion duties, even while driving mostly on flat two-lane country roads.

This is, believe it or not, as high-rez as the photos on Mitsubishi’s press site get.

That was in sub-freezing temperatures, however, and while the gas engine ran at the start to heat up the cabin, the big battery pack’s effectiveness was hurt by the low mercury. (One fun fact about EVs: while they can preheat their batteries on a plug, once off it, it’s hard for them to stay in their ideal operating temperature zone when on the road if it’s at or below freezing outside.) Still, Car and Driver‘s testing found this Mitsu capable of going just 24 mile on battery power at 75 mph, so it’s probably best to view the car’s EV range claims as more of an optimistic guideline.

One feature that could make the Outlander a little more appealing: it’s one of the few plug-in hybrids that offers DC fast charging, being capable of taking up to 50 kW of power via CHAdeMO plug. Granted, that outdated standard isn’t nearly as common as CCS or NACS, but on the flip side, you’re far less likely to find anyone using that plug when you stumble onto one.

It probably won’t make a huge difference on road trips — after all, at 75 mph, you’ll be back to using gas within half an hour — but it does make the Outlander more appealing to folks without a way to charge at home. And of course, hey, if the battery does run dry, there’s plenty of gasoline around — though, admittedly, you’ll only be getting around 25 miles per gallon using it.

Outside is all Mitsubishi, inside is mostly Nissan

Mitsubishi, to its credit or shame, doesn’t make generic-looking cars. The Outlander PHEV would look right at home in a Luc Besson film, parked casually in the background as men with odd haircuts argue with hog-like aliens played by actors in ridiculous amounts of prosthetics.

It’s less unique inside. My top-shelf SEL tester’s cabin felt very much like that of a top-shelf Nissan, all the way down to the color and pattern of the leather seats. The infotainment system is pure Nissan; it’s not particularly stylish — more Microsoft than Apple — but its buttons and panels are clear and get the job done, which is more than you can say for many other such systems.

Kids to Mitsubishi for thinking outside the bun with the glass cockpit, though. The instrument panel uses its space well to pack in a ton of information while still being easy to read. The spinning wheel speedometer and power gauge are clever twists, as well, even if the power gauge is a little opaque as to what it’s actually telling you. For the record, it’s the instant output of the gas engine, measured in kilowatts but divided by 10; its seemingly arbitrary movements the most obvious sign of the machinations of the ECU trying to decide how much power it needs at the time and whether to send it to the wheels or battery.

The varied drive modes are handy, but the real attraction here is the nifty gauges.

I wouldn’t buy one outright, but it makes for an appealing lease deal

At a base price of roughly $41K, the Outlander PHEV is far and away the priciest ride in the Mitsubishi lineup. (The gas-only Outlander starts at a whopping $12,000 less.) That price means it’s hard for the brand to play its core strength of value. The Toyota RAV4 Prime and Kia Sportage Plug-In Hybrid start around the same place — the Toyota a couple grand more, the Kia a couple grand less — and I’d choose either above the Mitsubishi, with the latter winning me over on style and interior and the former convincing me with its surprisingly fun performance.

Of course, that’s if I were paying full freight. If I were leasing, however — as about a quarter of Americans do with their new cars — the Outlander starts to look a lot better. Mitsubishi is currently offering deals that let you bring one home for $299 a month (with $5,392 down, admittedly) on a 24-month lease — and that’s for the mid-tier SE trim, which includes heated seats, power driver’s seat, active cruise control and a wireless phone charger. For a family SUV with all-wheel-drive that can knock out many people’s daily drives without a drop of gas … that’s not too shabby in this day and age.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a midsized plug-in hybrid crossover that uses an inline-four cylinder and twin electric motors. Based on the same chassis as the Nissan Rogue, it’s the most expensive model in the Mitsubishi lineup — but also the most worthy of buying.