The 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Its parent company has a long history of building strong, potent and powerful vehicles for import into the U.S. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the latest of those. But it’s not without its faults. Still, Napleton News was totally jazzed to get inside it for a week. Hop in, but stay out of the third row, if you can. We’ll explain later.

What is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

The 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a three-row, seven-passenger SUV that shares a platform with its corporate cousin, the Nissan Rogue. And before you start pooh-poohing that, realize it’s a good thing. The economy of scale, not to mention a pooling of engineering resources has cast off the past and resulted in a remarkably competent SUV. Gone are the flimsy seating mechanisms of the second row, the cost-cutting interior and the no-name audio system. The Japanese Anime styling, for better or worse, remains.

What motivates the Outlander PHEV?

There are choices among the Outlander lineup. The basic engine is a 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder engine making 185 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque. The gearbox is a continuously-variable-transmission, meaning that it doesn’t actually “switch” gears as much as it moves several pulleys depending on the power needed to achieve a certain feed.

Our Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) was a more powerful offering. Motivated by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with 248 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, it too, was matched to a CVT that was paired with two electric motors making for all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 mph ticked off in 6.6 seconds, which is quite competitive for its class.

Charge up overnight on a normal 120-volt household outlet gave us a full charge of 49 miles, which is more than the 38 miles that Mitsubishi said a typical buyer would see. Using the gas engine and EPA test protocols, the Outlander PHEV should see 25 city/27 highway on petrol. Using both the electric motors and the gas engine, the EPA says you should be good for about 64 MPGe. That’s miles per gallon equivalent (That’s the “e” in MPGe)

To bonus this Outlander out, a two-year complimentary scheduled maintenance plan is standard on all Mitsubishi vehicles

How does the Outlander look?

Here’s where the Outlander gets a bit dicey…but it’s not all bad.

For years, Mitsubishi vehicles have featured a Japanese sci-fi or even Anime-style appearance somewhere on their body. With the 2024 Outlander PHEV, it’s the grille once again. It’s busy, to say the least. Daylight running lights sit high on the corners of the vehicle. Just below them are the actual main headlights that look like add-ons. Trust us, they’re functional, but when we were supposed to be paying attention to our English teachers, we drew cars instead. But we wouldn’t be caught dead putting those type of headlights there.

The rest of the PHEV is handsome, thanks to shared resources from Mitsubishi and Nissan design studios. There’s even the blacked-out roofline that helps to define the overall appearance of this important vehicle. (Important to Mitsubishi, anyway.)

Inside the Outlander? What about it?

The interior of the 2024 Outlander is vastly improved over the one it replaced. Ours featured black leather with tan piping throughout the cabin. The previous low-grade plastics have been replaced with soft touch materials and higher quality trim throughout. Our model included a 12.3-inch gauge cluster with head-up display and a 9-inch central console display. A Bose audio system was on board with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along for the ride. The best thing about the audio system: It offers traditional volume and tuning dials, just like those in your grandfather’s Chrysler. Sure, it’s old school, but the bottom line is its simplicity. Knobs just work.

The second row offers seating for three and tons of legroom thanks to the split seat’s ability to slide back and forth. The third row is another story, unfortunately, because of its limited legroom.

Behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

We love the subtle, quiet performance behind the wheel of the Outlander PHEV. Almost silent under pure electric power, it slowly switched over to the gasoline engine as our speed increased. Steady pressure on the skinny pedal brought the power on but more gradually than we were expecting. Still, it was impressive how little gas we used in the week we were with the Mitsubishi.

The Outlander PHEV (Should we call it an “Outie” for short?) offered good acceleration on the   Florida Turnpike along with the ability to pass cars at will. Once we passed the so-called left lane parkers and other keepers of the speed, we were satisfied to pull over into the right lane once again. But the first time we needed to slow the PHEV, we were surprised at the soft brake pedal response. It’s not bad or anything like that, mind you. It’s just that the first time it happens, you should be prepared to really put your foot into it!

Otherwise, from where we sit, we’d say Mitsubishi has hit a home-run with its new Outlander. It’s just one of the fruits from the Mitsubishi/Nissan alliance. With apologies to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, there’s nothing wrong with getting by “With a little help from my friends.”

2024 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Specifications

Engine Type:                                      Gas/Electric inline-4

Displacement:                                    2.4-liter

Horsepower:                                       248 @ 5,000

Torque:                                               330

Transmission:                                   CVT

Fuel Economy:                                  25 city/27 hwy

eMPG:                                                 64 eMPG

Also Available:                                  Other trim levels, ICE versions

Wheelbase:                                        106.5 inches

Length:                                               185.4 inches

Width:                                                84.4 inches

Height:                                               68.7 inches

Front Head Room:                          40.6 inches

Front Leg Room:                             41.7 inches

Front Shoulder Room:                   57.9 inches

Second Row Head Room:              39.1 inches

2nd Row Leg Room:                 38.1 inches

Second Row Shoulder Room:       55.9 inches

3rd Row Head Room:                 33.1 inches

Third Row Leg Room:                    19.1 inches

3rd Row Shoulder Room:          51.2 inches

Cargo Space ( 1^st, 2^nd,3^rd)             64.3, 30.8, 12.8 cubic feet