Mitsubishi teases new plug-in Outlander

Saturday, 31 July 2021

Mitsubishi's new Outlander brings some bold new styling cues to Mitsubishi signature look, as well as some advanced new technology.

Mitsubishi showed off its all-new Outlander back in February, but didn’t talk about the popular plug-in hybrid version. Now, the Japanese manufacturer has given us our first glimpse of the new PHEV.

The new Outlander will launch here before the end of the year, with pricing starting at $41,990 for the LS 2WD and rising to $54,990 for the VRX AWD, and Mitsubishi New Zealand expected the PHEV to be following soon after.

Mitsubishi still isn’t discussing specifications of the plug-in, only saying it will have more power and a larger battery.

The new Outlander is due here before the end of the year, but it probably won’t have a plug at launch.

The outgoing model used a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol making 94kW/199Nm with twin electric motors making 60kW and 70kW each. It’s the same powertrain as in the Eclipse PHEV too.

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This was the last Evolution to be sold in New Zealand – the 30-unit-strong Lancer Evolution Final Edition.

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The company did confirm it will offer three-row seating with the PHEV powertrain for the first time, thanks to revised packaging.

And, for those looking for some extra performance, rumour has it Mitsubishi will bring back the Evolution badge with a high-performance version of the Outlander PHEV.

It’s an unconfirmed report thus far, but Best Car says a “symbolic” version of the Outlander Evolution was supposed to appear at the 2021 Tokyo Motor Show, but it has been pushed out to June 2022.

Such a vehicle would likely employ more than two motors, which would fit into previous rumours of a four-motor plug-in hybrid powertrain being worked on in the skunkworks of Mitsubishi and its newly reborn Ralliart division.

Factor in a stronger combustion engine, and it should be quite a potent machine – despite the questionable use of the Evolution badge.

Meanwhile, the new Outlander has moved to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance's CMF-C/D platform, also shared with the X-Trail.

The only engine option at launch will be a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, developing 135kW of power and 245Nm of torque. It’s connected to a CVT, driving either the front or all four wheels.