Mitsubishi Outlander 2026 review | The OG plug-in hybrid SUV returns to the UK

What is the Mitsubishi Outlander?

It’s the return of a car that was once immensely popular in the UK market, but that has been away for some time. Yes, 2021 saw Mitsubishi pull out of the new-car market in the UK, taking the big-selling Outlander with it.

But why was the Outlander so popular? Well, in truth, for the first two generations, it wasn’t, being a slightly obscure also-ran in the burgeoning mid-size family SUV market. However, things changed bigtime with the third-generation Outlander, offered between 2014 and 2021.

This was offered in two distinct forms, either with seven seats and a diesel engine, or with five seats and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. And it was the latter version that accounted for the car’s immense success: not only was plug-in hybrid tech a massive rarity in the family SUV class of the time, but the tax laws of the time - particularly where company car tax was concerned - meant that such tech brought massive tax savings for customers, even if they never bothered to plug the thing in to take advantage of the potential for minuscule running costs. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Ironically, the Outlander itself became history itself in 2021 for the reasons discussed, but only in the UK. Elsewhere in the world, the Outlander soldiered on, and the third-generation car that had been so popular on these shores was replaced in other markets by a new-and-improved fourth-generation Outlander. And now that Mitsubishi has made its triumphant return to the UK, the Outlander now being offered for sale over here once again is effectively the facelifted version of that fourth-generation car.

There’s a difference this time around, though. Whereas in days gone by, the Outlander could be had with seven seats OR a plug-in hybrid powertrain, it can now be had with both at the same time, which should in theory cement its appeal even more. Indeed, the PHEV powertrain is the only one being offered on these shores, and when it’s been so successful in the past, you can see the logic behind that approach.

The big question is, in a very different marketplace to the one Mitsubishi left all those years ago, a marketplace governed by very different tax laws and legislation, does the Outlander make as much sense today as it did then? Read on to find out.

How practical is it?

The Mitsubishi Outlander is available in two forms: the base-level Nativa version comes with seven seats, while the higher-end Diamond is a five-seater only. Let’s start with the latter because it’s simpler to describe.

Open up the tailgate of the Diamond (it’s powered on both trim levels), and you’re faced with a generous-looking boot. We can't quantify how big, because Mitsubishi hasn't given us any figures, but it looks pretty good. The floor is level, with very little load lip to speak of, and the shape of the loadbay is nice and square. There are also various hooks and lashing points to which you can secure your gear, and levers built into the sidewalls of the loadbay for dropping the spring-loaded rear seats: more on that in a moment. The package is completed by the small extra compartment concealed under the floor that’s big enough for your charging cable.

Move to the back seats, and you’ll find a really generous amount of legroom and headroom. A pair of gangly adults will have room to stretch out even if those sat up front are of a similar build, so everyone will be very comfy. The middle seat is also pretty wide, and shoulder room is generous enough that you’ll fit three adults across the rear bench without too much trouble, although you wouldn’t want to fill all the seats for a long journey on a regular basis.

The rear seats don’t slide or anything clever like that, but they do fold down - using those levers in the boot or catches on top of the backrests - in a 40/20/40 split, which gives more versatility that the 60/40 split on some rivals. And when they drop, they leave a level load area, although the folded seatbacks do lie at an angle, so part of your extended loadbay is sloped.

Move to the Nativa, and you’ll find, at first, that the rear seats have a very similar amount of space. However, the back seats in this version do slide back and forth, and there’s a large amount of travel in the runners, so the amount of legroom you get is very variable. And with the seats slid all the way forwards - like you might when trying to get people into the third-row seats - there’s barely any legroom left.

And if you’re to fit anyone in those third-row seats, the middle-row chairs will need to be fairly close to the front of those runners to give those behind space for their legs. Even the front passenger might have to play nice by shuffling their seat forward a bit more than they would otherwise so that everyone can fit. And everyone - provided that they’re not too tall - should fit with a little give-and-take from all involved, but nobody is going to be very comfy. And those crammed into the rearmost seats will find that not only are their knees wedged against the backrests of the middle-row seats, but their neck is also craned downwards and to the side so that their head fits under the ceiling: that’s because headroom back there is similarly tight. Children will be less uncomfortable, but they still won’t be particularly happy. Mitsubishi makes no bones about the fact that the Outlander is an ‘occasional’ seven-seater rather than a full-blown one: that’s very much the best way to look at it, and you’ll want to make sure that those occasions don’t crop up too often.

Getting in and out of those third-row seats is really difficult, too. The middle-row chairs tip and slide out of the way to allow access, but that reveals very little floor space (almost none, in fact), so there are very few places to put your feet when clambering in. The space you climb through is very small and high off the ground, too.

The way those third-row seats emerge from underneath the boot floor is a little unconventional as well. In most seven-seaters, you stand by the rear bumper with the bootlid open, and the backrest of the folded seat essentially constitutes the boot floor, and you pull it back and towards you to raise the seat. With the Outlander, you have to pull on a series of tapes in the correct order, and at the correct angles, and the seats instead tumble forward from underneath the rearmost section of the boot floor. It’s a little more complicated than the conventional system, but no more difficult once you’ve worked out what you’re doing.

There are a couple of other little side-effects of this arrangement, too, some positive and some negative. On the positive side, the underfloor space where the third-row seats live when they’re folded is opened up, making luggage space when travelling in seven-seat mode more generous than it would otherwise be. Like we say, Mitsubishi hasn't given us figures, and the space is still pretty small judged by our eyes, but it's a fraction bigger than it would be with the more conventional seating arrangement.

On the not-so-positive side, the nature of the mechanism means that you don’t have the option to raise the rearmost seats one at a time - it’s either both of them or neither of them - and this limits your versatility in carrying people and luggage at the same time.

What’s it like to drive?

The Outlander makes its return to the UK solely as a plug-in hybrid, and although the propulsion system is related to the one found in its predecessor of all those years ago, it has been extensively overhauled and uprated.

The system incorporates a 2.4-litre petrol engine combined with two electric motors - one at the front and one at the rear - delivering a total power output of 295bhp. If you’re interested in performance figures - which you probably aren’t in a car like this, but still - the 0-62mph sprint is given at 7.9 seconds, while the top speed is given at 106mph.

What’s more important is how the system operates. The car defaults to electric-only driving whenever it possibly can. With a full charge of the 22.7kWh lithium-ion battery, official WLTP figures say that the Outlander PHEV can travel up to 53 miles on the combined cycle (that’s a fairly middling figure on the spectrum of today’s PHEVs), and EV-only propulsion is possible up to motorway speeds with gentle enough throttle inputs.

When the battery runs low, the petrol engine cuts in to act as a generator to produce electricity to recharge the battery, but in most driving situations, it’s still the electric motors - both at the same time, for permanent electric AWD - actually driving the wheels.

However, when maximum acceleration or speed is needed, the petrol engine becomes the primary source of drive for the wheels, as well as generating power for the replenishment of the battery.

And the whole thing seems to work reasonably well. Whether the petrol engine is running or not, the nature of the power delivery is impressively smooth and easy - if not desperately rapid - with that linear, muscular pickup that you usually get with electric motors. And when running on electric power alone, your progress is pretty quiet, too, while only a faint whine to be heard.

When the petrol engine is called upon, it stays reasonably quiet unless you really bury the throttle, which you won’t often do in a car like the Outlander, so that won’t ordinarily be a problem. You’ll notice some very strange noises happening elsewhere at times, though, with various whines and whistles emanating from underneath the car when the petrol engine is running. We suspect that this must come from the generator that converts the engine’s power into electricity to replenish the battery. It’s not loud, so it’s not a massive problem, but it does sound very odd.

There are various modes you can select to influence how the system operates. Normal mode balances electric and petrol power to best effect, while EV Priority mode further raises the threshold for intervention of the petrol engine. Save mode will start the petrol engine to preserve the remaining power left in the battery, while Charge mode will run the petrol engine to charge up the battery to nearly full: this can be done either when at a standstill or going along.

Glance down at your centre console, and you’ll see a rotary dial offering you a further seven drive modes. Essentially, three of these (Power, Normal and Eco) alter the response of your accelerator pedal, while four of them (Tarmac, Gravel, Snow and Mud) alter the response of your various traction management systems. To be honest, if you ever turn this dial away from Normal, we’d be incredibly surprised.

Not enough modes for you? Then good news! There are five levels of regenerative braking to choose from, ranging from pretty-much-nonexistent to very-strong-indeed. It all works sufficiently well, and limits your use of the rather stodgy-feeling brake pedal. And, like many PHEVs do, the Outlander feels rather heavy when using the friction brakes, too.

Elsewhere on the road, the Outlander does a capable job without really dazzling in any area. The ride can feel a little busy at times, especially on the back axle over a scruffy surface, but it never feels crashy or jolting, so comfort levels are entirely adequate, even though it is true that some rivals will give you a more cosseting life. Likewise, the handling is entirely adequate, with plenty of grip and traction, a not-unreasonable amount of body lean and steering that takes the car where you point it, even if it's a little slow and artificial-feeling.

Technology, equipment and infotainment

The entry-level Nativa version of the Outlander comes with those all-important seven seats, along with a generous list of standard equipment that includes 20-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, a powered tailgate, heated front seats with power adjustment, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, black vegan-leather upholstery and a head-up display.

The standard infotainment roster, meanwhile, consists of a 12.3-inch central touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB, Bluetooth, wireless smartphone charging, and an eight-speaker Yamaha premium audio system.

Diamond trim loses the seven seats, but gains plenty more besides. That Yamaha stereo is upgraded to a 12-speaker one from the same outfit, while you also get three-zone climate control with controls in the rear, ventilated- and massaging front seats, heated rear seats, a panoramic roof, ambient cabin lighting, a digital rear-view mirror, and brown leather upholstery.

Let’s return to that infotainment system for a moment. The eagle-eyed among you will look at the picture accompanying this section and probably rejoice in the fact that it shows a variety of physical buttons and dials on the dashboard for operating the finer points of the air-conditioning system, meaning you can fiddle away to your heart’s content without once going anywhere near the touchscreen. This we like.

On top of that, the central screen doesn’t have to deal with anywhere near as much functionality as many of the more complex ones on the market these days, so inevitably, this increased level of simplicity must inevitably make it easier to use, right? Well, no, not really. The way that the various menus are arranged isn’t very intuitive, and the unconventional wording used to describe the various functions on offer is pretty confusing as well. Chuck in graphics that look like they’ve been downloaded directly from a 1990’s Toyota, and it’s certainly not the easiest or slickest system you’ll encounter.

It gets worse. Many of those functions that don’t have to be operated through the central screen (things like disabling some of the more irritating driver assistance systems, for example, which you’ll likely want to do on every journey) have to be operated though the digital driver’s display instead: there’s a roller control on the steering wheel that you rotate and click in order to scroll through the various on-screen menus. However, these menus are tiny, difficult to see, confusingly arranged (for instance, some of those driver assistance systems live in one menu, while others live in another one entirely), and again use similarly ambiguous wording in a lot of cases.

Mitsubishi Outlander running costs

The Mitsubishi Outlander costs around £47,000 in seven-seater Nativa form, while the five-seater Diamond costs around £50,000. Let’s consider the Nativa first, as that’s the one we reckon will be most interesting to most buyers.

While once-upon-a-time, seven-seater plug-in hybrid SUVs made hen’s teeth look commonplace, there are quite a few on the market today. And the Mitsubishi has several of the better-known ones well beaten on price. Of course, the Volvo XC90 is way more expensive, starting at around £80,000, while the PHEV versions of the Hyundai Santa Fe and Mazda CX-80 are also soundly beaten, starting at around £53,000 and £50,000, respectively.

The PHEV version of the excellent Kia Sorento might be a bit too close for the Outlander’s comfort, starting at around £48,500, but the Mitsubishi nevertheless still holds a slim advantage.

There are several other rivals that hold a price advantage over the Mitsubishi. For instance, the Jaecoo 8 PHEV may not be the best car of its type, but it’s appreciably bigger that the Outlander (around 10cm longer), has more power and a better EV range, and it costs from around £45,500.

Even more of a problem is posed by the Peugeot 5008, a stylish and capable seven-seater that’s very familiar to a lot of UK motorists (so you won’t have to explain to people what it is every five minutes), that in PHEV form costs from just over £43,000.

Then there are more Chinese rivals such as the MGS9 and Chery Tiggo 8, both of which are PHEV seven-seaters that come in either side of the £34,000 mark, meaning both hold a considerable price advantage over the Mitsubishi. Granted, we haven’t tried the MG yet, so we can’t tell you whether it’s worthy of your consideration, but we have tried the Chery, and take it from us, it’s not half bad.

Like we said, the five-seater Diamond costs around £50,000, and five-seater plug-in hybrid SUVs are much more commonplace, so competition is even fiercer. We won’t namechack all of the options available, but it’s worth mentioning a couple of our favourites and how they compare with the Mitsubishi on price. First-up is the Skoda Kodiaq, which only comes with five seats when specified in PHEV form, and thus-specced, prices start at around £42,000. Then there’s the Ford Kuga, which is pretty much identical in size to the Outlander, and in PHEV form, starts at around £40,000.

The Outlander’s 22.7kWh lithium-ion battery gives it an electric-only range of up to 53 miles according to official WLTP figures, while the same official figures give the car a combined fuel economy figure of 313.2mpg, all figures that are fair-to-middling for the class. Of course, your real-world fuel returns are likely to be very different because the official laboratory-based tests are unrealistically flattering to plug-in hybrids. As ever, the best returns will come if you keep your battery topped up, and your regular journeys short enough that as many as possible can be completed on electric-only power.

A full charge of the Outlander’s battery will take around three hours if you have a 7kW home wallbox charger fitted, or around eight hours if you rely on a regular three-pin domestic plug. Either way, then charge will cost you around £6 if you pay for your home electricity at the UK’s national average rate, or around half that if you get yourself on a variable tariff that offers much lower rates for off-peak power, and you charge your car overnight.

Both versions of the Outlander fall into insurance group 47, out of 50, so premiums won’t be cheap. The car’s pricing is such that higher-rate VED road tax is an inevitability, too.

Mitsubishi Outlander reliability

Mitsubishi’s reputation in this area has traditionally been pretty good, helped in no small part by the fact that the firm specialises in rugged four-wheel drive vehicles. However, whether that’s still true in the present day remains to be seen. Because the brand has spent several years away from the UK market, it’s fallen off most of the various reliability surveys that we usually refer to, so up-to-date data isn’t really available.

Mitsubishi says that the Outlander comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, which is partly true. More accurately, the car comes with a battery warranty for that period, while the rest of the car comes with the same five-year, 62,500-mile cover as the brand’s other products. However, if you get your car serviced according to schedule (every 12 months or 12,500 miles) at a Mitsubishi dealer, then your cover is topped up to meet the same maximums as the battery warranty.