Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV LS 2017 review

Most green-spec vehicles look, well, a little weird. And that's because they're purchased by people who smell faintly of homemade muesli and desperately want you to know they're driving an Earth-friendly vehicle.

But peel the 'hybrid' badging off the side of the Outlander P-HEV, and it looks identical to its full fuel-burning cousins, all of which are now rather handsome in an old-school and vaguely masculine fashion.

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV LS (image credit: Andrew Chesterton)

Up front, Mitsubishi's plasticky grille dominates the front end, and while it's a touch too busy for our tastes, it gives the Outlander some commanding street presence when viewed front on (or in a rear-view mirror). Elsewhere, though, it's a plain and unchallenging design, with a simple side profile and a rear view that looks skinny and tall.

Coolest of all, though, is the futuristic gear stick that makes you feel like you're shifting the Enterprise every time you select drive or reverse.

Inside the LS, the lovely leather-trimmed seats are centred with a chunky-ribbed suede. They're comfy, too, though they could use more side bolstering. The door panels are lined with quilted leather and some pretty unconvincing wood panelling, but a rock-hard plastic insert offers a tip that some cost corners have been cut.

The soft-touch dash is a quality addition and the centred 7.0-inch touchscreen is a big, clear and easy-to-use unit, even if satellite navigation is a glaring omission at this price point.

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Coolest of all, though, is the futuristic gear stick that makes you feel like you're shifting the Enterprise every time you select drive or reverse. It's the only nod to that kind of gadgetry in the cabin, and it's cool.

The Outlander arrives in two trim levels, the entry-level (but not cheap) LS - the car we've tested here - and the more luxurious-feeling Exceed.

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV LS (image credit: Andrew Chesterton)

The $50,490 LS arrives comprehensively equipped, with leather-trimmed seats, dual-zone climate control and keyless entry and start. You can also expect 18-inch alloy wheels, auto headlights and wipers, along with an Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-equipped 7.0-inch touchscreen that partners with a six-speaker stereo. LED DRLs join LED head and tail-lights, along with roof rails, rear privacy glass and front fog lights.

Shell out another $5k - lifting your total spend to $55,490 - for the Exceed model and you can expect to add full-leather seats that are heated in the front, an electric sunroof, powered boot and a cool 'EV remote' function that displays the car's electric vitals on your smartphone. Your standard safety equipment also gets an almighty boost, but we'll come back to that in the Safety section.

The conventional power is delivered via a 2.0-litre petrol engine that will produce 87kW at 4500rpm and 186Nm at 4500rpm. It's joined by two electric motors - one at each axle - which can kick in another 60kW to the total.

It's a dark art, measuring official fuel consumption in an EV vehicle.

How much power you get, though, depends on how you're using it. Leave it in pure EV mode, and 60kW is your total output. Venture into 'Series Hybrid' mode and the engine will help deliver another 60kW, bringing your total to 120kW.  Finally, drive entirely on petrol power, and you'll be using the petrol engine's 87kW. Mitsubishi claims maximum combined power at 120kW and combined torque at 320Nm.

That power is fed through a single-speed automatic gearbox and ultimately sent to all four wheels.

It's a dark art, measuring official fuel consumption in an EV vehicle. The official claimed/combined figure is 1.7 litres per hundred kilometres on the claimed combined cycle, but we returned closer to 7.5L/100km after a long day of fairly placid driving. Combine that with a 45-litre tank and it means long-distance touring is going to require plenty of fuel stops. Official C02 emissions are pegged at 41g per kilometre.

You'll get a claimed 54 kilometre range in pure EV mode, and plugged into normal power, the battery will take 6.5 hours to charge. A fast charger will give you an 80-per cent charge in 25min.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV LS arrives with seven airbags (dual front, side and curtain, along with a driver's knee bag), which join hill start assist, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and a full suite of traction and braking systems including EBD, ABS and traction and stability control.

Stepping up to the Exceed model unlocks adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with AEB and lane departure warning, along with blind-spot monitoring and front parking sensors.

The Outlander range scored the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating when crash tested in 2014.