Mitsubishi Outlander vs Mahindra XUV700

What's the difference?

The Outlander PHEV in GSR spec is a nifty daily driver, quietly appealing and more than capable of heading off-road as long as you drive it well within its AWD limits.

If you reside in the city or suburbs and your daily driving is not too punishing in terms of distance, then this PHEV makes a lot of sense. A hybrid vehicle is a happy-compromise move towards an EV future – and the Outlander PHEV is a big step in the right direction.

This is credible seven-seat motoring from Mahindra. The XUV700 has a couple of engineering quirks I'd like to see ironed out, but this SUV feels as though it deserves a place among Australia's affordable SUV offerings.

In terms of exterior dimensions, this PHEV is 4710mm long (with a 2706mm wheelbase), 1862mm wide and 1745mm high.

The Outlander is an inoffensive-looking AWD wagon with an appearance every bit in line with its GSR spec and price-tag without going over the top.

On the outside, this top-shelf GSR incorporates Mitsubishi’s 'Dynamic Shield' design facade, which was divisive in its early years but has since attracted its fair share of fans.

On the inside, this Outlander has black leather-appointed upholstery with silver stitching, the same treatment applied to the soft-touch armrests, centre console top, sections of the dash and elsewhere.

And the big 20-inch machined alloy wheels top off a classy yet relatively subdued overall look.

In the realm of medium-sized city-going SUVs with weekend road-trip inclinations – think Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Kia Sportage and the Outlander’s hybrid rivals like the Nissan X-Trail e-Power, Toyota RAV4, et al – this Mitsubishi AWD more than holds its own because in terms of design none of them are bound to set hearts a-flutter. But they’re all fine. 

This Mahindra is kind of dark and mysterious. Which is another way of saying it's literally painted black and almost nobody I asked had any idea what the hell it was.

That's the curse of a brand that’s still trying to make a mainstream name for itself, I guess, with Mahindra having a long road ahead of it before its gets to a level where its vehicles are instantly recognisable.

Anyway, the blacked-out grille treatment works, as does the very modern LED light array, and while not what you might describe as a boundary-pushing design, it's all inoffensive.

But it’s inside where things get interesting. Honestly, the way technology has exploded into cheaper offerings never ceases to amaze me. It wasn’t that long ago that, to be greeted by a big twin-screen set-up like the one in this Mahindra, you’d need to spring for a Mercedes-Benz.

Which is interesting, because if you've ever sat in a vehicle from the German giant, you'll recognise the XUV700's electric seat controller, with the seat-shaped design seemingly lifted straight from Benz.

I'd describe the cabin feel as semi-premium. The screens are lovely, the seats are comfortable, and the sunroof is massive, but some of the trim elements feel a little cheap and flimsy under the touch, and the use of those materials only increases as you move back through the seating rows.

This SUV has a family-friendly and functional interior with a premium feel, even if it does seem somewhat underdone for the price.

But it has all the right elements of a family tourer, in a cosy cabin in which it’s easy enough for driver and passengers to spend a chunk of time on lengthy road trips without complaint. I know, because we did.

The GSR has comfortable leather seats, a (mostly) user-friendly multimedia system, plenty of charge points (USB-A and USB-C up front and two USBs for second-row passengers), lots of soft-touch surfaces and a reasonable amount of storage space peppered throughout.

Nice touches, such as the heated steering wheel and heated front seats, which also have the massage function, top off what is an impressive interior.

There is wired charging for smartphones with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, as well as a wireless charging pad. There are also 240V/1500W power outlets.

The 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen is too small for me (perhaps a case of Old Bloke Eyes?), but it’s better when engaged in Apple CarPlay mode. The 12.3-inch high-resolution digital driver display is simple enough to use, and the 10.8-inch head-up display is a handy feature.

The driver has an eight-way power adjustable seat, so they’re able to dial-in their favourite driving position.

As stated, this Outlander’s seats are comfortable with a reasonable amount of room for everyone, though the third row is a tight fit for anyone other than children.

The second row is a 40/20/40 split configuration, while the third row is 50/50.

In terms of packing space, there is 191 litres in the rear cargo area when all seats are being used, 461 litres when the third row is folded flat, and 1387 litres when the second and third rows are stowed away.

There are seven seaters, and there are real seven seaters, with the latter offering a true third row in terms of space and comfort. So where does the Mahindra fit?

At 4695mm in length, 1890mm in width and 1755mm in height, this Black Edition is a decent size for a mid-size SUV, and so you’d describe the space in the third row as big enough, but not for full-grown adults marooned back there for longer spells.

To enter, it's a lever system that makes climbing in easy, with the second row folding up and then right out of the way so you can just walk in.

Space is tight for adults, though. I'm 175cm and my head was touching the roof, though I did have enough leg and toe room, and I was impressed by the fan controls and power sources (though I was less impressed by the sea of hard and scratchy plastics back there).

Step forward a row and the space is ample for just about anyone, and there are more vents, bottle holders and charging ports, too.

Boot space swells or shrinks depending on how many people are on board, of course. Mahindra doesn't have an offical boot-space figure for the XUV700, but says you will get "in excess of 700 litres" with the second row folded flat. With all three rows in place, things are tight, and you're looking at a couple of backpack-sized bags only.

First up, the price. The XUV700 Black Edition arrives at $43,990, drive-away, which puts it on a collision course with the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max Elite. It also puts it in the same realm as an entry-level Nissan X-Trail.

It’s also a fair chunk more than the cheapest XUV700, the AX7, which is currently $36,990, drive away.

But Mahindra is promising kit, and lots of it. Outside, the Black Edition scores black paint, a black grille and black 18-inch alloy wheels. Inside, there are black synthetic leather seats and a generally blacked-out design theme.

On the tech front, there are dual 10.25-inch screens, one for the driver and one to handle multimedia, and there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A 12-speaker stereo provides the soundtrack, and there’s a wireless charge pad, too. 

Dual-zone climate and LED lighting also appear on the standard features list, while the huge glass roof has an electric sun shade, which makes it very liveable in an Aussie summer.

Interestingly, it comes with front-seat cooling, but not heating, with the latter unlikely to ever be necessary in Mahindra's home market of India.

The Outlander PHEV has a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 98kW at 5000rpm and 195Nm at 4300rpm, an electric motor on the front and rear axles, and a lithium-ion battery pack with a total capacity of 20kWh.

Combined output (engine and electric motors) is 185kW and 450Nm and this PHEV’s electric-only driving range is listed as 84km on a full charge.

It has a single-speed transmission and drive modes include 'Eco', 'Normal', 'Power', 'Tarmac', 'Gravel', 'Snow' and 'Mud'.

It has three power-use settings: 'EV Mode' for low to medium speeds urban running, 'Series Hybrid Mode' which allows the petrol engine to step in for urgent acceleration or climbing hills and 'Parallel Hybrid Mode' for highway overtaking where the vehicle runs on engine power with electric assistance.

The Mahindra is powered by the almost comically named 'mStallion' engine, which is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol producing 149KW and 380Nm and paired with a six-speed auto and front-wheel drive.

I don’t have an offical 0-100km/h time, but safe to say you won’t be turning up to a Fast and Furious illegal race meet in the Black Edition.

It's a very capable engine and transmission combination, but it loses points here due to the surging nature of the power delivery, which very frequently causes the front tyres to break traction.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GSR has a listed fuel consumption of 1.5L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle but, as with all official fuel figures from any carmaker, you can take it with a hefty grain of salt.

That said, if your daily driving distances are within this PHEV’s electric driving range (84km, as listed) and you’re able to drive in EV mode most of the time, then at the very least you will have chopped your fuel bill.

On this test, dash-indicated fuel consumption was 5.8L/100km; actual fuel consumption, as measured from pump to pump, was 7.7L/100km.

The good news is the Outlander PHEV runs happily on the cheaper 91RON 'standard' fuel.

Our dash-indicated power usage was 20.8kWh/100km. This PHEV gobbled through most of its 20kWh battery capacity quite swiftly on the drive from the vehicle pick-up point in Sydney to our test start-point just over 100km away.

It recouped 10km electric driving range via regenerative braking on a series of long downhills when set to ‘Charge’ driving mode (with the combustion engine generating power to the battery), but I had to cycle through regen modes to optimise that power regain.

The dash-indicated combined driving range (battery and engine) was 748km on a full charge and a full 56-litre tank.

Mitsubishi states that if you’re charging off a standard household power point it will take “approximately” 9.5 hours to fully charge your Outlander – or 6.5 hours if you’re using a home or public charging device.

Things speed up considerably if you use a public rapid recharging station. In that case, Mitsubishi says your Outlander Plug-in Hybrid EV will reach 80 percent battery capacity in 38 minutes.

Mahindra says the XUV700 sips 8.3L/100km on the combined (urnan/extra-urban) cycle, which – when paired with the 60-litre tank – should see you able to travel in excess of 700km on a single tank.

And happily, when it does come time to top up, you can reach for the cheaper 91RON petrol pump.

We covered in excess of 300km, and the Mahindra's in-car readout registered an average of 10.2L/100km.

As mentioned earlier, hybrids are your best buy at this moment in time, if you want to help save the world from climate-change disaster, avoid range anxiety, and save some money on fuel bills – all without having to sacrifice safety, comfort or features.

And – bonus – the Outlander is quite nice to drive. Not to mention a pretty handy light-duty off-roader. But more about that later.

It has a kerb weight of 2145kg with light but sharp steering and a tight (11.2m) turning circle so it’s an easy vehicle to manoeuvre around busy city and suburban streets.

The teaming of a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors works seamlessly well. There's always plenty of power on tap and, no matter how energetic your driving becomes, this Outlander remains smooth and quiet.

Throttle response is sharp and there’s plenty of punch off the mark as well as zippiness around town when you need it.

The PHEV’s EV-only driving range is a listed 84km but our test vehicle chewed through most of its battery power on a 110km highway trip through hilly territory.

Regenerative braking regained very little of that used power and the Outlander switched to rely on petrol for the remaining 30km or so of that trip.

The driver is able to adjust the degree of regenerative braking via paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel: use the left to add more and the right to ease up.

The drive mode options tweak engine, electric motor, transmission and other factors to suit the selected set-up.

Other than that, ride is quite firm, handling is civilised and, overall, this Outlander is rather pleasant on sealed surfaces.

And, as I alluded to earlier, it’s surprisingly comfortable and capable off-road – as long as you stick within the parameters of the kind of 'off-road' terrain an AWD SUV is built to cope with: well-maintained gravel roads and dirt tracks with minor corrugations in dry conditions… or, at worst, rain-puddled blacktop.

The Outlander has satisfactory off-road measures for a city-focussed vehicle: of 18.3 degrees (approach angle), 22.2 degrees (departure), 18 degrees (ramp breakover) and 203mm of ground clearance (unladen). 

It feels nimble in the bush because steering is light and precise, visibility is good all-around, and the vehicle settles well on gravel and dirt tracks at speed, only ever skipping around a bit on rougher sections, due to its firm suspension and road tyres.

You can switch drives modes to either Gravel, Snow or Mud to best suit the terrain on which you’re driving but with the Outlander’s lack of ground clearance, road-biased tyres and 20-inch wheels, this SUV is hamstrung by its city-biased physicality.

But, this is still a handy dirt-road tourer, yielding comfortable and controlled ride and handling, only ever becoming rattled when the road or track surface becomes very chopped up and bumpy.

The Outlander’s 'Super-All Wheel Control' (S-AWC) system deserves a fair amount of credit. This traction control system manages torque application so it is instantaneous, and delivers drive with impressive levels of throttle control and an even-handed management of power.

Worth noting the Outlander did, of course, go through battery capacity at a faster pace off-road than it did when we were on sealed surfaces .

Off-roading, by its very nature, is more difficult and demands more of a vehicle than driving on smooth sealed surfaces does. And, for that reason – and the fact the Outlander is quite low – I’d avoid driving this SUV on terrain more challenging than well-maintained gravel roads and dirt tracks with minor corrugations in dry conditions.

I’ve driven an Outlander PHEV on sand before and it taxes the capacity even faster.

As mentioned earlier, this Outlander does not have a spare tyre. The absence of a spare – even a space-saver – is a disappointment, especially if you’re considering using your PHEV as a touring vehicle. A puncture repair kit is provided.

Payload is listed as 605kg, towing capacity is 750kg for an unbraked trailer and 1600kg braked. GVM is 2750kg and GCM is 4350kg.

There are two sides to the Mahindra XUV70O. The first is its comfortable, compliant, easy-breezy side, one with which, should you be gentle with the Black Edition, you'll find it's happy to be gentle back.

We covered some 300km in the Mahindra, from the city to the freeway to country roads, and the Black Edition proved a solid performer in facing everything we threw it at.

The cabin is quiet enough, blocking out the worst of the road and tyre noise, and the steering, while very light and flimsy feeling, proved responsive and confidence-inspiring enough, too.

The engine and transmission gel nicely at speed, and while the XUV700 won't be winning too many street races, the power on offer matches the vehicle nicely, and it doesn't feel underdone.

Even the safety systems are unobtrusive enough, with only the lane keep system proving annoying on the freeway, as it occasionally lightly fought back against steering inputs.

So, a six out of 10? I've marked the Mahindra down because, for mine, the power delivery and traction do not play well together, with the Black Edition only too happy to break front traction, and break it often, should you feed on too much throttle when turning from a standing start, or even in a straight line if you're pointed uphill.

Not helping the traction is the lumpy power delivery, where you get little when you first plant your foot, then a whole lot all at once.

That part of the otherwise positive drive experience made me mark it down here.

The Mahindra doesn’t yet carry an ANCAP safety rating, but it comes with all the stuff needed to perform strongly, on paper at least, in crash testing.

That includes seven airbags, adaptive cruise control, 'Forward Collision Warning' (with AEB), lane departure warning and lane keep assist.

Keep an eye on that reversing camera, though. For mine it’s a little laggy, which means things can sneak up on you when reversing.

The XUV700 does wear a five-star Global NCAP safety rating but hasn't been assessed by ANCAP.

The Outlander range is covered by a 10-year/200,000km warranty – as long as servicing is completed on time by an authorised Mitsubishi dealership (otherwise, five years/100,000km) – and 10 years capped price servicing and 12 months roadside assist.

Outlander service intervals are scheduled at 12 months or 15,000km. Service costs can officially range from $349 through to $799 for a 10-year average of $549 per workshop visit.

The battery set-up has an eight-year/160,000km warranty. 

Mahindra offers a seven-year, 150,000km warranty, with seven years of roadside assistance. We like the years, but we’d like to see the kays become unlimited to match brands like Kia.

You’ll need a free service at 1500km, then your first real check up at 10,000km, then its 12 months or 15,000km after that.

Capped-price servicing means you’ll pay $1781 for the first five services, but that includes the free one, so it's more like four trips to the dealerships for an average cost of $445 per workshop visit.