Written and photos by: Craig Seckerson

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer promises plug-in power and off-road grit — we find out if it delivers.

Some of you eagle-eyed Adventure Rigs Magazine readers may have caught my recent review of the Nissan X-Trail. This time, it is the turn of its corporate cousin the Mitsubishi Outlander to show what it can do in Australia’s fiercely competitive mid-size SUV segment. Although they’re often viewed as direct rivals, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance means the Outlander and X-Trail share far more than many people realize.

Underneath their distinctly different styling lies a common platform, shared powertrains and much of the same technology. Rather than rivals, I like to see them as non-identical twins, they may share plenty of DNA, but you would be hard pushed to mistake one for the other.

The Outlander has clearly struck a chord with Australian buyers, it was the country’s third best-selling mid-size SUV in 2025 only a few hundred units off of second place. Personally, I don’t see this as an accident, it is testament to the company and reflects Mitsubishi’s commitment to developing vehicles that genuinely suit Australian conditions, and the sales figures suggest that effort is paying dividends.

For this test I was handed the keys to Mitsubishi’s flagship five-seat model, the fourth-generation Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer, finished in a subtle Moonstone Grey with a contrasting black roof. As my first experience with a plug-in hybrid, I was keen to see whether the technology would live up to the growing hype. Walking up to the Outlander for the first time, it makes a strong impression. The styling is clean and contemporary, with enough character to stand out without resorting to unnecessary design flourishes.

The 20-inch alloy wheels immediately catch your eye, filling the arches nicely and giving the SUV a confident, planted stance. Personally, though, the wheel design isn’t quite to my taste, there is a little too much going on visually, and I suspect they would be extremely fiddly to keep clean. That said, they suit the vehicle’s overall character and, for buyers who agree with me, aftermarket options are always available.

As regular Adventure Rigs readers will know, exterior colour can make or break a vehicle for me, and Mitsubishi has absolutely nailed it here. The Moonstone Grey paintwork, paired with the contrasting black roof, is one of the Outlander’s strongest styling features. It’s a colour combination that highlights the vehicle’s sculpted body lines and subtle detailing without being overtly flashy. Whether it will still look as contemporary in five years’ time remains to be seen, but right now I think Mitsubishi have it spot on.

The black roof deserves special mention, it is a simple addition, yet it gives the Outlander extra personality and visual interest without pushing the styling into overly bold territory. From my first impression, Mitsubishi has been smart with its updates, rather than reinventing a successful design, it has refined and modernised it. Think of it as ageing gracefully, perhaps like a fine wine or a Hollywood great receiving just enough cosmetic work to stay fresh without losing their identity.

Opening the door reveals an interior that immediately feels more premium than many of its competitors. Gone is the sea of black plastics and upholstery that dominates so many mainstream SUVs found on today’s roads. Instead, the cabin is finished in a rich melted, chocolate caramel leather with quilted stitching across the seats, creating an inviting, genuinely upmarket atmosphere. The premium theme continues throughout the cabin.

A black headlining adds a welcome touch of sophistication, while the full-length panoramic glass roof floods the interior with natural light whenever the powered sunshade is retracted. During Adelaide’s cooler months I find this a fantastic feature, although I know the blind would spend much of summer firmly closed to keep the cabin comfortable and the sun’s glare to a minimum.

Comfort features are equally impressive. The heated steering wheel is one of those luxuries you don’t think you need until you experience it. It may only earn its keep for a couple of months each year in South Australia, but on a cold winter morning it is an indulgence you will quickly come to appreciate.

Unlike some Outlander variants, the Exceed Tourer is configured exclusively as a five-seater. Buyers needing seven seats will have to step down to the Aspire grade, a compromise worth considering depending on your family’s priorities.

Cabin storage is generally well thought out. The door pockets easily accommodate large drink bottles, while the centre cup holders are better suited to takeaway coffee cups than larger bottles. My only real disappointment was the lack of an additional storage shelf beneath the centre console, something that’s becoming increasingly common in modern SUVs and would have made the cabin just that little bit more practical.

As someone who grew up before every function in a car migrated to a touchscreen, I absolutely love what Mitsubishi has done with the Outlander’s cabin. In my opinion, it is one of the most user-friendly interiors in the segment. There are proper physical buttons and rotary dials where they matter most, and even the steering wheel controls have a reassuringly tactile feel. Mitsubishi clearly understands its customers, instead of forcing you to navigate endless menus or play “swipe and hope” with touchscreen climate controls, it has retained solid, intuitive buttons that can be operated without taking your eyes off the road.

I find few things more frustrating than trying to adjust the air conditioning while driving, only to miss the virtual button and end up staring at the screen instead of the traffic ahead. It is only a small detail, but one that makes a huge difference in everyday driving. In an era where everything is becoming digital for the sake of it, Mitsubishi deserves genuine praise for keeping functionality front and centre.

My only criticism of the cabin design is the 12.3-inch infotainment display, while the screen itself is excellent and is relatively easy to navigate, it looks like an afterthought perched on top of the dashboard rather than being integrated into it. Mitsubishi certainly isn’t alone here, many manufacturers adopt this approach but I can’t help wondering why so much effort goes into designing elegant dashboard lines only to interrupt them with what appears to be a tablet stuck on the top.

I would love to see more automotive companies fully integrate these displays into the dashboard design instead of making them the stuck on focal point. Again, like many manufacturers and there is no getting away from it, is fingerprints, this is until the light hits the screen and it looks a bit grubby.

Settling into the beautifully trimmed leather seats, I quickly discovered another highlight, the seat comfort. Both heating and ventilation are available, making them equally suited to chilly winter mornings and scorching Australian summers. Better still, the front seats feature a massage function that genuinely impressed me.

With three different massage programs and multiple intensity settings, it is easy to find one that suits your mood. I know this is becoming more of the norm in this sector especially with the Chinese manufacturers, but it is still sort of luxury feature you would normally expect in a far more expensive vehicle.

Before heading off, I paired my phone with Apple CarPlay, which took only seconds, and then spent a little time fine-tuning the Yamaha Ultimate 12-speaker audio system with its integrated subwoofer. Straight out of the box, the soundstage, like with most modern cars is a little front-biased for my liking, but a few adjustments to the balance and a slight increase in volume transformed it into an excellent listening experience.

The clarity is superb, while the subwoofer delivers rich, controlled bass without overwhelming the cabin. To me, this is a highlight to the Outlander and probably the most complete automotive sound system in a commodity vehicle I have heard in quite a while.

The Outlander feels reassuringly solid from the moment you open the door and it closes with a satisfying thud, immediately reinforcing the premium feel. Throughout the cabin, Mitsubishi has combined soft-touch materials with durable hard surfaces, creating an interior that feels well-built and thoughtfully finished.

Rear passengers haven’t been forgotten either. Heated leather seats with the same quilted finish as the front, along with their own climate controls, elevate the experience well beyond what I’d normally expect in this class. There is, however, one detail that continues to puzzle me and it is exactly the same issue I found in the Nissan X-Trail. The fold-down rear centre armrest has no backing panel, meaning that when it is lowered there’s a direct opening into the luggage compartment.

It seems like such a minor component, yet its absence cheapens an otherwise premium cabin. Personally, I prefer the passenger compartment to remain separate from the cargo area, so I would love Mitsubishi to address this in a future update.

Finding the ideal driving position is effortless thanks to the electrically adjustable front seats with memory settings. A quick glance at the digital instrument cluster confirms everything is ready, and with the Outlander in EV mode, I pull away in near silence.

At the start of my drive, the display indicated an estimated 131 kilometres of electric-only range, along with a total combined driving range of 615 kilometres using both the battery and petrol engine. Those figures caught my attention knowing they would become an important part of my evaluation throughout the week.

Gliding quietly through suburban back streets before joining the main road south, the Outlander immediately feels natural to drive. Despite the silence of electric propulsion, there is nothing unusual about the experience. Throttle response is smooth, acceleration is more than adequate, and the cabin remains impressively refined.

After returning to the Adventure Rigs office following an initial 23-kilometre drive through light morning traffic, I noticed something that genuinely surprised me. Although I had only travelled 23 kilometers, the estimated electric range had fallen by 67 kilometers, while the combined range had reduced by 71 kilometers.

I struggled to explain such a significant drop, the air conditioning hadn’t been running, the route was predominantly flat aside from a short two-kilometer climb, and the driving had been relatively gentle. As this was my first experience with a plug-in hybrid, I treated it as part of the learning process rather than jumping to conclusions.

To better understand how the Outlander behaves in the real world, I decided to fully deplete the battery before continuing on hybrid power. That approach would allow me to evaluate every stage of the plug-in hybrid system and paint a more complete picture of its real-world efficiency rather than simply relying on headline figures.

I am not sure if it was just me, but from the moment I pulled away, I found myself constantly checking the Outlander’s remaining range. At first, it was driven by a little range anxiety, although before long, it became something of a game. The plug-in battery delivered an impressive 137km before it was depleted, leaving the hybrid system showing a remaining range of 533km. Naturally, I expected that number to steadily count down from there, instead, it did the exact opposite.

As I continued driving, the estimated range actually increased, by the time I returned the vehicle still with its original full tank of fuel still showing, the estimated range had climbed to 611km. So after covering 275km during my test route, the odometer had increased to 3,372km, yet I had effectively used just 4km of indicated driving range. It genuinely felt like magic, so I affectionately nicknamed the Outlander “Harry Potter.”

Every kilometre I drove seemed to add more range rather than subtract it. The trip computer reported an average fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km, but even more astonishing was the fact that the fuel gauge never moved from full. For a vehicle of this size and weight, those figures are nothing short of remarkable.

The Australian-tuned suspension deserves plenty of praise. It feels perfectly suited to South Australian roads, absorbing broken surfaces and imperfections with ease while doing an excellent job of disguising the additional weight of the plug-in hybrid battery pack. The Outlander is a genuinely comfortable mid-sized SUV that feels equally at home around town or covering long distances. Its composure extends to unsealed roads, where it impressed me more than I expected.

In fact, I often found it more enjoyable to drive on well-maintained gravel than on some of the rough sections of bitumen, where the surface and imperfections generated more cabin noise. That said, road noise does become more noticeable at highway speeds but not overly intrusive.

Initially, I assumed it might be due to substandard tyres, but Mitsubishi has fitted premium Bridgestone Alenza tyres, which are specifically engineered for luxury SUVs and crossovers. At suburban speeds, cabin refinement is excellent, with nominal tyre intrusion unless the road surface becomes particularly coarse. On unsealed surfaces, however, the Outlander remained impressively composed and quieter than expected.

Behind the wheel, the Outlander delivers a reassuring sense of refinement. The supportive, well-cushioned seats and premium cabin ambience make it feel more expensive than its price tag suggests, while impressively low wind noise, even at motorway speeds, contributes to a relaxed touring experience.

If I had one criticism and it is a relatively minor one, it would be the high-pitched whine from the electric motors once speeds climb beyond 100km/h. Once I noticed it, it became difficult to ignore, lingering quietly in the background. Fortunately, it is easily masked by normal conversation or some low-volume music, allowing the Outlander to return to the quiet, comfortable cruiser it was clearly designed to be.

I was a little disappointed by the traffic sign recognition system. Throughout the test, it seemed somewhat inconsistent at detecting changing speed limits. On several occasions it failed to recognise the variable 40km/h school zone signs that other vehicles I have recently tested identified without issue.

My suspicion is that the higher placement of these signs may fall outside the Outlanders preferred field of view. Curiously, the system had no trouble detecting 70km/h signs positioned on freeway exit ramps, even while I remained on the main carriageway, suggesting the camera’s peripheral vision is actually quite good. It wasn’t a deal-breaker, but over time I found myself relying less on the system and more on my own observations like a good old-fashioned driver from yesteryear. I have no doubt, owners would learn its quirks with continued and everyday use.

Night driving was another strong point. The subtle ambient lighting creates a pleasant atmosphere, while the head-up display remains crisp and easy to read without becoming distracting. My only concern after dark was the headlight aim, to my eyes, the low beam appeared to be angled slightly too low, limiting forward visibility more than I would have liked. I searched for a manual adjustment, both as a physical control and within the infotainment menus, but couldn’t find one during my time with the vehicle.

The lighting was perfectly adequate for suburban driving, but before tackling extended country journeys, particularly where wildlife is a concern, I would want the headlights adjusted slightly higher. The upside is that the high beam performance is excellent. I found myself using it more often than in many other vehicles I’ve recently tested, and when activated it provided outstanding illumination, inspiring confidence on darker roads.

As I have found with many electrified vehicles, maintaining a constant speed using the accelerator alone can be surprisingly difficult. The instant torque delivery makes it much easier to unintentionally creep above or below your intended speed compared with a conventional internal combustion engine.

Thankfully, the simplest solution is also one of the best features on the Outlander, its radar adaptive cruise control. Whether on the motorway or longer country drives, it effortlessly maintains a consistent speed and following distance, taking much of the effort out of cruising and keeping your speed constant.

When it comes to safety, the Outlander is equipped with the comprehensive suite of driver assistance technologies you would expect from a modern family SUV. Features including Blind Spot Warning, Lane Change Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Driver Attention Alert and the Driver Monitoring System all come as standard along with too many to list here.

One thing Mitsubishi deserves credit for is the way these systems have been calibrated. Too often, modern vehicles bombard drivers with constant warnings to the point where they become easy to ignore. The Outlander strikes an excellent balance, the alerts are noticeable without being intrusive, providing a gentle reminder when your attention drifts rather than endlessly chiming at every perceived indiscretion. It is a thoughtful calibration that enhances safety without becoming frustrating.

One of my favourite features is the Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA). As someone who spent many years cycling, I particularly appreciate technology that helps protect vulnerable road users. When reversing out of parking spaces with limited visibility, the system monitors for approaching vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians from either side, providing valuable warning before they enter your path. Combined with the digital rear-view mirror, it adds another layer of confidence in busy car parks and helps explain the Outlander’s impressive 81 per cent score for Vulnerable Road User Protection in ANCAP testing.

The digital rear-view mirror itself is an interesting inclusion, personally, I think it makes perfect sense in Utes and large SUVs where cargo can regularly obstruct the rear window. In a mid-sized SUV like the Outlander, however, it feels more like a novelty than a necessity. In all my years of driving, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have packed a vehicle so full that the conventional mirror became unusable. That said, it is standard equipment on the Exceed Tourer, and once you start playing with it, you may find yourself using it more often than expected.

Staying with the safety theme, the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Exceed Tourer carries the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating. It achieved an impressive 83 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection, 92 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, 81 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 83 per cent for Safety Assist.

Supporting those scores is an extensive list of passive safety equipment, including eight airbags as standard, dual front airbags, front side airbags, full-length curtain airbags, a front-centre airbag and a driver’s knee airbag. It is reassuring to know that the Outlander not only feels safe from behind the wheel, but its independent crash-test results confirm it delivers where it matters most.

For those intending to tow, the Plug-in Hybrid offers a respectable braked towing capacity of 1,600kg. While that’s perfectly adequate for smaller caravans, camper trailers or boats, it does fall short of the 2,000kg typically offered by an equivalent ICE mid-sized SUV. Given the additional weight of the hybrid system, the reduction isn’t particularly surprising, but it is worth considering if towing forms a significant part of your ownership plans.

Finally, Mitsubishi continues to offer one of Australia’s strongest ownership packages through its Diamond Advantage Program. The Outlander is backed by a 10-year warranty, 10 years of capped-price servicing and up to 10 years of roadside assistance, subject to the program’s terms and servicing conditions. More importantly, I feel it reflects Mitsubishi’s confidence in the engineering behind the vehicle and the strength of its dealer network. For buyers planning to keep their vehicle for the long term, it provides genuine peace of mind and makes ownership about as worry-free as it gets.

Verdict:

At $74,490 AUD, the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Exceed Tourer undoubtedly commands a premium over many of its rivals. Buyers looking purely at the price tag will notice capable alternatives such as the Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid, BYD Sealion 6 Premium and GWM Haval H6 Ultra PHEV, all of which sit in the $50,000–$52,000 AUD bracket.

However, value isn’t measured by purchase price alone. Mitsubishi has earned a reputation in Australia over decades for building dependable vehicles capable of handling some of the harshest driving conditions in the world. I know plenty of Pajero owners who wouldn’t hesitate to point the bonnet towards the outback, confident they will make it home regardless of what the terrain throws at them. That confidence has been built over generations.

I have also come across Mitsubishi models imported in the early 1960s that are still on Australian roads today, a testament to the company’s long-standing engineering philosophy and durability. Having officially operated in Australia since 1980, Mitsubishi has also established a nationwide dealer network of more than 200 locations, giving owners the reassurance that sales and aftersales support are never far away.

Ultimately, the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Exceed Tourer isn’t the cheapest option in its segment, but it offers far more than a competitive specification sheet. It combines impressive efficiency, a refined and thoughtfully designed cabin, excellent ride comfort, proven safety credentials and the reassurance of a well-established brand backed by one of Australia’s strongest ownership programs. It is a handsome, comfortable and well-engineered SUV that quietly reinforces why Mitsubishi continues to enjoy such a loyal following among Australian buyers.