2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer Review

Plug-in Hybrids have been around for over 10 years now, and represent a pretty logical option for people who want a lot of the perks of EV ownership without having to completely kiss goodbye to reliance on our deceased Dinosaur ancestors. The 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander was the original of these Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and so today we are taking a look at the latest and greatest, top-spec Exceed Touring to see if Mitsubishi is still pioneering the way in this segment. 

This includes a look at the additional 3rd row of seats (available on the PHEV Exceed and PHEV Exceed Touring), we’ll be seeing how the luxury and technology hold up, as well as testing out the 0-100km/h launch to see if this refined hybrid powertrain can meet Mitsubishi’s claims.

How much does the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring cost?

The 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV range comes in at around $17,000 dearer than its petrol engine counterparts, starting at $55,490 for the ES five-seat variant, increasing to $61,990 for the Aspire five-seat variant, with the Exceed seven-seater coming in at $67,490 and the Exceed Touring seven-seat topping the range at $69,990 (all prices excluding on roads).

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What do we think of the exterior looks of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

The Outlander PHEV range comes in a few different colour options, with the basic White colour available as a no-cost option. We had one of the Premium metallic paint colours - Black Diamond - on our test car, which is an extra $940 on the Exceed PHEV, but a No Cost Option on the Exceed Touring. The car just glitters in the sun, and it’s a very classy look, in my opinion.

Sharing many parts with the new Nissan X-Trail, in fact being almost dimensionally identical means that the Mitsubishi Outlander has a pretty squared-off front end, with a large, mostly blocked-off black grille, with some air intakes at the bottom for the petrol engine.

The daytime running lights come in two parts, a slim LED light at the top combined with a bright indicator, and a small LED light just below the high-beam lighting unit which sits about halfway up the front of the car. The 

The Mitsubishi badges at the front and rear are almost outshone by the massive “Plug-in Hybrid EV” badges on the side, signifying the more expensive variant. The Aspire, Exceed, and Exceed Touring trims also get the larger 20-inch alloys with a two-tone metallic finish. Mitsubishi offers a large selection of genuine decals and finish options to spruce up the exterior looks of your Outlander. Every colour option of the Exceed Touring also comes with a two-tone roof as standard, our Diamond Black example has a dark bronze roof, which also houses a large panoramic sunroof.

Keyless entry and go is standard across the range. The second and third-row occupants also benefit from pretty heavily factory-tinted privacy glass on the sides and rear windshield. At the front, side mirrors, and rear of the car are cameras that are used by the 360-degree surround camera system, and they are barely visible against the black body colour.

There is quite a large rear overhang, due to the platform needing to accommodate up to 7 seats, with the rear also having a fairly squared-off look, with a spoiler to top it off. Strangely, despite having a petrol engine there are no exhausts visible at the rear, making the car look like an EV from the rear.

Mitsubishi hasn’t reinvented the wheel with the 2023 Outlander Plug-in Hybrid, giving it a bit of an understated look, though the differences between the trim levels become more apparent as you move up in the range, with the Exceed Tourer definitely looking the part atop the rest, with its machine-finished alloys and two-tone roof design.

What’s the interior and connectivity like of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

The interior is seriously nice, with a few caveats. First up, the quilted Nappa leather seats look like they belong in a lounge, they are accented with brown stitching and come with heating and lumbar massage elements which are oh-so-nice. Not to mention, they have full every-which-way electric adjustment with memory function.

The leather and quality materials continue for most of the cabin. You can actually option the Exceed Tourer with grey leather, though I think the black with brown accenting is the way to go. We get a leather-wrapped dash, and the centre armrest is padded with soft brown leather, as are the door armrests. This is a quality place to be and a pretty big departure from some of the other Mitsubishi products I’ve experienced.

Up ahead of the driver is a leather steering wheel which is a little bit harder than the leather used in the rest of the cabin, and you get a bright, clear digital instrument cluster that displays plenty of information, including fuel efficiency (which is usually amazing), and other interesting insights such time spent in EV mode and energy transfer graphics. We also get a heads-up display that also shows the speed limit from the Traffic Sign Recognition system.

The infotainment display is where this car falls down compared to competitors, it is a pretty responsive and sharp 8-inch display, but the Mitsubishi Connect UI is starting to look pretty aged with some elementary graphics. That being said, we do get wireless Apple Carplay and unfortunately, Android Auto is wired only. The massive piano black bezels around the screen certainly make it look smaller and detract from it overall.

The premium 9-speaker Bose sound system is a nice touch, though I did find the sound to be a little tinny, and despite the mostly soft-touch materials in the cabin, I did pick up on some vibrations from the sub-woofer in the back. 

Connectivity is great, with USB-C and USB-A ports up front, and a wireless phone charger plus a 12V socket. Storage is also pretty good, with a good-sized glovebox, door bins and some storage in the centre armrest, and a couple of cupholders as well. The climate controls can be accessed through the physical dials below the infotainment display and can also be alternatively used through the screen. 

We get a massive panoramic roof that stretches along most of the length of the car

Overall, the quality of the materials was surprisingly good, with comfortable and ergonomic seats, and practical storage and connectivity options, so it is hard to fault!

What about the Back seats of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

The back seats are - thankfully - also a good story. Rear occupants get stadium-style seating so they’ll be perched up high and able to see over the front occupant's heads. The seats are still the same quality quilted Nappa leather material as up front, with some bolstering, and a central fold-down armrest that is soft leather, with a couple of cupholders. This also exposes a pass-through to the third row or boot. The second-row seats also get heating elements and can slide forward a dramatic distance (to accommodate passengers in the third row).

You also get a third zone of climate controls in the back, which is good to see, and storage is also practical, with three mat pockets on both front seats and decent door bins. This is all very good news for people looking to purchase this as a family SUV, some more good news is that connectivity is good in the back as well, with USB-A and USB-C ports, as well as an AC power adapter (using Mitsubishi’s V2X system) which can offload power from the Hybrid battery to be used by appliances.

To go with the luxury theme, backseat passengers can also raise a sunshade and enjoy absolute privacy, without feeling claustrophobic due to the airiness provided by the panoramic sunroof. I’m impressed!

What about the 3rd Row of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

Now this is definitely meant for emergency situations only. Firstly, in order for you to get any legroom in the third row, the second-row passenger needs to be almost touching the driver’s seat. Secondly, toe room doesn’t exist. Thirdly, if you are an average-sized adult, headroom doesn’t exist either.

This could work for small kids, but anybody over the age of 10 is probably going to have a miserable time back there.

How much can it fit in the boot of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

The boot is surprisingly spacious in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 7-seater, and due to the high and wide aperture, you will be able to fit large items even with all rows of seats upright.

With all three rows up you get 128L of boot space, and with just the second row up you get 463L capacity, expanding to 1480L with five seats down.

Some notable additions in the boot are the 1500W AC V2X port which can power most household appliances and some small under-floor storage.

What’s under the bonnet of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

Powering the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV range is a combination of a super-efficient, 2.4-litre naturally aspirated inline 4-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 96kW/195Nm to the front wheels, with two electric motors, one on each axle. This hybrid power train delivers a combined power output of 185kW and 450Nm of torque to all four wheels via a transaxle CVT.

The electric motors receive power from a 20kWh hybrid battery pack so the claimed EV-only range is 84km. Claimed fuel consumption is 1.5L/100km.

How does the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring drive?

Firstly, the drive modes actually make a massive difference to the driving characteristics of this car. From Power mode, delivering maximum power and torque from the electric motors to Eco mode, limiting the revs from the petrol engine, you will literally feel like you are driving two different Mitsubishi Outlanders. 

My initial impression, in normal mode, was that the car was pretty responsive in traffic, with the switch from EV power to petrol power smooth due to the clever gearing that Mitsubishi is using in this PHEV lineup. When I took it on the highway, I did notice some engine noise caused by the CVT, but I was impressed by the lack of road noise and the comfort of the seats.

Without access to a charger at home, my Hybrid battery lasted about 2 days. During this time, my fuel efficiency was about 1.7L/100km. After this, it went up as high as 7L/100km, averaging about 5L/100km over my week of testing. All this, from a single charge.

I was most excited about testing its 0-100km/h launch. I managed to clock it at 7.77 seconds from a standing stop, which blew way past Mitsubishi’s claimed time of 8.2 seconds. Where the Outlander PHEV blew me away the most was on the back roads, though.

This thing handles surprisingly well for a medium-sized SUV, and I was surprised at the amount of mechanical grip I was getting from those 20-inch alloy wheels. This could be due to Mitsubishi’s “Super All-Wheel Control” for its AWD models, that essentially acts as a torque vectoring system, helping by braking the inside wheel around a corner.

This gave the car a very playful, nimble feel on the back roads, with a smooth and satisfying power delivery out of the corners. In Power mode, the torque pulls hard from the electric motors, especially in the lower speed ranges where EVs usually shine.

Then you add in that efficient inline 4-cylinder engine and you have yourself a very capable and refined power train that, for me, was a gift that kept on giving.

So what wasn’t I overly impressed with, to warrant not giving this 10 points? Well, two main areas; the suspension tuning and lane-centering assist function. Firstly, going over bumps at any sort of speed can be a little uncomfortable, with the suspension crashing hard, and then bouncing high while coming out of the hole at any high speed, with lots of vibration making its way into the cabin. I believe this could be resolved with some specific tuning on Australian roads, like other manufacturers have done in the past.

Lastly, I couldn’t get the lane centering assistance to work properly, it would only intervene well after I had departed the lane, and so was more of a lane departure warning, than anything else. This was a little frustrating on long drives but I quickly got used to it.

Overall, apart from those two minor criticisms, it is very hard to fault such an excellent drive-train on a car that is now entering its 10th year of existence. Mitsubishi have done a great job pioneering the way with plug-in Hybrid Technology and as such, it is one of the best driving Mitsubishis - and medium-sized SUVs, in general - that I have driven.

How does the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring perform off-road?

While not being a full-blown 4WD, it is an All-Wheel-Drive due to the front and rear electric motors and has the following off-road drive modes available, in addition to the on-road drive modes:

• Gravel
• Mud
• Snow

Is the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring Safe?

The Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV has a 5-star ANCAP safety rating for all petrol, diesel, and PHEV models built since July 2021, scoring a respectable 92% for Child Occupant Protection, and 83% for Adult Occupant Protection.

The Outlander PHEV range comes with the following safety kit as standard:

• Front collision early warning
• Autonomous emergency braking

• Including pedestrian, and cyclist detection
• Junction assist
• Reverse autonomous emergency braking

• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Blind-sport monitoring
• Traffic sign recognition
• Adaptive cruise control
• Driver Attention Monitoring
• Lane-keep assist (steering wheel vibration and warning, braking)

The Exceed and Exceed Tourer specs add the following features:

• Traffic Jam assist
• Lane-keep assist with steering (doesn’t work well from experience)

How much can the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring tow?

The Plug-in Hybrid EV Outlander still retains the same braked towing capacity of 1600kg as the rest of the Mitsubishi Outlander lineup.

How much does the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring cost to service?

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. If you service exclusively at a Mitsubishi dealership, they extend your standard 5-year, 100,000km warranty to 10 years or 200,000km.

The prices for the first 10 years of servicing are as follows:

• 12 months/15,000km: $349
• 24 months/30,000km: $399
• 36 months/45,000km: $349
• 48 months/ 60,000km: $399
• 60 months/75,000km: $349
• 72 months/90,000km: $749
• 84 months/105,000km: $449
• 96 months/120,000km: $749
• 108 months/135,000km: $449
• 120 months/150,000km: $849

Final thoughts - should you buy a 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed Touring?

With a couple of tweaks to the ride comfort, an update to the infotainment display and UI, as well as some improvements to the lane-centering assist, I would have absolutely nothing to complain about with this car.

The Outlander PHEV range has something for every one who is looking for a capable mid-sized family SUV, and with the higher trims Exceed and Exceed Touring offering All-wheel-drive and fantastic driving performance, you can expect to see a lot of these in Outback Australia as fuel prices continue to rise. 

Technology, comfort, and practicality were all surprisingly good, and make this thing a total package, plus the 10-year warranty is a great bonus!