I've Had The 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV For 2 Months, Here's What I Think 

Sorry for the typo in the 0-60 time. It's 6.8, not 4.3. 4.3 would be fantastic, this one is more "solid" than "fantastic."

Thanks for the review! -- I bought my 2023 Outlander PHEV (SEL Premium) 10 weeks ago - local dealer (Columbus, Ohio - USA) had 7 Outlander PHEVs on the lot. I got mine for $1,200 UNDER MSRP and the dealer gave me $31,500 for my 2018 Acura TLX -- I paid $18,000 plus tax for the Outlander. I have driven 2150 miles - have used 27 gallons of gas total (79 MPGe). I am plugging it in every night for my daily commute and weekend errands. I have taken 2 road trips of 300 miles round trip each; got 37 “mpg” using “Normal” hybrid mode for these trips. It feels "luxurious" inside -- premium leather, panoramic roof, 360 camera, power folding side mirrors, heated steering wheel, heated front AND rear seats, hands-free tailgate, head up display, Bose speakers AND massaging front seats! If I take a longer drive, I will have no "range anxiety." Plus, the Outlander has a 10-YEAR WARRANTY. ONE BIG NOTE: the owner's manual clearly states that the 3rd row is ONLY for people under 5' 3." I do not need a 3rd row, so I "tri-fold" it. This opens up a HUGE, DEEP storage well. And, I can stack duffel bag items on the folded 3rd row! The RAV4 Prime may have better overall mpg, but the 18-month wait and $12,000 "dealer adjustment" are outrageous. One local dealer wanted $65k for loaded Prime with MSRP of $52k. I did not consider Kia or Hyundai brands -- "Kia boys" have stolen 3,000 of them in my area (and assaulted drivers in the process). This is a real issue. Lastly, my home solar panels will be installed in 2 weeks. I got a level 2 charger in my garage 3 weeks ago. The Outlander PHEV is the PERFECT choice for me in 2023. Final note: 2 local dealers now have 20 Outlander PHEVs on their lots with reduced financing deals and added discounts off MSRP. Availability, luxury, value and price -- a great vehicle to "step into" electrification!

The Rav4 Prime is still commanding a HUGE markup in my part of the country. This Outlander seems like a good value in comparison.

Had my 2023 Outlander PHEV for 6 months and I LOVE it.... very comfortable, I have virtually stopped buying gas, and great value. Everything about it is very good!

We’ve had ours for 4 months and just completed a 3,000 mile road trip in it. We averaged 30 mpg in hybrid mode. It has been consistently getting between 40 to 45 miles in pure EV mode. So far so good after 4 months and 5400 miles! 😊

Alright. It's been two weeks since I obtained my outlander PHEV. And I am amazed by how efficient this SUV is. I drove it for 41 km yesterday and my EV range only dropped by 24 km. 17 km of rage was regenerated through the Regen system! When my battery is full it always shows at least of 75 km of range!

Possibly the best informed review I've seen online so far. Good work. So many "reviewers" don't take the time to understand the systems they are commenting on. One absence I note in most is comment on the S-AWC system and its active yaw control on fast corners. In high speed bends you can feel the car actually DRIVING itself around the corner using the S-AWC system rather than just the front steering input, making it feel much more confident, comfortable, and stable at speed. I have the Australian mid-tier model without the third row. All week it runs on home solar generated electricity, and for longer trips I get about 780km per tank of fuel.

I too have experienced much better mpg on hybrid only (40) than the epa figures (26). LOVE my Outlander. Never expected to buy one until the dealer (a Kia/Mitsubishi dealer) convinced me it was a better buy than the sportage.

RAV4 Prime is hard to get and too pricey. I almost bought a 2023 Outlander PHEV. The Mitsubishi dealers are much friendlier and willing to negotiate. Supply is very available. But the economy and interest rates are crap. So I kept my gas Yukon and bought a nice 2013 Nissan Leaf for $2k. It’s working great. No car payments. 👍🏼

I'd like to see you take the 3rd row out and show us this process. The overseas models in AU and NZ can be purchased (in base trims) with just two rows, and that's the configuration I'd prefer to buy in the US.

Love this content. Look forward to frequent and future updates.

For those that don't know Toyota stated the hybrid market and Mitsu started the EV market they are both equal and Japanese's technological powerhouses so you wont go wrong in choosing between the two.

The 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds is in error. It is actually 2.7 seconds.

To start in EV priority mode, I "force" it. I press start button without pressing brake pedal to be in accessory mode, then I press EV button and finally start the car with my foot on brake pedal. It seems complicated but you can do it very fast like in 1 second and then you are sure the ICE won't kick in. Mine turns on the ICE sometimes but not often and when it does, it turns off after it reaches is temperature (around 60°c)

Would really love another video update on your ownership and future plans.

I really like this car, had some experience with one lately and it’s the most luxurious Mitsubishi I feel like in at 20 years probably. I think it’s Nissan connection benefits it more than gives it drawbacks because newer Nissan models are pretty nice, and the powertrain in this is all Mitsubishi with very little Nissan involvement. I like the content on this, please do a range test and a fuel economy test!

ALEX! first off thank you for your amazing content I watch almost every video even the ones that don’t really apply to me, but please give us more content on this vehicle. We desperately need it. Thank you!

Amazing! I have a very similar commute and I think this vehicle would work perfect for me. I’m also very curious to see how it does on light off roading.

RAV4 PRIME is the gold standard in PHEV right now. Rumor has it that Toyota is working on a PHEV that will have a 90+ mile EV ONLY range. Now that is something I can live with.

Quite frankly, I think PHEVs are the future. We do not have the electrical capacity to suddenly go all EV and we don't have enough power generation even planned, to supply the demand that would create. This allows us to use EV mode for our commutes but also gives the flexibility of having a interstate traveler without range anxiety. Plus, I gotta admit that Mitsubishi really did a bang up job with the looks and interior appointments. Also, you can go today and buy this off a lot with zero markups and no supply shortage. Try that with a Prime.

More balanced review, especially with repeated comparisons to the competition. Really liked that. Focus on some of the quirks, limitations, hacks or quick fixes. Learnt a lot more about gas/electric range value interpretation. Good that you highlighted the differences on how much longer this gas engine runs for versus the competition when the EV mode is bypassed. Same for charging capabilities. Any issues with the transmission CVT shift modes? Especially when on non ashphalt or dry conditions?

Another workaround for starting in EV mode (that I've read about) is to press the engine start button without stepping on brake pedal, press EV button to enter EV mode, then step on brake pedal and push engine start button. Still would be best if Mitsubishi could just remember the EV mode setting from previous drive.

excellent review ! no other reviewers covered it like this, could you do a mazda cx90 PHEV review as well please?

Alex the 6.6 kw charger on the 2023 RAV4 Primes is standard. Both the SE, and XSE have it now.

As always you did a great video About the Rav4 Prime, it only takes about 15.5 kw to fully charge and 2.5 hourv

I am in love with the Velcro Flap in the cargo area to hide your things. Gave me a very hardy laugh. 😅

Generally a very good report, thanks. One point I've never seen mentioned is the more relaxing drive of the Mitsubishi PHEV due to it's not having a gearbox, auto or manual. Just electrical switching (presumably) for forward or reverse, no variable ratios. By comparison, a Kia PHEV I test drove was noisier and less relaxed due to its CVT box, which the clever design of the Mitsubishi system makes un--necessary. The combination of two motors, active yaw control and no gearbox may be unique, and it certainly handles well for its weight on a twisty back road. I bought mine four years ago, so far no problems, and I'd like to replace with the new model except, to my personal taste, the new design is uglier. Also, at 5 foot eight, standing by the driver's door I wouldn't feel properly dressed without a chauffeur's cap.

To minimize the engine start you could try using lower regen modes. The gen.4 Outlander PHEV starts the engine if the battery is approximately more than half full and B3 or higher regen mode is used. The gen.3 version did not have this issue.

Thanks for the review. I just got PHEV 2023 VRX recently. Do you experience any rubber burning smell when you are in charge mode?

What's up with that 0-60 time? I've tested the acceleration before and there's no way it could've been under 6 seconds!

10:11 - No, not a skyscraper. That's how pedals look, Alex :D

I'll give you a free advise that Mitsi sales people doesn't even know. If you were to drive on long journeys, save the battery till you are near you destination. Your fuel economy will be better by up to 40%. This is because the generator (ice will have to work harder when your battery is depleted while you still require power on your journeys for hills, high speed, overtaking etc. While you select SAVE mode and ECO the vehicle will act as economy hybrid and use small efforts to maintain the drive battery that still plenty charged. The EV mode is designed for city driving. But for long travel in SAVE mode, the drive battery act as a support for the generator and share its load. draining the drive battery to low while you still require higher power demand on highway driving , hills etc will just force your ICE to work harder to maintain the drive battery to deliver enough power to the driveline.

Hey Alex, not sure if you've done this comparison yet, but 2024 Outlander (non hybrid) vs 2024 Sportage (non hybrid) mid trim levels with leather, which would you buy personally?

I'm a later adopter of new technology. Just bought my first smart TV yesterday. Hopefully my 2013 CRV will last 2 more years which is when I think you'll get better deals on EV's

If I wanted a 3 row PHEV with off-road capabilities or just AWD I’d consider the Outlander, but if the 3rd row was very important I’d go for the Pacifica PHEV. I wanted the PHEV with the best EV capabilities so I chose the Prime. It’s as efficient as advertised and I only use gas when I go out of town. I think there are more differences in how these PHEV SUV’s function than the ICE EV’s when comparing different manufactures, so it’s worthwhile researching them and figuring out which matches your priorities. If you have plenty of money, Volvo makes the XC 90 Recharge which has a lot of power in hybrid mode, 32 miles of range and 3 rows.

Really well balanced review and informative to boot. My wife’s workplace has bought the same vehicle for business travel (CDN fed Government) They literally have an online orientation for driving it. For me, I am not sold on EV’s period although a little more open to Hybrids. It is funny how people just ignore the cost of charging but again I am not sold on Hybrid either. If possible, our next car will either be a fuel efficient mid size SUV say VW Tiguan. I wish we could think more broadly and look to a more diverse set of fueling options. Synthetic fuels, Hydrogen, and yes Electric as well. Thinking about all of the environments a car has to work in, it makes more sense to have access to those other fueling systems to meet our functional requirements re Cold Weather, commercial vehicles, aircraft, etc. Funny enough, I have a lot of concern for how these batteries are asselmbed and the incredible amount of resources required to build one. The impact on the environment is horrific and not much so said about that but it is there. The current crop of batteries are also incredibly expensive to replace with a lifespan that would assume you sim0ly keep it to the end of the lease and get rid of it. I prefer to keep a car longer than that and current batteries either crap out or become dramatically less efficient as they age. Oh well lots of downfalls in current state of development so I am likely to stick with my ICE powered car.

I have it for 3 months now drove 4000 km amd average 1.5L/100km.

Thanks you did actually shown me a trick... for the heating activation deactivation trick... I've had mine for 3 months and did only one full tank. But I had the previous model and find the gas engine is running only half of the time it used to take to heat itself... so I'm still happy about it even if you say it runs for a while. To be honest... my dealership was very bad... they had a bad knowledge of the car.. example: he told me I would have to go in the console to unlock the charging port in order to remove the charge gun... how stupid... unlocking with the key fob does the trick... So I'm super happy about this 2023 model. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Cool car, but I wish Mitsubishi would make a real off road vehicle, like they used to!

How is the reliability? I am considering the RAV4 hybrid (non-prime) but I wouldn't mind the added space of the Outlander.

Very nice review. Pls do a full comparison with cx-90 and explain cvt system

my commute is just inside of the 60 km range at 48 kms. If I exceed the range later in the day? Still happy to get the bulk of the range covered. Fits perfectly and this one is at that top of the list for the new year's purchase. Thanks for the information.

try driving in the b5 mode with minimal break usage. use eco mode. if you're going over 45mph then use save or charge depending on the state of charge of the battery, this is to make it use its engine to directly power the wheels which is more efficient at these speeds. the electric driving is best for the city with traffic, so you should have enough battery for the city after going on the highway. this car is programmed to go on battery for long as it can so you need to decide to charge up on the highway if you don't have enough for the city traffic.

I'm curious to know how your opinion would change if you could charge at home and at work. That is the situation I'm in. I have a garage to charge at home and there are 110v plugs at work.

When Light off-roading what are your thoughts about the level of protection of the battery? I'd Hate to have a Hyundai battery experience a couple customers in Canada have had recently.

I have owned this car since December and foind out the EV priority is done a little different. Only turn on the vehical to accessory mode without pressing the break. Select EV mode then proceed to press start with your foot on the break. This makes all the difference in the world. The ICE will not come on even in very cold weather or hard acceleration. Granted you will be freezing as the heat pump will not keep up but at least you have an option.

Saw the 0-60 of 4.3s and for a moment thought about selling my 2023 S4 for a Mitsubishi.... Then you said 6.8s which made more sense

the karma revero has a DC Combo and is a plug in hybrid so 3

Good info..thanks 👍!

Great review. Agree with Alex's opinion about the front end styling. IMO, if Mitsu did away with the odd chrome strips that run along each side of the grille down to the headlights, it would look really good.

Nice update, but really surprised Alex doesn’t mention the Escape PHEV when rattling off competitors. It is the most efficient PHEV in the class! Not everyone needs AWD…

I recently drove the new outlander, (non phev) and was really impressed by the overall driving dynamics and interior quality. HUGE step up from last gen outlander and particularly outlander sport. I would buy it over the rogue 100%. Perhaps the Nissan 3cyl turbo will come soon?

0-60 in 4.3 from a 248hp heavy SUV? Couldn’t do this with a 248hp ND Miata that weighs 2300 lbs!

I like your review of the Outlander - very informative. But for that stupid 3rd-row, I'd be a potential buyer - perhaps in a later year they'd take your suggestion & make it an option. But can you share anything about the life of CHAdeMO charging - will it be around in the coming years? I've read that it's not favored in the industry. If true, then that's another design mistake. Thanks for your time.

I love you reviews.

what is the real world mileage on a say 400 mile trip? Once we cross 38 miles, does the mileage drop to 27 or Mitsu hybrid gets better mileage?.

The is an error on the gas engine liters. It is a 2.4L (4B12) Mitsubishi engine.

Question for Alex: I thought the PHEV used Mitsubishi's 2.4 engine rather than Nissan's 2.5? Or was that only in the last-gen Outlander PHEV? Anyway, the fact that this operates more as a serial hybrid is interesting, and I think that would be my preference. Regardless, I don't see the point of worrying about the gas hybrid mileage if you are in EV mode enough to only need to fill up with gas twice in 2 months. As an owner of a 2018 [non-hybrid] Outlander, I think Mitsu was wise to keep the standard 3rd row, it's a good differentiator for them. And the "tweener" vehicle size is also pretty unique, so again it's a differentiator.

You don't have to let the battery depletes completely before going to hybrid mode! That's what that save button is for!!! Put it in SAVE mode with battery around 50% and your MPG will bump up SIGNIFICANTLY!

Ha - you had that a mere 2 months (at the time of doing the video) I had my Mitsi Delica 4wd for EIGHTEEN YEARS You did in 2 months about 2500 miles. In my 18 years I wound up slightly shy of half a million kms. I have zero doubt, that after about 10 - 15 years and well over 300,000 miles/k's or whatever, you will be at the stage I was with my Delica - still being surprised at little things, and destroyed by one huge thing. My 5th gear "shattered" one day - end of transmission and end of vehicle as my Mitsi dealer could NOT find another 4wd gearbox to suit (well that was his statement), and left me with a pile of bits and a dead vehicle. Since then I had another "fill-in" vehicle (an old Legnum) before getting my 4wd Mitsi Outlander, and have already put over 20,000 km on it in less than 3yrs. And am still discovering things about it. Thus: You, after 2 months and stuff all miles, haven't even "RUN-IT-IN" yet, so stop snivelling and don't do another video on the car - until at least five years and a hundred thousand miles have slipped by.

I wished they had put something like Cosworth Catalytic Generator in this as a range extender instead of a 2.4L 4 cylinder. It could serve the almost same function with less moving parts, less emissions, and far less fuel used.

It's better looking than the Rogue, IMO, and I like that it has a much better warranty. The 3rd row is a joke. Utterly pointless. It would be better to not have it at all for the additional cargo space. I'm not sure that the extra cost of buying the hybrid and the extra long-term repair costs are outweighed by the better fuel economy.

Let the diamods develop, when it is good enough, surprise me like the 5th gen Lancer evo used to...Alex is fine man...a NYC fans.. here

I bought a new Venza 2 years ago and still love it. No one makes a better hybrid system than Toyota. No one. Fuel efficient, seamless operation and bulletproof reliability. While the latest rage is PHEV, I suggest a regular HEV for most people. PHEV units often has a big price difference whereas Toyota only charges about $2000 more for their hybrid option (vs regular gas).

Most offices limit EV charging to 4 hours, and it’s good etiquette to not hog a charger all day.

Neat, I wish they'd do something similar to the Outlander Sport.

I was waiting for a comment about the camera system because that will be the first thing I check out when considering this model. We bought the 2018 PHEV and loved it so much that we also bought the 2020 model PHEV GT with the upgraded techno package including more cameras etc. The 2018 is the base model and has an excellent backup camera however the upgraded 2020 model camera has the birds eye view display where you can’t turn it off so therefore the backup display is only half the size of screen which isn’t very large anyway plus the resolution is about like a 1965 color TV. It’s actually so dark and murky at times that it’s not really usable. I’ve complained to the service desk each time I go in for an oil change and they say it’s working normally and they agree it’s odd that you can’t adjust the resolution or turn off the birds eye view. We bought both cars back when they were discounting them from 7-10,000 off MSRP plus they qualified for a federal tax credit of 5800 each so I was happy about that and as the majority of our trips are

Hi there, thanks for making this video. It was very useful. I just got a question as based on some issue that I found it from online from some customer. While driving on high speed does the hood of the car shakes or vibrates?

Hey guys, I live in Canada and saw a lot of complaints about the heat taking a lot of time to warm up in winter. Did you guys have the same issue?

Has anyone found a Tesla adapter for Chaedemo or CCS to Chademo? Might be good to have one on have in case.

The Mercedes S Class and GLE PHEVs can option a 60 kW CCS fast charger.

I’m still looking for a replacement for my 2021 Rav4 Prime. I think the upcoming CX-70 PHEV might be the one. Hopefully Mazda can work out the kinks on the all-new 8-speed tranny by the time the CX-70 comes out. As far as the Outlander PHEV is concerned, I gave it a very brief look, but quickly decided it wasn’t the one for me. The front end looks horrible from my perspective and will not age well. Also, in hybrid mode, the mpg isn’t that good. Getting 40mpg in hybrid mode in my Prime has made me picky and it seems the upcoming CX-70 PHEV will get close to that figure.

Sold ! 👍👍

I am happy with my outlander.

Just checking.. everything I saw ( motorweek, Motortrend & Autoblog )is saying its a 2.4L N/A 4 not 2.5? is that a typo or ?

Hey Alex, I had to do a double take on the 0-60 time for this thing. Holy cow people will be flocking to buy this sleeper.

never floor a mitsubishi from a dead stop for fast acceleration.... theres a safety feature that dampens acceleration as it beleive that the sudden accelerate was accidental as well as protecting the transmission. best to select sport/ tiptronic mode then once you press gas pedal it will accelerate rapidly... it will also accelerate rapidly if its been driven hard as it will still be in the mode even after short stop... it basically adapts to your driving style

Confused about the low gas efficiency when some say they only filled up once in 6 months? Please explain again.

One of the best things about the Tucson PHEV I have found is the faster charging and the 'sized right' battery. If I have a number of local errands in a day stopping back at home or at a local Level 2 plug, can quickly recharge the 13 kwh battery on a 240 plug (1 hr 45 min roughly from 0-100%). Can also plug in overnight to the 110V plug and that charges in 10-11 hours. Worth noting that the Santa Fe PHEV and Sorento PHEV also take considerably longer to charge on a Level 2. Also worth noting that 95% of trips taken in US are under 31 miles.

4.3 to 60? I’m down 😂😂

Can you still get a Hybrid not Plug in? Is great to have a plug-in but thats mostly if you own your house Im deft looking for a 3rd road seat but living in NYC looking for the best gas mileage. Great video

does this outlander have the same platform and suspension with Nissan rougue? anybody knows about it?

Too bad they don't make a 2 row, more off-road oriented version. I would be interested in that...

Does it have a camping mode?

Good review as usual. Not certain I’m sold on PHEV concept. Perhaps I could live with this with a 16 hour full charge time, but I think car manufacturers should really consider faster charging at 120 V. Otherwise, one would have to spend $1500 to $2000 to run a 240 V circuit in the garage (assuming one has such). I think the drive train offered by EV’s is superior to ICE but the charging infrastructure is still lagging. Also, towing tends to yield worst efficiency than ICE (looking at overall reduction in range).

I'd take this over the RAV4 Prime.

When is the next video update scheduled?

Why do you press the P button before turning the car off? The car does it automatically when you turn it off.

Looks a lot like a Subaru but larger...? any connection to Subaru? I know Mitsubishi is a huge company, they make large ships and a lot more. I like the Mitsubishi Outlander, just have to compare price and reliability to other brands in the same group. thanks for the video.

What car lets you keep Auto Brake Hold on besides EV's? My X3 does not, maybe cause it is older, but best options ever!

The Ford Escape has some oddities to it's EV only mode as well. It will stay in it's last setting through shutting off the car, but if it's below 33F, it starts the gas engine. Unless you go into accessory mode first, reselect EV only, then it keeps the engine off down to 5F. I've also seen it give the message in accessory mode (so "engine off") saying it's started the engine for system performance... very odd. I'll give props to Tesla for their updates, I don't see ford doing any unless it's a legal liability to them.

Does the charge ports door , have the ability to be locked, to prevent someone else from accessing it ?

This is the only Alex's video that I don't watch. Just hit the like button. And jump to the comment section here. I do like Mitsubishi Triton the midsize *truck* but I hate mitsubishi's *car* of any model ☹️ 😄😄😅

That Hybrid MPG is probably a deal breaker for me. Replace CHAdeMO with CCS. L2 speeds need to be higher. Offer a 3rd row delete. Bring the Rogue e-POWER to North America!

So after you've climbed a hill or accelerated or what have you, how long does it indeed take for the gas engine to turn back off?

the biggest issue with buying a mitsubitshi is that there are very few of their dealerships around. that means getting any dealership level services will be a hassle.

Is it the 2022 or 2023 ? Your headline says 2023 but in the beg. of video it states 2022. Please clarify

Note on complaints that engine runs offen. Plugin hybrid engines that don't run often rust and gasoline gets into oil to much. That running of ICE maintains the engine in good condition.

Rav4 prime is a good comparaison, no mark up in canada but it’s a 3 years wait. How does the outlander phev only get a C grade for fuel economy? The jeep wrangler 4xE barely gives you 25 miles.

I’ve had my RAV4 Prime for two years and find nothing here to top it , at least in my situation. The Prime always starts out in electric mode and I can switch back and forth with the engine with a push of a button. The hybrid engine mpg is impressive as well as the electric range being far greater , at least in the summer. It comes with a spare but no silly third seat that only gets in the way (it appears). I don’t take it off-road, I have a twenty year old Outback for that duty. And since I live in a small town with a dealer that values its customers, I was able to purchase it at MSRP.