Living with the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed: Long-term review

JUMP AHEAD

• Update 1: Welcome
• Update 2: Scratching the surface
• Update 3: Battle clan
• Update 4: Power war
• Update 5: The long goodbye

NEW, October 2022: Outlander PHEV long-termer arrives!

Inwood has transitioned out of the petrol Outlander and into a new Outlander PHEV. Get that long-term diary here, or continue reading our petrol Outlander long-termer coverage below.

Long-term test: Welcome

The basics

If you were to list the factors that drove people to buy the old, third-gen Mitsubishi Outlander we doubt ‘desirability’ would feature near the top. Value and a fuss-free ownership experience, plus the security of a long warranty, would likely be the primary (and very worthwhile) attractions.

So why am I so captivated by how this all-new fourth-gen model looks? I find myself turning back for a quick glance every time I park it and, honestly, if I was the kind of person to let out a low whistle of appreciation, I’d have done just that when it arrived in the Wheels garage. I know design is subjective, but to my eyes, the new Outlander is a seriously stylish family SUV.

The spec of ‘our’ long-term Outlander is especially handsome. Finished in Cosmic Blue (a $740 option), it’s the second-from-top Exceed AWD and sports a price tag of $47,990 before on-road costs.

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If that sounds a little pricey, you can slide your bum into a brand-new, front-drive Outlander ES for as little as $34,490 (plus on-road costs). The two share the same powertrain so examining whether the Exceed is worth the additional $13,500 is one of the priorities with this longer loan. Initial impressions suggest yes, but more on that soon.

We have bigger plans for the Outlander, too. Currently, the only engine/gearbox combo available across the range is the rather uninspiring 2.5-litre atmo petrol paired with a CVT. We singled this powertrain out as a weakness in a recent group test against the Kia Sportage and Subaru Forester, in which the Outlander finished in last place.

But while the atmo petrol engine is a little underwhelming, a flagship plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander is due soon. It will boast a 98kW/195Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol assisted, rather promisingly, by twin electric motors and a larger 20kWh battery pack capable of 87km of electric-only driving.

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Mitsubishi isn’t sharing total system outputs just yet, but the two motors produce 85kW/255Nm and 100kW/195Nm respectively, so performance and efficiency should both see appreciable gains. As soon as the PHEV arrives Down Under, we’ll swap this Exceed for one to see if it can deliver on that promise.

So it’s a positive start for the new Outlander, and just like the exterior, the interior has been treated to a revolutionary overhaul. This is easily the nicest Mitsubishi cabin I’ve ever sat in. The design is simple and elegant, the materials feel a step up for Mitsubishi and equipment levels are high.

Every Outlander scores wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but mid-spec variants and above gain heated leather seats, a head-up display, surround-view camera and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The digital dials are paired with a large 9.0-inch central touchscreen and while they mightn’t be the slickest systems on sale, they’re intuitive to use and feature clear graphics.

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The Exceed trim adds a panoramic sunroof, rear passenger window blinds, front-seat position memory, an excellent 10-speaker Bose sound system and tri-zone climate control.

This new Outlander shares a platform with the equally fresh and soon-to-arrive Nissan X-Trail. It’s longer and wider than before and its wheelbase has been stretched, with the result being an increased sense of cabin space.

The second row slides and folds 40:20:40, plus there’s the extra flexibility of a third row that folds neatly into the boot floor. The additional two seats are a boon, although it’s more of a 5+2 than a genuine seven-seater. In fact for family duties, overall space is adequate rather than commodious.

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We’re a young family so my wife sits in the second row to keep Baby Inwood company and behind my seating position (I’m 6ft2) her knee room is a little tight.

The boot doesn’t swallow the pram as easily as I expected, either. With the third row folded the capacity is 478 litres, so around 100L less than you get in a Toyota RAV4, and I have to fold the pram’s footrest up and angle it at 45 degrees to fit. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s starting to become a little annoying.

A minor quality concern has also appeared. The leather lining of the centre console has untucked itself where it joins with the piano black near the gear shifter.

These are small gripes, though, and so far the Outlander experience has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s certainly shifting my opinion of the nameplate. I used to consider it an SUV you bought with your head more than your heart, but this stylish new model is winning me over.

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Update 2: Scratching the surface

Welcomes to the Wheels garage don’t get much warmer than the one I gave this Mitsubishi Outlander last update.

Perhaps it was the lingering memory of the underwhelming old model that saw this fourth-gen version make such a positive impression but in virtually every metric it exceeded my expectations. Eye-catching looks, a high-quality interior, comfortable seats, loads of equipment, refined road manners… I’ll admit I was suitably impressed.

But there’s an elephant in the room that needs addressing. When we compared this new Outlander with the Kia Sportage and ageing Subaru Forester in a recent issue, the Mitsu came stone cold last.

It wasn’t a browbeating by any means – the Outlander scored high marks – but it was more a case of this new model gaining kudos as the segment’s ‘most improved’ contender rather than swooping from obscurity to be the new benchmark.

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And now, eight weeks into our long-term loan, some of those shortcomings are floating to the surface. Mostly they’re little things, the kind of niggles that only begin to grate after extended use, but that’s exactly why we run these longer loans of course.

The most persistent irritation concerns Apple CarPlay. The Outlander offers a wireless connection and when it works it’s brilliant. The centre screen is large, fast to respond and has a resolution other medium-SUV rivals can only dream of (we’re looking at you Toyota) but the downside is CarPlay only connects automatically about 50 percent of the time.

The rest of the time it either requires you to work through a few sub-menus in the ‘connections’ tab to fire it up or, most often, it just disappears altogether. The simple solution is to just use the wired connection, of course, but I hate the clutter of cables and much prefer to keep my phone in my pocket while driving.

There have been some other tech gremlins, too. The infotainment system has shut down mysteriously before completing a system reboot, the reverse camera has frozen on a black screen halfway through a parking manoeuvre and the inductive charging pad is flaky. It’ll start charging but then mysteriously stop randomly of its own accord.

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Of more concern, however, given the current price of fuel, is how thirsty the atmo 2.5-litre petrol engine is proving to be. After 1000km of city and country driving, the combined fuel reading is 9.9L/100km.

That’s a hefty increase over the official claim of 8.1L/100km, which is already higher than most rivals, and a significant jump over the RAV4 hybrid I was also testing last week. After an extended stint on our test loop, the Toyota drank 5.5L. Impressive and, in this current climate, genuinely desirable.

Then there’s the issue of how the Outlander rides. Most of the time it strikes a nice balance between comfort and control and, as we pointed out in the Outlander’s comparison loss, the damping is nicely judged.

But over poor surfaces and sharp imperfections the ride can feel sudden and fidgety. This upper-spec Exceed rolls on 20-inch wheels which could make the 18s on cheaper versions the pick if you value ride compliance in your family SUV.

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So has the shine worn off the Outlander’s bullish entrance to our long-term fleet? Not really, no. While some niggles have emerged, all of the things that impressed initially continue to do so.

And some new positives came to the fore this month, too, after a few extended drives into rural Victoria.

It’s surprisingly refined on the freeway, for example, and on twisty country roads the handling is superior to most of the Outlander’s rivals. The steering is well weighted and accurate, and even in wet conditions the chassis inspires confidence thanks to strong road holding.

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If only the powertrain was more inspiring. In the city, the combo of a four-cylinder atmo engine and CVT actually works quite well. Step-off is sharp and the Outlander moves effortlessly with the flow of traffic on medium throttle inputs.

On the open road, however, things can get vocal on hilly terrain and the roll-on acceleration lacks punch, especially when overtaking. At least the CVT doesn’t drone and it mostly avoids the usual pitfall of delivering that weird sensation where revs and road speed don’t quite align.

A few stumbles, then, but nothing that has me second guessing that positive first impression. Here’s hoping it continues because next month the Outlander will face its sternest test yet: a family of six. Time to give those rear seats a workout.

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Update 3: Battle clan

Family torture test asks some tough questions

• Price as tested: $48,629
• Km this month: 1136km @ 8.6L/100km
• Overall: 2207km @ 9.2L/100km

So far we’ve established the new-generation Mitsubishi Outlander is handsome, richly equipped and significantly better to drive than its predecessor (hefty thirst and occasionally terse ride not withstanding) but this month the Mitsu faced its sternest test to date: the Inwood clan.

They stood, shoulder to shoulder, like an ancient tribe prepped for battle, waiting for me to park the Outlander so they could clamber aboard. There were five in total and one wielded a pram, its driver slowly pushing it forward and back in a movement that somehow seemed malevolent.

The Outlander seemed unperturbed but I was worried on its behalf. We’ve loaded it to the gunwales before with bags but we’ve never had more than four people aboard. This was our first chance to deploy the third row of seats, which is one of the Outlander’s key advantages when compared with popular rivals like the Toyota RAV4 and Kia Sportage that can only seat five.

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My concern wasn’t without cause. Having sat behind my own driving positioning previously, I knew the Outlander’s second row was surprisingly tight on knee room.

And having eyeballed the gap behind the second row once it was folded and slid forward, it seemed slipping into the very back seats would be a struggle for anyone who was over 6ft or lacking in flexibility and agility.

Still, things started positively. The third row seats fold flat into the boot floor and are easy to manually flip up, although you do need to remove the enormous headrests from a cubby and install them yourself.

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We directed the clan’s most youthful member towards the back pews and she hopped in gracefully but then we hit a snag. We had hoped to keep one of the back seats folded and to slip the pram into the remaining boot space but that was proving tricky.

Things were also worryingly squishy in the second row. The sliding seat had to be inched forward to give the youth behind some semblance of leg room but this in turn compromised knee room for those in the middle row. “Can the front seats be moved forward a bit?” quickly came the request.

With some juggling we soon have everyone aboard but no-one felt they had an ideal amount of space. It was quickly agreed it’d be fine for short journeys but that our two hour jaunt into the Victorian countryside might be a stretch…

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At least those in the middle seat felt looked after. They had their own air vents, temperature control, a USB-A and USB-C port, and window blinds. The seat itself is set fairly high and offers are deep cushion so under thigh support is ample, and headroom is decent, too, thanks to a scalloped section behind the panoramic sunroof.

Things are significantly more grim in the third row. I tried to hop in to see what it’s like but a lack of headroom and zero space for my legs mean it’s strictly a kid-only zone.

And given there are no child seat mounts, or curtain airbags, it’s a kid-only zone for kids of a certain age and size. There are no air vents or USB charing ports, either, meaning the Outlander really is more of a 5+2 than a genuine seven seater.

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So the Outlander has hit its first real stumbling block. While the Inwood clan generously agreed the overall experience was deserving of a pass mark, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Mitsu sits in something of a no-man’s land when it comes to packaging.

Its third row isn’t as roomy as bigger rivals and its second row also lacks for knee room, even when it’s slid all the way back. And even with the third row folded away, the 478L boot can’t compete for load lugging ability when compared with a RAV4 (542L) or even the upcoming Nissan X-Trail (560L), with which it shares a platform.

It’s an unfortunate misstep that turns what should be a competitive advantage for the Mitsu into something of a weakness. There is one silver lining worth pointing out, though. Even with six of its seven seats filled, the Outlander’s fuel economy dropped from 10L/100km to 8.6L. Thank extended stints on quiet country roads.

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Update 4: Power war

• Price as tested: $48,629
• Km this month: 1140km @ 8.6L/100km
• Overall: 3347km @ 9.2L/100km

How much power and performance do you need in a mid-size family SUV? Given most of us are greedy buggers, it’s likely your reflex response was “as much as possible”, but consider how we use our family wheels.

Do you really need a great wallop of torque or an effervescent top-end in a vehicle whose primary function is to drop off kids, pick up the shopping and occasionally get its tyres dusty as you trundle out of town to visit Aunt Sharon? Surely fuel economy, refinement and drivability are more important measures of success?

It’s a pertinent question to ponder when it comes to the Outlander. Currently the only powertrain on offer in this fourth-generation model is a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four pot and there’s no sugar-coating it – this engine is often singled out as a weakness. “Great SUV, shame about the powertrain…” is the general consensus among my colleagues. And at first blush it’s easy to see why.

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In the great hall of powertrain parts, pairing a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with a continually variable transmission is about as uninspiring as you can get. Couple that with decidedly average outputs of 135kW @ 6000rpm and 245Nm @ 3600rpm and you can see why it’s easy to write off the Outlander’s powertrain as a bit of a dud. But are we being a touch harsh? I’d suggest we are.

Mitsubishi has developed a reputation of late for delivering cars with old platforms and dreary engines and it’s easy to let this recent run of form colour your opinion. But there’s genuine newness at play under the Outlander’s bonnet. And a decent degree of engineering nous, too.

This generation of Outlander is one of the first ‘all new’ Mitsubishis to be launched in years and it’s also a product of the Nissan/Mitsubishi alliance. That means it shares a lot of commonality with the soon-to-arrive Nissan X-Trail and the 2.5-litre engine isn’t actually an ageing Mitsu donk.

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It’s Nissan’s relatively fresh PR25DD unit which was first introduced in 2019 for the Altima in America. Despite its fairly ordinary outputs, the engine is quite high-tech and features variable valve timing, an integrated exhaust manifold, cooled exhaust gas recirculation to help reduce emissions, and a mirror coating that lines the inside of the bores to reduce friction.

There’s also a resin intake port system, which Nissan claims is a world first, that helps to keep intake temps low and increase performance and efficiency.

Sounds complicated but in practice the petrol unit feels incredibly ordinary and unobtrusive. The engine is smooth, relatively quiet on a light throttle and in everyday driving it’s impressively responsive and eager, too. The calibration of the CVT also deserves praise.

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It has eight stepped ratios and most of the time it actually feels more like a conventional torque converter auto rather than a dreaded rubber band. It shifts through the ‘cogs’ with confidence and rarely delivers that unnatural CVT sensation where your throttle position and engine/road speeds feel out of sync.

So far, so good, but it’s when you venture past half throttle that things are less convincing. Flatten the gas to complete an overtake or nip into traffic and instead of delivering the expected surge in power and propulsion, the Outlander’s powertrain mostly just makes more noise.

There’s certainly not much benefit to revving it out and it’s possible to let this lack of top-end poke define the engine’s effectiveness. But again, consider how we use family SUVs. I’ve really only explored the engine’s upper reaches on a few occasions and most of the time I hardly think about the powertrain at all, which is arguably the highest praise you can give a piece of technology.

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Of more concern, however, is how much fuel the engine is drinking. Officially Mitsu says it should be returning 8.1L/100km and while my real-world usage has been steadily dropping from around 10L to 9.2, that’s still around double what you’ll get from a RAV4 Hybrid.

Happily Mitsubishi is adding it own plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander in the coming weeks, which we’ll be slipping into soon.

So is the Outlander’s engine a weakness? Judge it in the context of its use case and against its horde of competitors, most of which use atmo 4cyl donks with similar outputs, and I’d venture that no, it isn’t. Just don’t expect it to be more than it needs to be.

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The long goodbye

• Price as tested: $48,629
• Km this month: 2899km @ 8.1L/100km
• Overall: 6246km @ 8.7L/100km

“It’s quiet, huh?” I whisper the observation to The Wife who glares at me with such venom and disbelief that I swallow nervously. It’s the early hours of Sunday morning and under the cloak of darkness we’re sneaking our way out of Melbourne.

Ahead of us lies a full day of driving; an interstate road trip that usually takes 10 hours but this time our ETA is a complete unknown. It’s our first long drive with The Baby and there’s every chance it could be hell. An entire day locked in a car with a screaming infant? No thanks.

The Outlander has been part of the <Wheels> Garage for six months now but today will undoubtedly be its sternest challenge. Family road trips are a torture test for vehicle and passengers alike, with everything from boot space to fuel economy and cabin refinement copping a degree of scrutiny that simply doesn’t happen in day-to-day driving.

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A seat that’s slightly short of legroom or lacking in lumbar support? No biggie when you’re ducking to the shops but a potential day destroyer after many hours in the saddle.

Things had started well. My comment, which had unwisely earned The Wife’s ire, had been about the Outlander’s cabin refinement. With a baby to keep asleep my attention had drifted to potential sources of noise; namely tyre roar and general NVH suppression. Finding both to be kept nicely in check, even on large 20-inch wheels at 110km/h on the freeway, I thought I’d share the good news. My mistake.

Mercifully things pass smoothly until we break for lunch. The Wife and I have been alternating between driving and sitting in the backseat to entertain the youngster and both rows of seats have measured up nicely.

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The second row slides, which has allowed me to liberate a few inches of much-needed knee room for my 6ft2 frame and you can adjust the backrest angle, too, which is handy for when you want to catch a few minutes sleep.

There are also some clever storage solutions. The door bins are decent but the backside of the front seat also includes some neat pockets which are quickly filled with rusk sticks and toys.

And there’s just enough luggage space for a young family of three (plus one dog). I’ve said previously that choosing to fit a third row of seats in the boot floor has compromised the Outlander’s packaging and I stand by that. Its second row isn’t as roomy as some others in this class and the 478L boot is about 100L less than you get in a Toyota RAV4.

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With some careful packaging, though, the Mitsu had swallowed all of our gear and any overspill was easily wedged onto the front seat or into the footwell below the baby seat. With a travel cot, pram, two suitcases and multiple soft bags, we aren’t travelling light.

The biggest revelation comes at our second fuel stop. In the cut and thrust of city traffic, the Outlander has erred on the thirsty side. Its official combined cycle claim is 8.1L/100km but I’d been getting closer to 10L per tank in the city. On the freeway, though, the Outlander hits its efficiency sweet spot. Our first refill, which still includes some urban running, delivers a consumption figure of 8.5L but the second tank returns 7.3L. Not bad.

By mid afternoon we leave The Hume behind and tackle the twistier backroads on our way to Mudgee. It’s a road we’ve driven countless times in everything from a Mazda 2 to a long wheelbase Range Rover and once again the Outlander impresses.

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Body control is kept nicely in check – hard-earned experienced says softer SUVs can cause rear passengers to feel a touch queasy – and through the twistier sections I appreciate the nicely weighted and accurate steering, which allows me to place the car confidently for smooth progress.

We hit a small speed bump with an hour to go when The Baby decides she’s had enough and starts to scream like a possessed demon but aside from some frayed nerves and sore ears the day has been a success. The Outlander managed the journey faultlessly.

It was quiet, comfortable and niggle free. Only the return journey stands between it and its departure from the long-term fleet. Next month we’ll welcome the plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander which promises to drink less fuel and offer a more premium driving experience. Let’s see if that transpires.

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NEW, October 2022: Outlander PHEV long-termer arrives!

Inwood has transitioned out of the petrol Outlander and into a new Outlander PHEV. Get that long-term diary here.

2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed specifications