2025 Mitsubishi Outlander review | CarExpert

In a single fell swoop, the Outlander mid-sized SUV will quickly be considered one of Mitsubishi’s few remaining fashions on sale in Australia.

The company is set to axe the present ASX, Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport from its lineup as a consequence of them not complying with a brand new Australian Design Rule (ADR) associated to autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that comes into pressure from March 1, 2025.

This implies the Outlander, together with the Triton ute, might want to pull much more weight for the model when it comes to its gross sales quantity within the coming months earlier than the brand new Renault Captur-based ASX arrives.

Fortuitously, the Outlander goes from energy to energy for Mitsubishi. Final 12 months, the Japanese model offered 27,613 examples of the favored mid-sized SUV in Australia, which was a brand new file. It was additionally sufficient for it to slip into the top five best-sellers list general for the primary time ever.

The Mitsubishi Outlander has been round for a couple of years now in its present, fourth-generation kind. It was first revealed and arrived in Australia in 2021, and since then there have been a number of minor spec tweaks and new trim ranges launched.

WATCH: Paul’s video evaluate of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Exceed

Like its pioneering predecessor, it’s nonetheless obtainable with seven seats and both a petroleum engine or a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) system – a powertrain sort supplied by lower than a handful of mainstream mid-sized SUVs.

On take a look at right here, nevertheless, is a kind of newer petrol variants, which was first launched in 2023. Initially dubbed the LS Black Version, this car is now referred to as merely the Black Version.

Based mostly on the LS, the seven-seat Black Version does what its identify suggests – it beneficial properties an entire heap of black exterior and inside trimmings. It additionally provides heated microsuede and fake leather-based trimmed seats with electrical adjustment for the motive force.

The Outlander competes within the largest and most hotly contended new-car segments in Australia. Is it nonetheless price contemplating? Learn alongside to search out out.

How does the Mitsubishi Outlander examine?

View an in depth breakdown of the Mitsubishi Outlander in opposition to equally sized automobiles.

Mitsubishi

Outlander

How a lot does the Mitsubishi Outlander price?

The Outlander Black Version is $1750 dearer than the one-up-from-base LS trim it’s primarily based on.

Regardless of this, at $42,990 earlier than on-road prices, it’s nonetheless extra inexpensive than plenty of equal seven-seat medium SUV rivals, just like the Honda CR-V VTi X7 ($47,300 drive-away) and Nissan X-Trail ST-L 7-seat AWD ($47,565 earlier than on-roads).

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

What’s the Mitsubishi Outlander like on the within?

Due to its elevated trip top, it’s straightforward to get out and in of the Outlander. You don’t must step up or down to take action, however quite step in and swivel your hips to get comfy.

When you’re in, it feels such as you’re in an even bigger automobile than it truly is. The dashboard is excessive, plus the best way the bonnet is formed makes you’re feeling such as you’re driving a big SUV.

For some, this big-car really feel might be interesting because it provides you a commanding driving place, nevertheless, for others it could be bit intimidating.

In comparison with the LS trim stage, which makes do with material upholstery, the Black Version picks up seats completed in microsuede upholstery with fake leather-based on the bolsters. They’re truly nicer than full leather-based seats as a result of they don’t get so scorching within the hotter months.

The driving force’s seat is comfy and squishy, but it additionally provides sufficient aspect bolstering to safe you properly. As customary, there are six methods of electrical adjustment, together with a beneficiant quantity of thigh help. That is significantly good for taller people.

As well as, each entrance seats are heated, which is uncommon in seats which are leather-appointed. They didn’t get a lot use, nevertheless, given how scorching it’s been in Melbourne just lately.

Forward of the motive force is an extremely thick leather-wrapped steering wheel, which feels good within the hand and has perforations to permit your palms to breathe and never get sweaty.

All of the buttons on the steering wheel have a tactile click on or push motion and are logically positioned, although the button to activate the adaptive cruise management takes a bit to search out and get used to. It doesn’t appear to be a typical cruise management icon, however is as an alternative one which exhibits a automobile surrounded by a variety of curved traces.

Behind the steering wheel is a pair of analogue dials for the engine and highway speeds, bookending a 7.0-inch digital driver’s information show. It’s not a high-tech setup, which for some could also be a profit, however the dials are very straightforward to learn and perceive.

The digital cluster itself is high-resolution and has a variety of informative pages you’ll be able to cycle by way of utilizing the steering wheel scroll wheel and buttons.

Transferring throughout, there’s a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that does look a bit on the smaller aspect now. This isn’t helped by the big piano black bezels across the touchscreen itself. Many rivals are getting bigger screens decrease down within the vary, together with the associated Nissan X-Path, which has a 12.3-inch touchscreen from ST-L stage up.

However the touchscreen appears high-resolution and has loads of processing energy. This implies it activates shortly at startup, and new pages load snappily.

The infotainment system provides each wired and wi-fi types of Apple CarPlay, although it solely helps wired Android Auto.

With my iPhone 15 Professional Max linked wirelessly, I didn’t expertise any dropouts by any means. That is stunning as a result of plenty of automobiles typically battle with smartphone connectivity when travelling by way of toll cubicles, for instance.

Not like earlier Outlanders I’ve pushed, the wi-fi charger on this automobile truly charged my telephone properly. That is stunning given there’s no grip to safe the telephone and no air flow to make sure your telephone doesn’t overheat.

The touchscreen infotainment system additionally comes with in-built satellite tv for pc navigation, which is simple sufficient to make use of and useful if it’s worthwhile to navigate with out telephone service. Regardless of this, I nonetheless discovered it simpler to make use of Google Maps through smartphone mirroring as an alternative.

Trying across the cabin, it’s befitting that this Outlander trim stage known as the Black Version. There’s a sea of black finishes, which is a bit boring to me personally. And disappointingly, there’s loads of piano black materials in lots of frequent touch-point areas, like on the centre console across the gear selector, which will get dirty shortly and scratches when cleaned.

Fortunately, there are nonetheless a lot of soft-touch finishes in areas just like the armrests. It’s additionally good the small shift-by-wire gear selector is completed in leather-based, although our just about brand-new tester was already growing some ripples. This doesn’t converse properly for long-term sturdiness.

Storage up entrance is pretty beneficiant for a mid-sized SUV. Along with the wi-fi charger, there are two cupholders, a decently sized centre console bin and glove field, in addition to sizeable door pockets that may simply match massive bottles.

Transferring to the second row, there’s loads of area when the seats are pushed all the best way again. Leg, head and shoulder area are all high-quality for me behind my very own driving place, even at a leggy 182cm.

Two adults can simply match within the second row, and even pushing it to 3 isn’t too uncomfortable as the ground doesn’t have a large driveline hump.

The second row each slides and reclines, which permits for extra second-row consolation or to permit area for passengers within the third row. Once you do the latter, nevertheless, the quantity of legroom turns into significantly much less.

By way of second-row facilities, there are centre console-mounted air vents, USB-A and -C ports, and a big fold-down centre armrest with cupholders.

If you wish to erect the third row of seats, the most effective place to do that is from the boot. There are a variety of steps to this course of, however it doesn’t take too lengthy to be taught.

As soon as the third row of seats is in place, you’ll discover they’re extremely skinny and have arguably the world’s funniest-looking head restraints – why are they so lengthy?

The third row is certainly a kids-only or emergency zone as adults received’t match comfortably by any means. I gave it a crack and located my head severely crooked and my legs splayed at awkward angles.

That mentioned, it’s uncommon {that a} mid-sized SUV comes with seven seats. So if you’d like the flexibleness of two further seats, however don’t need a honking massive automobile, this could possibly be for you.

Across the again the Outlander Black Version comes with a operated by hand tailgate, which at this value level is forgivable. If you need an influence tailgate, it’s worthwhile to step as much as the Aspire, which prices $1100 extra.

As soon as the boot is open, you’ll discover there’s not very a lot area (163 litres) if all three rows of seats are upright. Fortunately, this turns into extra useable (478 litres) with the third row stowed.

Boot-related facilities are slim, however there’s a cargo cowl, hooks and tabs to fold down the second row of seats in a 60:40 configuration.

Lastly, there’s a space-saver spare wheel underneath the boot ground, which is handier than a puncture restore equipment for those who ever get caught out with a flat. A full-size unit can be nicer, particularly for those who regularly journey in rural and regional areas, however this would cut back the boot capability additional.

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

What’s underneath the bonnet?

Nothing revolutionary on this case. The petrol variants are nonetheless powered by a venerable 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine, mated completely to a repeatedly variable computerized transmission (CVT).

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

How does the Mitsubishi Outlander drive?

Firing up this automobile with the push-button starter, you get a candy petrol engine rev flare. The idle keep elevated for a quick second when the automobile first begins up, however after this it settles into an rhythm you’ll be able to barely hear contained in the cabin.

Not like plenty of sophisticated, high-tech automobiles, it’s refreshing that the Outlander has remained old-school in the best way it drives. This makes it straightforward for anybody (with a driver’s license, that’s) to get behind the wheel and really feel assured sufficient to drive anyplace with out an excessive amount of thought.

This old-school really feel extends to the powertrain. The two.5-litre non-turbo petrol 4 has been round for years now, and stays in use on this automobile in addition to the associated Nissan X-Path, amongst others.

It provides an satisfactory quantity of acceleration round city, however you received’t be profitable any land pace data. If it’s punchy efficiency you’re after, you’d higher look elsewhere.

Serving to make the automobile really feel considerably spritely is the sensitive accelerator. It caught me off guard a few occasions as a result of it doesn’t take a lot throttle utility to get hustling. And it does assist that there’s no turbo to spool up, which means there’s no lag and simply linear, progressive acceleration as an alternative.

Mated to this usually vanilla four-cylinder petrol engine is an equally pedestrian CVT auto. Collectively, they get the job accomplished, however there’s barely any character about how they function.

Round city, the CVT retains engine revs as little as doable to cut back gasoline consumption. At 50km/h on a flat highway the engine is revving at round 1000rpm, and doesn’t really feel prefer it’s working too onerous in any respect.

If referred to as upon, nevertheless, the engine picks up readily and swiftly. This engine doesn’t have the most effective notice when pushed onerous, although, and the CVT makes it sound drony contained in the cabin as a result of it doesn’t shift by way of gears however as an alternative holds the revs up excessive.

There are a selection of drive modes, together with a ‘Tarmac’ setting that’s basically a sport mode of kinds. It doesn’t truly make the Outlander really feel any sooner although, as an alternative simply revving the crap out of the poor engine a bit extra.

For that reason, I caught with the common ‘Regular’ drive mode for almost all of my testing as a result of it felt probably the most pure, despite the fact that ‘Eco’ generally appeared interesting to cut back the touchiness of preliminary throttle response.

Regardless of being old-school, this automobile was surprisingly environment friendly on the town, which simply goes to indicate how miserly a easy four-cylinder petrol-CVT mixture might be.

Having mentioned that, although, I didn’t expertise super-heavy site visitors throughout my week of testing. If I did my noticed gasoline consumption determine seemingly would have blown out as a result of there’s no engine idle cease/begin system on this automobile.

Plus, for nearly all my testing, it was simply me and my backpack. For those who use this automobile to its full potential, which means having folks in all seven seats or placing a load within the boot, the engine is assured to battle extra and this can improve gasoline consumtpion.

At decrease speeds, the suspension is on the harsher aspect as a result of giant 20-inch alloy wheels. It’s way more supple in decrease trim ranges with the smaller 18-inch wheels.

One way or the other, this Outlander manages to be firmly sprung and likewise under-damped. This implies potholes and pace bumps transmit into the cabin, plus undulating bumps make the automobile really feel a bit unsettled.

All that makes the automobile feels a bit floaty and undynamic. It feels giant even in low-speed bends and has a good bit of physique roll, which isn’t helped by the excessive centre of gravity.

Nevertheless, the steering is gentle but direct, making it really feel nimble in tight manoeuvring situations like parking.

Talking of parking, the Outlander Black Version comes with each entrance and rear parking sensors. There’s additionally a reversing digital camera (however no 360-degree digital camera), which frustratingly isn’t mounted centrally on the tailgate, which means the digital camera feed is lop-sided.

Out on the open highway, this automobile continues to evoke big-car vitality, regardless of being a mid-sized SUV.

The four-cylinder petrol engine is as much as the duty of freeway and freeway touring, settling into a snug groove at 100-110km/h. It does need to work tougher to stand up to greater speeds, particularly if there are extra folks or baggage onboard, and hills ship the revs skyrocketing to 3000rpm very simply.

Regardless that the engine can often make a little bit of a racket, it’s sometimes whisper-quiet inside. Mitsubishi has accomplished an excellent job of insulating the Outlander’s cabin from exterior noises like tyre and highway roar, particularly given this automobile has low-profile tyres.

The suspension continues to offer this automobile a wallowy trip on the open highway, making it really feel continually unsettled by even small highway imperfections. Hopefully, that is one thing that may be rectified within the forthcoming mid-life facelift.

On the security entrance, the adaptive cruise management system is nice at managing a protected distance from the automobile forward. It additionally doesn’t react too drastically when a automobile merges carefully in entrance of you.

What this Outlander’s adaptive cruise management system lacks, nevertheless, is site visitors jam help. Which means that as soon as the cruise management brings the automobile to a cease, it’s worthwhile to apply the brake your self to maintain the automobile stationary.

Typically, this isn’t a difficulty except you actually like utilizing adaptive cruise management in bumper-to-bumper site visitors. Visitors jam help options on Outlander Exceed variants and up, as a part of the MI-PILOT driving help suite.

One other driver help characteristic this explicit Outlander misses out on is an energetic lane centring perform. As an alternative, it has a brake-based lane-keep help system, which is intrusive and solely intervenes when you’ve already gone exterior the lane markings.

Lastly, there are LED headlights which are mounted in a bizarre spot on the entrance bumper, however are pleasingly vivid. They’re nice for those who regularly journey in rural and regional areas at evening, when wildlife can soar out at you.

There’s additionally an computerized high-beam perform, which isn’t as subtle as adaptive high-beam, however nonetheless mechanically dips the headlights to low beam when the automobile sees headlights or tail-lights up forward.

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

What do you get?

On take a look at right here is the mid-spec Outlander Black Version, which relies on the LS trim stage, however incorporates a vary of black trimmings, amongst different minor additions.

2025 Mitsubishi Outlander ES tools highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Computerized headlights
• Computerized high-beam
• LED headlights
• Full-size alloy spare wheel (Petrol)
• Tyre restore equipment (PHEV)
• 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (PHEV)
• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (PHEV)
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay (PHEV)
• Wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• DAB+ digital radio
• Cruise management
• 6-speaker sound system
• Two USB inputs
• Twin-zone local weather management
• 5 drive modes
  • Regular, Eco, Tarmac, Gravel, Snow (Petrol)
• 6 drive modes
  • All 5 petrol drive modes + EV mode (PHEV solely)
• Electrical parking brake
• Auto maintain with reminiscence
• Keyless begin
• Paddle shifters
• Driver-side window one-touch up/down
• 5 seats
• Material seat upholstery
• Driver’s seat handbook adjustment with handbook lumbar help
• Entrance passenger’s seat handbook adjustment
• Second-row recline adjustment
• Rear seat alert perform
• Mode 3 charging cable (PHEV solely)
• Mode 2 AC charging cable (PHEV solely)

Outlander Black Version provides:

• 20-inch black alloy wheels
• Black entrance and rear bumper
• Black door mirrors
• Black grille
• Black headlining
• Black gearshift panel
• Microsuede seat upholstery with artificial leather-based bolsters
• 6-way energy driver’s seat with electrical lumbar help
• B and C-pillar garnishes
• Heated entrance seats
• Removes roof rails

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

Is the Mitsubishi Outlander protected?

The Mitsubishi Outlander and Outlander PHEV have a five-star ANCAP security ranking primarily based on testing performed in 2022.

Normal security options embrace:

• 8 airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Rear AEB
• Ahead collision warning
• Transferring object detection
• Lane departure warning
• Lane-keep help
• Emergency lane help
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Adaptive cruise management
• Driver consideration alert
• Visitors signal recognition
• Rear-view digital camera
• Entrance and rear parking sensors
• Rear seat alert perform

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool

How a lot does the Mitsubishi Outlander price to run?

The Mitsubishi Outlander is roofed by a normal five-year, 100,000km guarantee, which might be prolonged to 10 years or 200,000km for those who service inside Mitsubishi’s seller community (whichever comes first).

To see how the Mitsubishi Outlander stacks up in opposition to its rivals, use our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Tackle the Mitsubishi Outlander

It’s clear why this mid-sized SUV has been climbing up the gross sales charts.

The Outlander is a snug crossover wagon that evokes a big-car really feel in a bundle that’s not notably bigger than many mid-sized SUV rivals. It’s confidence-inspiring to drive, and it helps that the driving expertise is quiet (for probably the most half), intuitive and easy.

That is additionally one of many few mid-sized SUVs to supply the flexibleness of seven seats. Whereas its third-row area is proscribed, it’s nice to have in case of emergencies and doesn’t vastly impression cargo capability in five-seat mode.

One other main good thing about this automobile is that it’s a relative cut price in its phase. Positive, it will be good to have a bigger touchscreen or extra energetic security assists, however it’s a must to keep in mind this automobile, as-tested, prices round $40-45k, and there aren’t many like-for-like rivals on the market at that value.

On prime of this, for those who service at Mitsubishi sellers, you get a 10-year guarantee, which is superb peace of thoughts. It’s price noting, although, that Nissan and MG have now caught up when it comes to guarantee interval, and stepped forward in the case of guarantee mileage.

I’ve to confess I loved the two.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine on this explicit automobile greater than I’ve in earlier Outlanders. The PHEV powertrain is a greater bundle general, however it’s much more costly.

Fortunately, the pure petrol powertrain nonetheless does the job simply high-quality, although underneath tougher acceleration it lacks character and will get drony as a result of CVT. For a lot of, although, that is unlikely be a difficulty.

Lastly, whereas the heated and suede/fake leather-trimmed seats with electrical adjustment on this explicit automobile are nice, I’d personally forgo them and go for the cheaper LS as an alternative. You save $1750 within the course of, plus you get a greater trip due to the smaller 18-inch alloy wheels.

We additionally eagerly await the Outlander’s upcoming mid-life facelift as a result of it guarantees to repair plenty of these minor grumbles. However we’ll have to attend and see how that pans out, so keep tuned!

Excited about shopping for a Mitsubishi Outlander? Get in contact with considered one of CarExpert’s trusted sellers here

Click on the photographs for the complete gallery

MORE: Everything Mitsubishi Outlander