Mitsubishi Comeback?
There was a time when the triple diamond company had a name for itself as one of the best rally makes of all time with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and then went silent.
The story began in 1870 with the founding of a shipping trading company by Yataro Iwasaki. In 1917, producing their first passenger vehicle. Fifty years later in 1970, the automotive division was separated from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In 1982 Mitsubishi entered the United States market now celebrating 40 years in the US as of 2023.
In 2017, Mitsubishi automobiles celebrated its 100th year anniversary. Throughout all that time, Mitsubishi automobiles has contributed to the global community by developing new technologies and tackling new domains.
The original Mitsubishi trademark was created in the early years of the Japanese Meiji period by the founder Yataro Iwasaki. The trademark is actually a combination of two family crests: the sangaibishi(three-tiered water chestnut leaves) of the Iwasaki family and the mitsuganshiwa (three oak leaves) of the Yamanouchi family, feudal lords of the Tosa clan.
The trademark then underwent several changes before taking its present form as the now famous symbol of Mitsubishi. The current version of the trademark first appeared in 1910 on an English version of a sales catalogue.
The brand has lost identity over the years and has struggles in the US to make a name once again for itself. If you ignore the success of 10 generations of the Lancer Evolution on and off the world’s rally stages, there’s a veritable feast of cool cars to choose from. Various versions of the Eclipse, the spectacularly complicated 3000GT, the Starion, the Lancer 1600 GSR, the Galant VR4 - it’s a fast car heritage other manufacturers would kill for.
And yet, they’re all gone, and no successors are planned. The Eclipse name has been resurrected for a crossover, and something similar might happen to the celebrated Evolution badge. But why?
Managing director Rob Lindley explains.
“Mitsubishi’s focus is now SUVs, crossover, four-wheel drive, along with alternative fuel technology,” he said, adding “Mitsubishi has moved around different brand positionings, whether it’s been Spacestar style vehicles or sports car derivatives, Evo - it’s not had that clarity of focus.”
If you’re going to stick mainly to one kind of vehicle, SUVs are the best bet. So what has been on the horizon for Mitsubishi? ELECTIRC! Plug In Hybrids to be exact.
The new 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV impresses with a stylish, spacious and suitably modern interior, and generally comfortable and quiet demeanor. The plug-in hybrid goes significant further, though, with more power and refinement, plus a strong electric range.
An Atkinson cycle gasoline engine 2.4-liter four-cylinder now makes 134 horsepower, while it can provide direct power to the wheels, it’s most often employed as a motor generator for the front and rear electric motors. Both of those motors are also more potent than before. The front motor picked up 20 horsepower and 88 pound-feet of torque to make 114 ponies and 188 lb-ft. The rear makes 40 more horsepower for 134, torque remaining at 144 pound-feet. The result is a grand total of 248 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. That's more than the Ford Escape PHEV, and more torque than the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage plug-ins.
In addition to more power, the Outlander PHEV can now go 38 miles on a charge, totaling around 420 miles. averaging 30.3 mpg over roughly 73 miles of highway driving. Bit this entirily depends on your driving habits. If you are using this for daily commutes, lets say to work, picking up the kids, going to the store all under 40mi a day, chances are your tank of gas is going to last you almost 3 months before the next fill up! You ask “well my power bill will go up though right?”. Expect it to go up roughly $30 a month. Mind you that’s a month and not a week.
The video below shows over 2,000mi before a tank fill up at 173mpg
With power coming mainly from the two electric motors, it's very smooth in delivery, and has great pickup at low speeds. When running in hybrid modes, the gas engine kicks in to help supplement the motors at those higher speeds. In addition to being very smooth, the electric motors have a nice power split that feels fairly even front and rear, with perhaps a little bias toward the rear as Mitsubishi sticks to its roots of “rally sport”.
The Outlander offers a whopping seven drive modes, which affect power delivery and steering effort. You can also choose to run in EV, hybrid, battery save and battery replenish modes. If you want to drive in EV mode, you can't use the Power or Tarmac modes – they'll kick the Outlander back into hybrid mode. Also, to get maximum regen in EV mode, you must use the One-Pedal mode (activated by a button next to the power mode button) Instead, the paddles work more like choosing lower gears for going down hills, and it engages the gas engine. Mitsubishi’s true rally design not only gives you more power and traction to the rear on tight turns, the S-AWC Innovation is truly impressive making this one of the best casual off-roaders!
Checkout this well done review on hitting the terrain:The instruments and infotainment are crisp and run quickly providing all he superior safety features you could ask for including MI-PILOT driver-assistance system that will partially drive for you during cruise control. Large icons and simple menus make it particularly easy to use the screen. It's also backed up by a slew of convenient physical buttons for climate control, volume, tuning and shortcuts. The knobs in particular have lovely knurled textures and solid action. The handsome dash looks premium with a contrasting orange leather, diamond stitching and even some real aluminum trim.
The seating position is great, too. It's possible to sit surprisingly low, making the Outlander almost car-like if you want, while still reserving the option for a high, commanding perch. Thickly padded seats with ample lumbar and bolstering make for comfortable, fatigue-free driving, along with heated and message setup for those longs drives. The second row is similarly spacious to the front, also with heated seats and a spacious feel for a midsize SUV. The third row does exist and only for the Outlander in its class. It is easy to setup up and stow away providing you with much needed cargo space. Although to admit, this would really only be used for small children or an emergency crunch.
Cargo space being 11.7 cubic feet behind the third row, 33.5 behind the second, and 79.7 behind the front row (78.3 on sunroof-equipped models). That maximum cargo space is greater than any other small plug-in hybrid SUV.
The 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV starts at $41,190 including the $1,345 destination charge, around a $10,000 PHEV premium when compared equally with the conventional AWD model. Although this review and its pictures are of the 2023 40th Anniversary SEL Trim, a nicely equipped SE Trim model feels like the best value at around $45,000. Relatively affordable for PHEV but if this isn’t in your budget but love the design of the new Outlander, the engine only version is available at a really low price. It’s the most luxurious and the most spacious SUV in its class. If you are in the lookout for a new vehicle make sure to keep Mitsubishi in mind. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised with its highest warranty amongst competitors.
5 yr/60,000 mi basic, 10 yr/100,000 mi powertrain
Best Hybrid Midsize SUV of 2023
For more information about Mitsubishi be sure to checkout their website:
mitsubishicars.com
Interested in the 40th Anniversary Edition? Here’s more on it:
mitsubishicars.com/40-year-innovation-anniversary
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