The Japanese automobile manufacturer Mitsubishi has already demonstrated its own innovativeness many times. Gasoline direct injection, for example, early in the morning then Carisma brought into series. And also the first all-electric production vehicle, the Mitsubishi EV (i-MiEV), earlier than anyone else on the market. The courage to innovate is not always rewarded - unless you combine the popular “SUV” body shape with the latest plug-in hybrid technology - as with the Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid Outlander. The best-selling PHEV SUV in the world. Now Mitsubishi has it third generation of the bestseller presented.
Already 2014 came the Mitsubishi Outlander in a plug-in hybrid variant on the market and has quickly conquered a large fan community. The reasons are simple: A popular body shape, the SUV market is in the end, after all, only a mixture of pragmatic station wagon version, with a little more ground clearance and better visibility, (real off-road vehicles are not even SUVs), plus a modern Drive technology, which brings numerous benefits and the proverbial reliability of Japanese automotive manufacturers.
So that the lead over the competition can be maintained, some manufacturers are now bustling in the field of plug-in hybrid SUVs - if no one is as consistent in technical implementation as Mitsubishi - the Outlander had to undergo an update program.
The 2.0 liter gasoline engine had to give way to a version with 2.4 liter displacement and Atkinson-Cycle process and also increased in both the performance (+ 14 PS), as well as the torque (+ 21 Nm). While the front electric motor remained at its performance of 82 PS, the power of the e-motor at the rear axle grew on 95 PS. For those who have never dealt with the drive technology of the plug-in hybrid SUV, the following lines are particularly important for the driver:
The “hottest powertrain ever” - or how Mitsubishi Motors unites two worlds in perfect harmony:
Three engines provide propulsion and they do so in harmonious cooperation, or as needed, all by itself. Mitsubishi has missed the plug-in Hybrid Outlander electric four-wheel drive. E-motors take over the drive on both axes. The advantage of electric motors is known; Immediate power output and sensitive control of torque delivery. The petrol engine, now 2.4 liter big and on the thrifty Atkinson Cycle optimized, takes on two functions. On the one hand, he works under 64 km / h as a pure electricity producer. For this purpose, a 95 kW strong generator was coupled, or, and here is the great gimmick in the technical layout of the plug-in Hybrid Outlanders, he acts, starting at 64 km / h, directly on the front axle. The result is a gasoline engine drive that always works in high gear. The translation of the petrol engine on the front axle is comparable to an 5. or 6. Gear and thus the gasoline engine can work in the most efficient range.
A battery with a slightly increased capacity has also been added to the new model year. Now up to 13.8 kWh are charged - with this capacity the plug-in hybrid can achieve a purely electric range of up to 57 kilometers in accordance with the new WLTP standard. The battery can be charged at the ChaDeMo quick charging station within 25 minutes, at a household socket it takes around 5,5 hours. Mitsubishi also grants a reassuring guarantee of eight years (or up to 160.000 kilometers) on the lithium-ion battery. The plug-in hybrid SUV is particularly recommended as a car for short-distance commuters or as a family SUV whose daily distance is usually less than 45 kilometers. A “full-value electric SUV” without fear of range!
However, all of these technical subtleties need not interest the driver, because a convincing yet calming output is completely automatic and follows the logic of the plug-in hybrid. Thanks to the technically unique implementation so far with two electric motors on the axles, the plug-in hybrid sprints forward seamlessly. No, it is not a sports car - but it feels like an SUV that convinces with its lightness when starting. The acoustic quiet fades out the surroundings, only when the load request increases does the gasoline engine switch on smoothly and then also change the sound of the spacious SUV. With purely electric locomotion, 135 km / h are the upper limit, if the combustion engine works with it, the maximum is 170 km / h.
In everyday life, discover the many opportunities that the Outlander offers. So the steering wheel paddles are not about to switch, but to select the Rekuperationsleistung. In the setting "0" virtually no braking torque is built up, while in "5" maximum energy recovery with appropriate delay is announced. In addition, there is the possibility to recharge the battery with the burner, if, for example, despite empty batteries at the end of the journey the last kilometers in the residential area wants to travel electrically.
What is really surprising is that Mitsubishi does not buy the complex system and the low price through a modest set of equipment. In fact, the "base" version is equipped with climate control, 18-inch LMs, DAB reception, light and rain sensor, reversing camera and more. About "Plus" (Bi-LED's, heated steering wheel, parking aid front and rear, various assistants) it goes to the top model "Top" with electric driver's seat, leather, glass sunroof and other assistance systems. When Navi Mitsubishi relies on the owner's smartphone, only in the highest level, you can book a fixed system for 600 Euro.
To the fine interior of the Outlander PHV fits the moderately revised exterior of the vehicle extremely well. Thanks to a discreet development with retouched bumpers, a full-fledged LED light on the front and the class-typical SUV shape remain optically unanswered questions. Overall, the car looks like a one-stop shop, yet it conveys exactly the form of projection of technology and modernity achieved on the technical side of the vehicle.
The plug-in Hybrid Outlander has a big task in the new model year 2019: He should and must continue the success of his predecessor, that succeeds in this, but the author of this text doubts in the least. For a more advanced SUV in this class, there is not yet.
Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid - Specifications:
- Five-door, five-seat mid-size SUV, Length: 4,70 meters, Width: 1,80 meters (with exterior mirrors: 2,12 meters), Altitude: 1,71 meters, Wheelbase: 2,67 meters, Boot volume: 463 to 1.602 liters
- 2,4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, 99 kW / 135 PS, maximum torque: 211 Nm at 4.500 rpm, one gear ratio, two electric motors, front: 60 kW / 82 PS / 137 Nm, rear: 70 kW / 95 PS / 195 Nm,
- 0-100 km / h: 10,5 s, Vmax: 170 km / h (in electrical operation: 135 km / h), average consumption: 1,8 liters / 100 kilometers + 14,8 kWh / 100 kilometers, electric range: 54 km (WLTP: 57 km), CO2 emissions: 40 g / km, emission standard: Euro 6-d-temp, efficiency class: A +
Price: from 37.990 euros - Price after deduction of Mitsubishi electromobility bonus (6.500 Euro) + environmental bonus (1.500 Euro) from 29.990 Euro