2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: Real-World Test and Review

Overview:

Mitsubishi has taken a bold step into the ever growing hybrid-electric marketplace with the 2019 Outlander PHEV. To effectively test the 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in a real-world situation, Connor and Kevin from Adventure Labs Media took the hybrid-electric compact sport utility vehicle into the city of San Francisco, California.

In This Field Test and Review of the 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV We Cover:

  1. Our Initial Thoughts
  2. The PHEV System
  3. Fuel Economy
  4. Cargo Space
  5. Key Features
  6. Warranty
  7. Price Point
  8. Our Final / Concluding Thoughts
The 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from WestMitsubishi.com
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

Initial Thoughts:

After driving the 2019 Outlander PHEV for just a few hours, my initial thoughts on it are great – Mitsubishi really packed a punch with the 2019 Outlander PHEV. You get a ton of high-end features, including the leather steering wheel, and leather accents all around. The sound system is a Rockford Fosgate, and overall, you just feel like you’re in a luxurious car.

The PHEV System:

According to Mitsubishi, the 2019 Outlander PHEV automatically switches drive modes to optimize performance, achieving an impressive 74 miles per gallon E-efficiency rating. It runs mainly on all electric power and uses gasoline only when you need it. We’ll be going more in depth in a fuel economy in the next section.

In EV Mode, the vehicle is powered by the two electric motors, and energy is supplied exclusively by the lithium-ion battery pack. Select this mode for 100% electric-powered, zero-emission driving.

In Series Hybrid Mode, the gasoline-powered generator helps charge the lithium-ion battery pack and provide power to the twin electric motors. The system uses this mode when battery charge levels are low, or sudden acceleration is needed

In Parallel hybrid mode, If additional power is required–like when driving uphill–a built-in clutch located in the front axle switches into Parallel Drive Mode. In this mode, the 2.0-liter gas engine drives the front wheels and feeds any excess electricity back into the lithium-ion battery pack.

We drove up California street, the steepest street in San Francisco, to test out the parallel hybrid mode in the 2019 Outlander PHEV. What this mode does is when you need a little bit of extra power, it kicks on both the electric and the gas motor and puts more power into the front axles that’s controlled by a clutch up in the front of the car. So basically, if you’re going up a steep hill, the power feels great and a little bit more peppy than normal to inspire confidence in any driving situation.

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

Fuel Economy

What makes the 2019 Outlander PHEV stand out is how convenient it is to charge. You can plug this car in at home and have it fully charged in about eight hours and you can plug it into any basic wall outlet at 120 volts. If you can locate a DC fast charging station, you can get your battery to about 80% in 25 minutes and a full charge in less than four hours. We paid $1.50 for an hour of charging in San Francisco, while eating lunch at Whole Foods – It was really convenient!

On Mitsubishi’s website, they state that you can go 22 miles on full electric mode, so we tested that by driving from Walnut Creek, CA to San Francisco, which on Google maps is about 25 miles. So, we’re going to see how far we can get on one charge and if that statement is accurate.

After driving from Walnut Creek to San Francisco on full EV (electric) mode, we made it roughly 17 to 19 miles on the highway using full electric EV. Unfortunately we only got about three quarters of the way to San Francisco from the Walnut Creek on a full battery charge. But, that being said, if you take the average of the gas motor kicking in, and full EV mode, we still got incredibly good gas mileage.

Cargo Space:

Mitsubishi states that the 2019 Outlander PHEV is “Perfect for weekday commutes and weekend adventures.” We’ve already tested it for a commute on a weekday, so now we’re going to test it out and see how it does for an adventure.

We loaded up the back to figure out just how much cargo space the 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has. We’ve noticed that it has a lot of spacious room, so we wanted to test this out for ourselves.

After fully loading up the “trunk” area, we had enough room for all of our camping gear and more. We even had enough room for some of our camera gear and we still have enough room to add some extra things if you need. This is really impressive because we still have five seats open and through the week you can use the hybrid electric mode, use zero gas and commute to work, and then on the weekend if you want to take out your family, you can load up the back and enjoy a nice weekend out in the mountains or wherever you need to go.

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from West Mitsubishi
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

Key Features:

The 2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GT Package is loaded with just about every feature you could ask for. Some features we really appreciate are the Super All Wheel Control System (S-AWC) for those weekend adventures, the premium Rockford Fosgate sound system and Apple Car Play for the longer road trips and the power glass sunroof for those warm California days. Being adventure content creators, we have the constant need for power to charge our equipment. We found the 12 volt charging outlets to be handy, and even essential. We were able to edit on our laptops and get work done while also enjoying the afternoon out at our campsite.

A nice safety feature to have is the lane departure warning. When I would veer out of the lane, the 2019 Outlander PHEV would loudly beep at me. This could definitely be helpful if you’re driving long through the night and you’re getting tired – definitely a good safety feature to have.

Some other safety features that I’m sure anyone can appreciate are the Ford Collision Mitigation, Rear Cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and Multiview camera system.

Warranty:

Another way that Mitsubishi adds value to their vehicles is through their warranty. Unlike their competitors, Mitsubishi offers a five year, 60,000 mile new car warranty that covers all parts except normal wear items like tires and brakes. In addition to that, they offer a 10 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. That’s five years, or 40,000 more than their competitors. If you’re looking for a vehicle you can rely on, the Mitsubishi line-up is a great option to consider.

Price Point:

This vehicle starts at around $35,000, and for the GT package that we’ve been driving, it costs about $44,000, which I would consider a very fair and competitive price for all the value you’re getting. Those prices aren’t even factoring in the federal tax deductions that you get for driving the 2019 Outlander PHEV. Overall, I think the 2019 Outlander PHEV is very fairly priced.

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from WestMitsubishi.com
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

Final Thoughts / Conclusion:

Out of all the Mitsubishi vehicles we’ve driven so far, we would say that the Outlander PHEV is the most well-rounded. It’s a great vehicle for commuting because of the hybrid electric and overall we’d say that it holds up to the title of being a great vehicle for weekday commutes and weekend adventures.

West Mitsubishi, Orland, California

Lastly, we wanted to thank West Mitsubishi again, for loaning us this car to test. West Mitsubishi is a great dealership that truly cares about their customers, located right off of Interstate-5 in Orland California and about 20 minutes from Chico, California.

Schedule Your Test Drive Now! www.westmitsubishi.com or (530) 865-3508.

West Mitsubishi Orland, 624 6th St, Orland, CA 95963

West Mitsubishi On Facebook

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from West Mitsubishi
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

Credits

Video and Blog: Adventure Labs.

Web: www.adventurelabsmedia.com.

Instagram: @adventurelabs.

Photos by Cavery Communications and Consulting

This review would not have been made possible without the help from 253 Media!

Web: www.253media.com.

Instagram: @253media

Facebook: facebook.com/253media

2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from West Mitsubishi
2019 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Hybrid from WestMitsubishi.com

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