You've never seen anything like this before. It's the new Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle. It's the first vehicle to combine plug-in hybrid and full electric vehicle technology in a SUV. Which, if you happen to like driving, brings us to another important point: you've never driven anything like it before.
The big difference is what's supplying the motive force. In this case, it's two 60kW electric motors. Gone are complex connections that translate twisting power to the tyres in a conventionally driven vehicle. Here, it's just instant torque at a tap of the toe. It pulls away quickly, smoothly and very quietly. There's so much sound proofing you'll barely hear a thing in full Electric Vehicle mode.
That's straight-line speed well and truly taken care of. What about corners? In typical fashion, Mitsubishi have been through their inventory of technologies and brought some surprising systems to this vehicle. Traction is taken care of by Super-All Wheel Control (S-AWC), which comes straight from the Lancer Evolution series. There's also Active Stability and Yaw control, for absolute grip on the road. Twin Motor 4WD will take care of you everywhere else.
Another big difference between Outlander Plug-In Hybrid and other vehicles that promise an exciting drive is the amount of petrol it won't use. It's not just frugal, it uses fuel as sparingly as boarding school butter. The figures say it all: just 1.9L/100km(1). In Electric Vehicle mode, you'll use no petrol at all. Emissions are way down, range is up in comparison to other electric vehicles and it looks rather elegant to boot.
You may also have noticed there's a lot of information surrounding this vehicle, which Mitsubishi has made easier to digest in the video above. You can view more videos like this on their website. Prices start at $59,990+ORC (2) for the XLS. The claim that 'it's just better' is more than living up to scrutiny.
Legals: VRX image shown.
1. Fuel economy figures are official results based on test regime ADR81/02.
2. Price listed is for the XLS model and excludes On Road Costs of $750 which includes Registration, WoF and a tank of fuel.
