LOS ANGELES – The 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander CUV has an array of changes and enhancements for its midcycle upgrade over the outgoing model, hoping to sway more buyers to notice the value in a crowded field of better-known rivals.
Mitsubishi for the past two decades has been operating at the margins of credibility with sales that have been mostly below 100,000 annually – what for many would seem like a recipe for extinction since Mitsubishi is a mass-market, not luxury, brand. It has long survived on alliances with other automakers for joint development of vehicles and technology.
Lately, the brand has been in the news because struggling Nissan owns 34% of Mitsubishi, and the company has stated that it does not wish to be included as a subsidiary in any proposed Honda-Nissan merger. Mitsubishi needs a partner to survive, though, so where the company comes out after the smoke clears from Nissan’s restructuring and possible acquisition remains anyone’s guess.
Both the Outlander and Nissan Rogue ride on the Renault-Nissan CMF-C/D platform, which underpins various models in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. The Outlander is powered by Nissan’s 2.5L naturally aspirated 4-cyl. producing 181 hp and 181 lb.-ft. (245 Nm) of torque. They share a continuously variable transmission from Nissan’s Xtronic lineup. Horsepower may not seem like much, especially combined with a CVT, but we didn’t miss any performance or acceleration at key times like on-ramping to a highway.
As satisfactory as the ICE version is, we are eager to get the plug-in hybrid version (which was not part of our test drive). Last year’s PHEV model was our favorite trim offering. The fuel economy of the ICE, 24 mpg city (9.8 L/100 km) and 30 mpg (7.8 L/100 km) highway is disappointing, and pales next to hybrid versions of the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson. The Outlander PHEV, with a 2.4L engine and dual-motor AWD system, has an increased electric range, estimated at 44 miles (71 km), up from 38 miles (61 km) in the 2024 model. The battery size remains at 20 kWh. The PHEV delivers a combined 248 hp and 332 lb.-ft. (450 Nm) of torque.
Mitsubishi goes its own way on exterior design despite all the shared bits with Rogue. The Outlander has a more rugged, boxy design, which is appealing, while the Rogue has a more rounded, modern look that is far less distinctive. Inside, Mitsubishi has created an optional interior that is premium with an attractive faux-leather trimmed dash and quilted seats that shout top drawer, and a wise dearth of piano black.
We drove a pre-production ICE model, the SEL 2.5L S-AWD, priced at $44,675, around Los Angeles, including into nearby hills full of twisty roads. The road manners of the new Outlander, with stiffer suspension tuning compared with last year’s model, are hard not to like. The MacPherson struts in the front and a multi-link suspension in the rear, tuned by Mitsubishi engineers, make for sure-footed driving without much lean when negotiating curves. Mitsubishi equips the Outlander with its Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC), which has additional terrain modes for off-road capability.
We cycled through the driving modes, which include Normal, Tarmac, Eco, Gravel, Snow and Mud. Because we weren’t off-road, Tarmac (the equivalent of “sport” mode in other vehicles) was most appropriate as we drove in the hills, effectively allowing for more one-pedal driving as the throttle adjusted, leaving little need to brake.
The dashboard is dominated by a 12.3-in. (31.2-cm) center touchscreen. We had two beefs: one was the lack of anti-glare treatment or positioning of the screen, which was very hard to deal with driving in the midday sun. It’s a touchscreen, too, which means fingerprints made that situation worse. The native navigation system, too, driven by TomTom’s tech, is also not ideal as the visual interface is inferior to Apple and Google.
The lineup comes with 18-in. and 20-in. wheel options.
Value is in the eye of the beholder. Mitsubishi’s price walk on the Outlander, compared with rivals, is enhanced somewhat by the presence of a standard third row throughout the lineup and the company’s long powertrain and bumper-to-bumper warranties (10-year/100,000-mile [161,000-km]) powertrain, and 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranty, similar to Hyundai and Kia, but longer than Toyota’s 5-year/60,000-mile (97,000-km) powertrain and 36,000-mile (58,000-km) bumper-to-bumper warranty. The Outlander ES entry trim starts at $29,645, while RAV4 starts at $28,850 and the Tucson starts at $30,055. The ICE Outlander tops out at $43,145 for the Platinum, while RAV4 lists for $37,155 for the Limited and Tucson’s ceiling is $39,995 for the Limited.
For PHEV fans, the Outlander starts at $40,455 for the ES and climbs to $50,455 for the SEL Platinum.
Audio by Yamaha
Mitsubishi developed new sound-system offerings with Yamaha, replacing former supplier Bose. Yamaha worked with the automaker on overall NVH engineering to optimize the audio performance relative to wind and road noise with active noise cancellation measures. The result is an overall quieter cabin even when the audio system is not on.
All trims have a Yamaha system, but the 12-speaker Dynamic Sound Yamaha Ultimate system is available on the SE and SEL and standard on Platinum, while the 8-speaker Dynamic Sound Yamaha Premium system is standard on ES and SE.
Safety and Seating
Outlander offers Mitsubishi’s MI-PILOT Assist, a rebranded version of the system Nissan employs, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and emergency braking.
Outlander’s three-row seating across all trim levels accommodates up to seven passengers. This feature distinguishes it within the compact SUV segment, as few competitors offer a third-row option. However, the third row, by Mitsubishi’s own executives’ admission, is meant for “occasional” use, meaning that if two people are desperate enough to want to shoehorn themselves into the way-back, they can. But except for toddlers and slightly built, limber adolescents, anyone else is going to be wanting the trip to end as soon as possible,
Mitsubishi is down to the Outlander and the smaller Outlander Sport and Eclipse Cross CUVs. In the pipeline we know about a forthcoming CUV built on the Nissan Leaf platform. Until that time, it is pretty much a two-model lineup. How can it make money? For one thing, these vehicles are global and with development costs shared with Nissan, the bean counters make it work.
The Outlander supplied to the U.S., though, will be subject to new proposed tariffs, and that unfinalized policy could blow a hole in Mitsubishi’s price competitiveness relative to rivals built in the U.S. Until that time, though, the 2025 Outlander bears consideration for new CUV buyers who appreciate the confidence of longer warranties, as well as a snappy-looking interior.
