Mitsubishi Outlander Phev

Japanese brand returns to the UK with a large, plug-in hybrid 4x4 After a five-year hiatus, Mitsubishi is back in the UK with a small but authentic line-up of vehicles. It consists of the L200 pick-up truck and this week’s road test subject, the Mitsubishi Outlander, a large, plug-in hybrid SUV pitched against the Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota RAV4 and a raft of other options.That’s a different approach from the one the Japanese company is taking in continental Europe, where its showrooms are mostly populated by rebadged Renaults. Mitsubishi UK hasn’t confirmed whether it will bring any of those over here but, in any case, none is as interesting as the Outlander. While it shares a platform and some switchgear with various cars from Alliance partners Renault and Nissan, fundamentally it’s an in-house development, with a bespoke drivetrain.The PHEV element is what has driven Mitsubishi’s return to the UK. When it left in 2021, the Mk3 Outlander was outdated and had lost most of its tax benefits. Today, PHEVs are enjoying a new wave of popularity, and here to ride it is a new generation of Outlander. Having said that, while this Mk4 car is new to us, it has been on sale in Japan, the US and other markets since 2021, so it can’t be expected to move technological boundaries.Still, it needs to make a case for itself against both the increasingly sophisticated PHEVs from Europe and Japan and the enticingly affordable ones from China.