FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV

How good is the storage in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

In the front, there are two large cup holders at the front of the central console big enough for disposable and reusable coffee cups.

The front door pockets are generous and will hold a large refillable water bottle but in the back, they are much smaller and would only hold 600ml bottles. There are little wells in the door handles too.

The central console box is small and the lid doubles as your armrest.

There is no glasses case in the ceiling of the Outlander PHEV model I tested however the bottom spec model does have one because there's no sunroof.

The glove box is considerately sized, there is a shelf in the top that will hold an iPad and my wallet fitted in the bottom with the manual.

I really liked this feature as you can keep the manual out of the way as lets face it we hardly ever use them so having them taking up most of the space in the main part of the glove box is rather silly! There was plenty of room in the main section of the glove box for an iPad, wallet, keys etc.

In the back, there are map pockets on the back of both front seats, they will hold but not conceal an iPad.

There is also a fold-down armrest in the central seat back with two more cup holders, well-sized to hold reusable and disposable coffee cups.

How big is the boot in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

The great storage continues into the boot where the space is fantastic. With the boot empty you can get 15 shopping bags in it, that's one more than in the Toyota RAV4 hybrid.

The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted with six shopping bags.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually measurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

Our Britax Flexx tandem stroller would fit with five shopping bags.

Our Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle stroller would fit with seven shopping bags in as well.

The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller would fit, laying down, with ten shopping bags in as well.

Or you could fit a large dog in the boot.

The boot floor is nice and flat and carpeted with no large gaps, so you can do an emergency nappy change!

There is a large storage area on either side of the boot behind the wheel arches. On the right-hand side of the boot, you have a 12V socket and two cup holders.

There is no spare tyre in the Outlander PHEV, which is a consideration. There is underfloor storage for the charging cables.

How noisy is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV? How good is the media system and technology in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is quite a beepy car! One of the loudest alerts during our week of testing was for speed and red-light cameras. The distance to the camera comes up on the media screen and it keeps beeping to alert you!

The Outlander PHEV also beeps when you get in until the seatbelts are fastened which is frustrating because in the Australian climate you turn the ignition on to get the air-con going before you fasten your seatbelts so the ‘donging' does get a bit much!

The parking sensors in the Outlander PHEV are rather loud and all the alerts are definitely baby-waking! You can’t alter the volume of them but the parking sensors can be muted with a button by the driver's right knee which is good.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The lane departure warning had a rather baby-waking sound too, you can’t alter the volume of but you can turn it on and off with a button, down by the driver's right knee too.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughter's asleep!

The indicator sound is lovely and quiet in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

The Outlander PHEV media system has been updated. There is now built-in Sat-Nav in the Outlander PHEV which was an improvement from the earlier 2017 Outlander model I tested.

The media system is basic and simple to use and navigate and thankfully has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The opening of the windows of the Outlander opened and closed quite quietly and you can lock the doors and windows from the driver's door control panel.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is much quieter and smoother to drive than the petrol and diesel models I tested previously. The PHEV starts nice and quietly, I can drive my daughter to sleep using the 54km battery range and sit with the airconditioning running while she sleeps without burning fuel which is great. As well as going much further without needing the engine, this plug-in hybrid differs from traditional hybrids because it can travel at motorways speeds on battery power whereas others like the Toyota Rav4 switch to the engine above around 45km/h.

You can keep an easily see your battery and fuel range on the dashboard display.

Or there is a great visual of your usage within the media screen too. My daughter enjoys watching this while we are driving and spotting when we are using the battery or engine!

You can easily switch between battery and engine with buttons behind the gear lever and even choose to save or charge the battery too.

The Outlander PHEV has around 54km of battery range which we found was plenty for our daily kindy drop-offs and commute. I plugged the PHEV in most evenings to the regular plug in our garage and found it took about seven hours to fully charge the battery. If you have a wall box I am told it takes three hours. I found we used the battery every day for around town etc and used the fuel for longer trips at the weekends.

How many child seats fit in the five-seater Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV?

With a rear-facing child seat installed in the second-row seats, legroom is really good and we could easily fit a 182cm driver in front. This isn't the case with the seven-seater Outlander though.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has three top tether points on the back of the second-row seatbacks. They are within plastic guides but REALLY difficult to connect to.

The plastic casing is the wrong way around so you can not attach the tether hooks the usual way facing inwards, they'll only fit facing outwards and then I found it difficult to keep twists out of the top tether straps.

There are ISOFix anchor points in both of the outer seats in the second row, they are not within plastic guides but are quite easy to connect to.

The Outlander PHEV has the same issue with the central seatbelt buckle as the petrol and diesel models. The buckle sticks right up in the air above the seat on a rigid stem that you just can’t maneuver any child seat around. So when you try to put three child seats across it doesn't allow for any seat to move beyond it, meaning you can't distribute the space on the back seat and you definitely do not want to sit on it as a passenger!

I found I could only fit two child seats in the back seats with every combination of harnessed seats I tried. Only this combination with booster seats would allow me to fit three child seats but I would highly recommend you test all child seats before buying if you need to fit three across.

The height of the ceiling meant that posting bub into their child seats from outside and inside the car is fine.

Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

How comfortable is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and how nice is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to drive?

I found the seats in the front of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV quite comfortable,  however, I did find the top of the seats sloped away quite quickly and didn't provide much upper body support for long journeys. The seat base was not too long for my legs and I'm 162cm. The driver's seat had an electric adjustment and the passenger side manual adjustment. The seats are simple black leather, with minimal seams and detail so they would be easy to clean.

Although the headrests are not adjustable, I found I could have a ponytail whilst driving the Outlander!

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

The outer seats in the second row are comfortable but unfortunately, the middle seat is not because the seat belt buckle sticks right up in the air on a rigid stalk so you cannot bend it around your bottom or child seat base!

So it really renders the central seat useless! If it wasn't for the buckle the legroom for the central seat is good and only has a very low hump in the footwell so a passenger would not have to straddle it.

For the first year of Tulsi's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time there! Back seats were never something I gave any thought to before I had Tulsi but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

The cruise control in the Outlander PHEV I found to be quite accurate driving on motorways and less so on undulating roads at 60km/h. The controls are situated on the right of the steering wheel and are simple and easy to use.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard. A large one either side of the steering wheel and two smaller ones in front of the front passenger.

Located just below the media screen, the controls are easy to access and use whilst driving. The air conditioning used a lot of battery range and I found when I turned it off I gained a lot of kilometres.

There two vents in the back of the central console box for the rear passenger's comfort, which I found reachable while driving.

There is also a USB socket for the second-row passengers situated below the vents.

The rear windows are tinted and we didn’t find we needed to add window shades as well.

The visibility in the Outlander is very good, the windows are large and deep and being a five-seater there is only one row of child seats. There are handles above both rear doors well positioned to hang a child's toy form. The rear interior light was too far back for me to reach from the front.

I often will reach back to turn on the interior light if I am driving at night time, I find my little girl gets less distressed travelling at night that way. It helps if I can reach the interior light from the driver's seat so I can turn it on and off whilst driving. I often find my daughter will need it on as we start our journey in the dark but once she falls asleep I can turn it off.
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting a baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

There are carpet floor mats throughout the Outlander PHEV and are all removable making cleaning them easier.

The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a quiet, smooth and responsive car to drive and quite enjoyable. It wasn't noisy up hills and it didn't struggle like the previous models I drove, see what I said about them below:

The five-seater 2WD Outlander was terrible to drive in the wet or wind and bad on bends. I did not feel confident and had to drive really cautiously. The engine was very noisy and didn’t feel powerful enough for most hills. The top-spec AWD diesel seven-seater Outlander doesn't feel the same, I think it's actually a nice drive on motorways and on slower, undulating roads. The engine is not as noisy either but the road noise is still quite prominent and I could feel the road surface through the floor of the footwell.

The interior is quite simple black leather and plastics, the dashboard does have a lot of shiny black plastic, which I'm not a fan of, but it would all wipe clean easily once sticky little kids fingers had fiddled with everything!!

The Mitsubishi Outlander has rated a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2014 before child occupancy protection was tested. Scoring 35.58 out of 37 overall in crash testing, 15.88 out of 16 for the frontal offset test and full marks; 16/16 in the side impact test and 2/2 for the pole test.

The Mitsubishi Outlander is equipped with seven SRS airbags as standard. Frontal driver and front passenger airbags and a knee airbag for the driver. As well as front passenger and driver side airbags. Front and rear passengers also have curtain airbags.

There is only seatbelt removal warning for the front driver and passenger seats, not back in the second and third rows where you would really want them as you can not see while driving.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!