Mitsubishi has announced that the 2018 Outlander
PHEV will land on U.S. soil before the end of the year, priced from US$ 35,535.
This model is hugely popular in Europe and will remain largely unchanged for
the American market after its delayed launch. As a result, it will continue to
use a 2.0-liter petrol engine, one electric motor at the front axle and one
electric motor at the rear axle for a combined 195 hp.
Sitting in the vehicle’s floor is a 300-volt, 12-kWh
lithium-ion battery package that supports DC fast-charging and regenerative
braking. The Outlander PHEV also comes standard with Mitsubishi’s Super
All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) system, first used by the Lancer Evolution.
There are six drive modes offered in the Outlander
PHEV, three of which the vehicle controls and three of which the driver can
select. As the name implies, EV Drive Mode sees the SUV running purely on
electric power. By comparison, Parallel Hybrid Mode uses the petrol engine and
only the electric motors when necessary. Series Hybrid Mode then uses the
petrol engine as a generator to charge the battery while the electric motors
send power to the ground. As for the driver-selected modes, they are Eco Mode,
Battery Save Mode and Battery Charge Mode.
When the Outlander PHEV lands in U.S. dealerships in
December, it will come with a 5 year/60,000-mile transferable limited warranty.
The PHEV powertrain meanwhile will have a transferable 10-year/100,000-mile
warranty.