2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

The Outlander PHEV has been on the market for a couple of years already and in this time, people started to love it because if offers the comfort and the capability of an SUV with the fuel consumption of a much smaller car. The 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is set to be a facelift of the current model which will include new additions to the exterior, an even better engine and also a small update to the interior which should resolve all of the problems of the previous generation.

Its price won’t change all that much, so expect to pay around 30.000 dollars or a bit more for a base model and up to 40.000 dollars for a fully equipped one. Even though it might seem expensive, all of its competitors offer regular petrol engines, so these have worse fuel consumption than the PHEV. The release date for the new model will most likely be in the first quarter of 2015 in order to be released at the same time with the new Pajero.

2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV engine

Engine wise, the car features a 2 liter aspirated petrol engine which uses the Atkinson cycle in order to be as fuel efficient as possible. There had been discussions of a supercharged petrol engine in order to give it more power but the car will remain with this 115 horsepower and 186 N*m of torque engine for at least a couple of years. The engine is hooked to a 70 kW generator which charges a 12 kWh battery. This entire assembly is then hooked to a pair of electric motors which can provide up to 170 horsepower and 332 N*m of torque if needed. There is one in the front and one in the back, so even if you use it in a fully electric mode, the car will still have four wheel drive. It actually functions as a range extended car rather than a normal hybrid, so it has a couple of advantages.

The most important one though is its fuel consumption which can easily get as low as 3 liters per each 100 km if driver carefully. In a real life usage though, expect to get around 4 to 4.5 liter/100km which is not that bad considering this is a pretty big SUV.

Interior

On the interior there won’t be any significant changes besides the improved materials. You will still receive a satellite navigation system, dual zone automatic climate control, cloth upholstery and leather wrapped steering wheel and also an infotainment system which can be accessed by the passengers in the back seats.

Exterior

On the exterior, the 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will look pretty much identical to the 2014 model with one major difference, its front bumper. This will get a small splitter and also black accents which give it a meaner look and also improve the aerodynamics in order to further reduce noise while driving.

2015 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Specs

Even though it may not look like it, the Outlander Sport is Mitsubishi’s best selling model on the North American market and it has just been updated at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Despite the fact most people expected an all new car, the new 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is nothing more than a facelift of the previous model which comes with changes on the outside and inside the cabin while having a pretty much identical powertrain. This is a bit disappointing but it will allow them to sell the car for under $20,000 which is better than most of its competitors.

At this price point, the Outlander Sport will come with a lot of features and a frugal engine while those looking for more will still have to pay only around $25,000 which is still great considering it will come better equipped than most. The release date for the production model has been set for the first half of 2016 and it will likely be replaced some time in the near future with an all new model.

2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Exterior Design

 

The design of the new 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is the biggest change over the previous model and it is their first car to receive Mitsubishi’s Dynamic Shield design which is going to be used on most of their future models. This design does add a lot of chrome to the car which may not please everyone but it does make it stand out from a crowd which is probably why Mitsubishi added it in the first place. The headlights come as standard with Xenon beams which is a plus over the previous model and even in the base trim level the car will come with LED daytime running lights. The back received a similar plastic shield to the front and the tail lights now have a new pattern for the LED matrix. The wheel arches have been beefed up with wider black plastic inserts in order to give the car a more aggressive look.

Interior

Inside the cabin the car received an all new 6.1 inch infotainment screen with a new interface for it while the higher end models will get a premium audio system as well as satellite navigation, but only at an extra cost. The interior also gets a new design for the steering wheel, auto dimming mirror and even three new interior colors which will be available only on the higher end trim levels.

2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Engine

Engine wise, the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport comes with the same basic two engines as before which is a bit of a shame because the two are not really the most efficient or the most powerful. The base model will come with a naturally aspirated 2 liter inline 4 petrol engine good for 148 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque which is enough for city use and not much else because it is quite inefficient at high speed cruising and not that refined. The better choice would be the 2.4 liter naturally aspirated inline 4 which is a worthy upgrade offering 168 horsepower and 167 lb-ft of torque and the best part about it is that it will use just as much fuel as the smaller 2 liter unit.

Both of them will come with front wheel drive as standard but the lesser unit will use a 5 speed manual while the 2.4 liter unit will come only with a CVT which is also available on the 2 liter unit as an option. All wheel drive will also be offered on both models as an option which is a nice addition over most of its competitors but it is a drawback because the car will likely never be used in off-road and it will use more fuel when equipped with the AWD system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Outlander

2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Specs

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage Review

The Mirage is a small city car which has been around for quite some time. However, the 2016 model year has been missing from the US market and many people actually thought that Mitsubishi will discontinue the model altogether. Well, apparently this is not true, especially since the Japanese manufacturer released at the Los Angeles Auto Show the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage, a big update of the previous model which not only comes with a lot of changes on the outside but it also gets a new interior, an updated engine and even a lot of upgrades to its running gear.

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage Review

All of these will not make it something it is not though and in fact the new Mirage will remain just a simple mean of transport which will be able to take your from A to B without many problems. The car remains just as small as before but it continues to offer four doors and nearly five seats. The good part is that it remains economical as well as very cheap and unlike before, this time around a sedan model is also going to be released on the market. The price will likely stay between $14,000 and $16,000 which makes it one of the cheapest cars on the market and it gives it great value for money.

Just as we mentioned, the chassis as well as the running gear of the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage have been considerably updated. The car features new shocks and springs which should minimize body roll as well as bigger disc brakes in the front and bigger rear drums. The brake pads and shoes have been made out of a new compound which should improve braking power considerably.

Exterior

The exterior of the new 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage is probably the biggest update of the new model and while it is not all new, it does look like an all new car. The front end has been completely revised and instead of the dull looking fascia it now has bits of chrome added to it, larger Xenon headlights for the top end models as well as a more expressive grille and new fog-lights. The wheels are all new as well while the back received a new spoiler as well as different tail lights. Unlike the previous model which was only available in a handful of colors, there are now more choices for people to customize their car.

Mitsubishi Mirage Interior

Inside the cabin the Mirage received a similar treatment and the dashboard received an all new design, the center console as well as the steering wheel have piano black inserts and the materials have been bumped up with higher quality seats and even a slightly more space for the rear passengers. The car will also be available with a Rockford Fosgate premium audio system as well as a 7 inch navigation and infotainment unit.

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage Engine

Engine wise nothing really changed about the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage so it comes with the same 1.2 liter naturally aspirated inline 3 engine as before. It has been bumped to 78 horsepower and a slightly higher amount of torque which should translate in better acceleration and slightly lower revs while cruising on the motorway. Just like before, the engine will be mated as standard to a 5 speed manual which is average at best. The better choice will remain the CVT gearbox which will be more comfortable to use as well as it will provide better fuel consumption than the manual. The sedan on the other hand will come with the same engine as the previous generation, a 74 horsepower inline 3, and it will only be available with the manual gearbox which is a bit of a shame because the CVT is so much better.

Read the history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Mirage

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage Review