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2018 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV First Drive | Nailing the sweet spot

SANTA CATALINA ISLAND, Calif. — For years now, while the Mitsubishi brand has languished here in the U.S., other parts of the world have been enjoying the Outlander PHEV. It's Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid, and Mitsubishi has been improving on it over the years, testing it, refining the technology and punishing the vehicle in competitions like the Baja Portalegre 500 and the Asia Cross Country Rally. Now, as electric vehicles begin to gain greater acceptance, and as Mitsu turns its brand around, it will finally offer the Outlander PHEV in America at the end of this year. As Mitsubishi prepares to launch the Outlander PHEV stateside, we had the rare opportunity to drive it across the interior of Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, to test it out on some rugged, scenic roads. Sitting inside the Outlander PHEV, we were actually pleased with the interior. It was simple and clean, and the plastics didn't feel especially cheap. Sure, it wasn't the thoughtful design or plush touch points of the other available plug-in crossovers on the market, but the Outlander PHEV also doesn't share the same price tag. We definitely found it to be more attractive and appealing than the inside of, say, a Chevrolet Equinox. If you were expecting a pile of hot garbage from Mitsubishi, you're way off. When we popped open the rear liftgate to take a look, we found our near-ideal tailgating vehicle. In the rear cargo area was a ton of space, a large speaker, cupholders and a standard three-prong outlet, perfect for plugging in a slow cooker, blender, or any other appliance you could find useful at a football game or campsite. Later, when we would take a break from our drive at Catalina Island's Shark Harbor, we'd be treated to a smoothie prepared in a blender plugged into that AC outlet. If you happen to use all 12 kWh of energy, the gas engine will fire up to serve as a generator. The Toyota 4Runner may have had the "Party Mode" button, but the Outlander PHEV would be our pick for the stadium parking lot. As we passed through a gate at the edge of the town of Avalon and headed up a dirt road across the interior of Catalina Island, we were quickly impressed with the way the Outlander PHEV handled the rocky, dusty trails from which most drivers are normally prohibited. The steering feel was light but communicative, and we were really able to tell what was going on between the front wheels and the rugged surface beneath them.

Mitsubishi ready to pull Evo's plug

We have all manner of unofficial metrics in the auto industry. No doubt you've heard some of them, like the butt dyno. Another popular measure is the smiles-per-dollar index - how entertaining is a car versus its price. Cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Scion FR-S and Mini Cooper S, for example, score quite highly, while vehicles like the BMW M5 or Audi RS7 are great to drive, but score lower because of their much higher price tags. For a long time, the king of the smiles-per-dollar index was arguably the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, which blended hair-raising thrills for the price of a well-equipped Ford Fusion Titanium.
Now, it looks like the Evo will need to hand over its title, as this generation of the rally-derived rocket is likely to be Mitsubishi's last - at least for a while. There's been no mention of just when production of the current car will end, so if you're in the market, we'd suggest trying to find a dealer with inventory ASAP. The news comes from the automaker's Japanese mothership, which says the brand will instead focus on utility vehicles and EVs. While there are no direct plans for a successor, an Evo XI as it were, the door remains open for a different kind of beast, according to Mitsubishi.
"Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan," said Namie Koketsu, a spokesperson for Mitsubishi, according to Automotive News. "Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology."

Mitsubishi recalling i-MiEV models for brake problem

Mitsubishi is issuing a recall for the 2010-2014 i-MiEV that affects 1,810 units of the little electric car, because it's possible for the brake vacuum pump to stop working. If this happens, the result would be longer stopping distances, according to the company. The affected models were built between September 15, 2009, and March 25, 2014.
While this is just a single recall, there are actually two things that can cause this brake problem on the i-MiEV, according to Mitsubishi's filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. First, bad programming in the EV-ECU could cause the system to "falsely judge that the relay contact point is stuck," according to the full NHTSA defect notice PDF. Second, the vacuum pump exhaust hole could be corroded and blocked due to being splashed with road salt. However, the company says that if either fault happens, the brake warning lamp would illuminate, and there would be an audible alarm.
Depending on which issue is affecting an owner's i-MiEV, Mitsubishi is going to reprogram the software, replace the pump or both. Scroll down to read the recall report from NHTSA.