With electrification fully engulfing the automotive world, it’s little surprise Mitsubishi Canada is finally introducing a 2023 Outlander PHEV to the country this November. The biggest charge forward comes from a 20-kWh battery, with storage capacity now 45-per-cent greater than the previous version’s 13.8-kWh system.
Mitsubishi’s Canadian media site doesn’t mention anything about EV range; however, the model has been on sale in the Japanese market since October 2021 with an all-electric range there of 87 km, so hopefully that figure remains the same for us.
The brand says, perhaps vaguely, that this 2023 Outlander will offer “new PHEV technology with more power, more acceleration, greater EV range, [and] greater total range,” but please consider that a 0.1-per-cent improvement is technically considered “more.”
It also said the new PHEV offers a smoother, more responsive and quieter drive, with sharper acceleration.
Powering the Outlander PHEV will be a twin-motor AWD system, with a motor on each axle; the total output of both is up more than 40 per cent, and enables a split of up to 54 per cent power to the rear wheels. #WinterDriving, am I right? The front-axle motor generates 114 horsepower, up from 80; and the rear motor achieves 134 hp, up from 90 previously. Interestingly, the rear motor takes up less space, which gives the Outlander PHEV a three-row seating configuration for the first time.
The new drive battery sits low in the chassis between the axles for optimum weight distribution, and engine-wise, it’ll use an Atkinson-cycle 2.4-litre combustion engine. The S-AWC (Super-All-Wheel-Control) sticks around (a good thing!) and there are seven drive modes, including Normal, Tarmac, Gravel, Snow, Mud, Power, and Eco.
The top trim gets massaging seats and a two-tone roof, with the balance of the details to be announced at a later date. Would you test drive or consider the 2023 Outlander PHEV, or do you think it’ll be passed by the competition?
Keyword: 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to arrive in Canada this November