The NEW Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV
We all know electric and hybrid and hydrogen will be the drivers of our future cars. The costs of renewables are plummeting, while the ease of using them is improving rapidly, and in the background, Mother Nature has folded her arms and is tapping one foot in an increasingly menacing way. So we are all doomed to drive things that look like the Prius in future? Actually, no. Have a look at this if you think future motoring is going to be quiet and well behaved and really boring.
It is a race open to women only, with only compasses, maps and so allowed for navigation. A gruelling 2000km of rough desert from Nevada to California. So two women, a Sergeant Major and a Master Sargent in the US military entered the challenging challenge in the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – an SUV, plug-in hybrid. Their vehicle was modified, but the standard Outlander has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder and two electric motors that together give you 142kW and 186Nm of torque.
And they came third. How boring is that in the greater scheme of things? Sure, they were allowed time to charge their batteries, but that does not detract from their ability. The sheer motoring grunt required to get a podium finish against “normal” cars shines a bright light on the electrified cars of the future.
Topline EVs will demolish everything, including superbikes, on a standing quarter mile. In the States, hybrid and full EV Ford F250s will power your house or business if weather knocks out the power. In China and India cheap EVs are helping fight the scourge of air pollution while transporting entire families and selected domestic and agricultural livestock over great distances.
Vehicles electrified in some way or the other will be the shape of our motoring future. Like all internal combustion cars of today, they will come in a range, from cheap and nasty to really wow. The Outlander has just shown how wow wow can be.
But most of us will never enter a rally and will demand that our car does what we want it to do as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. And that, dear readers, describes the Mitsubishi Outlander in a nutshell.
