Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed review finds a safe and reliable family SUV choice
Locally tuned Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed SUV takes comfort to new levels in a ‘pressure-cooker’ market.
Don’t be sorry, be better.
It’s a sporting analogy Mitsubishi has embraced with its Outlander SUV.
Faced with stiff opposition, the Japanese brand knew it had to improve.
Australian-based Mitsubishi engineers were duly dispatched to overhaul the ride and handling, and also ordered to raid the entire safety parts bin.
The 2025 result? It’s quieter, feels less like a startled boat, and has earned a five-star ANCAP rating under the latest, most brutal “thou shalt not pass” criteria. Better, indeed.
Competing in the medium-size segment, it’s a pressure cooker environment. There are more than 30 competing for less than $60k, and another 30-odd over that price bracket.
Calling the medium-size segment a “pressure cooker” is an understatement. It’s a 60-car pileup in a supermarket aisle. It’s less a segment, more a shark tank.
Prices start from $39,990 drive-away for the base Outlander ES model, pushing beyond $60,000 for the seven-seat all-wheel drive flagship.
We drove the Exceed, which has a current drive-away offer of $57,920 until November 30. That stacks it up against the segment-leading Toyota RAV4 Cruiser AWD hybrid ($58,268 drive-away), Hyundai Tuscon Elite ($45,990), Nissan X-Trail Ti-L ($56,990), GMW Haval H6 Ultra AWD hybrid ($47,490), Mazda CX-60 G25 Pure ($47,990), Kia Sportage GT-Line petrol ($58,921), Subaru Forester AWD Touring ($55,687) and even the electric BYD Sealion 7 Premium ($57,435).
What do you get?
From the outside the Exceed looks more robust with 20-inch two-tone alloys filling the wheel arches along with painted lower skirts, but step inside and things look up-market compared to lower specification models of the Outlander range.
Quilted leather trimmed seats, tri-zone aircon, aluminium pedals, a hands free power tailgate which just requires a wave of the foot for opening and a ventilation function joins heating for the front chairs are the key upgrades.
Other nice kit includes a 12.3-inch touchscreen, eight-speaker Yamaha stereo system, Mitsubishi Connect connectivity app, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with a wireless charger.
Mitsubishi has the longest warranty in Australia, but the caveat for 10 years of coverage is dealership servicing. Opt to service at an independent and the coverage drops back to five years. Flat white is the only complimentary colour, with red, grey, silver, blue, black and ‘diamond’ white all costing at least an extra $990.
Capped price servicing is on the cheaper side of the scale and runs for 10 years at an average price of $434.
How was the drive?
Using the same four-cylinder engine, the Outlander is no speed machine. It’s honest, it’s reliable, and it has all the blistering excitement of a well-made dishwasher.
Key improvements have been made on the road where it feels more accomplished and confident.
The Aussie research and development team led an international intervention – changing the shocks, tweaking the anti-roll bar and coded a new steering map for greater driver control.
They also went on a comfort crusade, even using a steel bonnet among a swag of other changes to help reduce road noise. The resulting “Aussie developed” tune was apparently so good, head office stole it for the rest of the world.
Our test vehicle’s driver monitoring system regularly said it was “unable to detect face”, particularly while the pilot was wearing sunglasses. Yawn, no matter how long you have been driving, and the system tells you to take a break.
Some longer highway drives on our test saw the average fuel consumption of 7.9L/100km using standard unleaded. That’s lower than the official figure.
Would you buy one?
Kel: When it first broke cover back in 2022 I really liked the fresh look which was dramatically better than the previous models. It certainly feels more polished now and there was nothing I really disliked, nor was there anything which inspired love. Solid, predictable and spacious, although there’s nothing which makes me desperate to have one.
Grant: During recent memory, the Outlander has made the biggest step forward of any medium-size SUV. And it had to, before the all-new model it was well below par. Sure, these tweaks back up the up-market looks but the pure petrol model is just the sensible, adequate choice. The plug-in hybrid, with its superior guts, is the smart one. It’s one of the best buys in the segment. So I’d skip “adequate” and go straight for the PHEV.
Originally published as Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed review finds a safe and reliable family SUV choice
