As a modern example of family motoring, the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer deserves to be discussed using properly modern language. So SUV buyers, you need to lowkey pay attention as the new Mitsi could be the school run flex you are looking for!
- Modern design has real street appeal
- Generous level of equipment across the range – not just at the top
- Solid family all-rounder with third-row backup bonus
- Some of the technology implementation not as slick as the rest of the car
- Little bit thirstier than we’d like
- Don’t buy it as a seven-seater, though – they are for short trips only
Introduction
Having a pre-teen daughter is a great way of staying in touch with modern trends, music and, most importantly, language.
In the past few months, I have grown beyond fleek and embraced yeet. I know what is extra, who an eshay is, and crucially, I know when to call out a positively lit glow-up.
I refer, of course, to the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer, the range-topping variant of the triple-diamond’s completely overhauled family hauler. It’s the first all-new Outlander in a decade and, I’ll give you the hot tea, compared to the old car this one is turnt.
And with that, I’ll return to a regular mid-40s vernacular.
Priced from $49,990 (before options and on-road costs), the Exceed Tourer is probably not where most buyers will arrive in the range (looking at you $41,490 Aspire FWD – read the price and spec details of the full Outlander range here), but it’s a great showcase of everything that Mitsubishi has thrown at the new Outlander to make the seven-seater live its best life.
| Key details | 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer |
| Price (MSRP) | $49,990 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | White Diamond with Black Mica roof |
| Options | None |
| Price as tested | $49,990 plus on-road costs ($54,490 drive-away, limited offer) |
| Rivals | Kia Sportage | Nissan X-Trail | Toyota RAV4 |
Style and Design
From any angle, the new Outlander makes a bold statement. An award-winning one at that.
What originally started as the GT-PHEV motorshow concept in 2016 has evolved into a particularly striking production car.
High-mount LED running lamps and a stacked-trio of LED main and high beams are wrapped in a bulbous nose by Mitsubishi’s signature ‘Dynamic Sheild’ chrome trim.
The side profile manages to make the 20-inch wheels look perfectly scaled, with clever use of black trim under the flattened arches. Not something every car can pull off.
The Exceed Tourer includes a contrasting coloured roof that works well in White Diamond metallic with black, but perhaps less so in Black Diamond with Bronze. These are your only two choices on the Tourer, whereas the ‘regular’ Exceed can be had in seven single-tone colours (black, blue, grey, red, silver, pearl white and flat white).
But like we said, while this may be a range-topper, it won’t be the volume car.
Inside
Like the contrast roof on the outside, the Tourer is the only variant in the Outlander line-up to feature the two-tone ‘saddle tan’ (orange) interior option. Like the roof, it looks great, but is probably not worth the extra $2000 (Exceed at $47,990, Exceed Tourer at $49,990 both before on-road costs).
You get massage seats, too, which are nice, but also fall into the ‘not worth $2K’ bucket.
This aside, it’s a really well-presented interior, even with orange bits. The materials are high-quality and the finish is top-notch. I was a particular fan of the padded trim pieces on the top of the doors.
Ergonomics are good and basic functions like climate control are easy to use, plus this even has a shortcut to rear temperature controls on the main interface, which if you’ve dealt with a number of ‘I’m cold’ and ‘I’m hot’ complaints within a short period of time is a very handy inclusion.
The quilted-pattern seats are lovely and both supportive and comfortable. They are heated (from Aspire upward) and powered and have multiple memory settings (on Exceed upward).
One of the Outlander’s strong marketing points, the seven-seat layout available across the range (optional on ES, standard on LS and above), is also the reason behind one of its key compromises, second-row space.
It’s comfortable back there, and the reclining backrests are good, but legroom isn’t brilliant for adults or taller teens. Plus, the central armrest is actually the middle seatback, which to be level and comfortable requires the headrest to be extended.
To need this amount of deployment finesse in a car where children are going to put poorly sealed drinks in a (likely) angled cupholder isn’t great.
And the third row? Yeah, kids-only back there and only for short trips, plus there’s very limited cargo room (163L) when all seven pews are in place. They are ‘sometimes’ seats, after all. Something that you are reminded of each time you need to unfold and then assemble the head restraints for use.
The flip-fold access through the back doors is good, though.
When using the Outlander as a five-seater, the 478L boot is generous and expands to 1461L with all rows folded flat. It’s like this that it works best, so treat the third row as a bonus rather than a function, and you’ll be fine.
| 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer | |
| Seats | Seven |
| Boot volume | 163L to third row/ 478L to second row / 1461L to first row |
| Length | 4710mm |
| Width | 1862mm |
| Height | 1745mm |
| Wheelbase | 2706mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
Being a modern platform, the Outlander offers plenty of new-generation goodies like USB-A and USB-C ports, a wireless charge pad and a 360-degree parking camera.
The 9.0-inch touchscreen media system supports wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, includes satellite navigation and DAB digital radio. It’s fine, and does all you need, but feels a bit ‘meh’ in contrast with the other elements of the interior. The interface isn’t all that slick, the display is not super sharp, the maps not particularly detailed.
It’s a weird gripe, sure, but with obvious attention and care taken to other touchpoints and switchgear around the cabin, the generic ‘off the Mitsubishi shelf’ media system feels a bit ordinary.
The 10-speaker Bose Premium sound system is good, though.
If the media system is boring, however, then the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is anything but. All the key information is presented in rich colour, but you can change the display to show as wacky rolling drum speedo and tacho tumblers that look like 1990s fantasy-adventure CGI elements. It’s just a bit… strange. I’m not a huge fan.
The menu structure is a bit convoluted, too, which is not something that impacts day-to-day driving, but is just something else that feels a bit less premium than other parts of the car.
One other strange thing is that the touch-unlock button on the door doesn’t immediately inform the alarm system status. On a number of occasions, we managed to have the siren scream away when opening the door.
This didn’t happen using remote unlock from the keyfob, nor if you let the car think about being unlocked for a second or two before pulling the handle.
Safety and Technology
As you would expect, there is a host of driver assistance and safety equipment on board, with systems like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep assist standard across the range.
Our Exceed Tourer also includes rear cross-traffic alert and braking (on LS grade up), and a 360-degree camera and head-up display (Aspire grade up) to provide a comprehensive and premium selection of technology.
It all works well, too, with the lane-departure system quite passive in its operation, which we tend to prefer. The information in the head-up display is clear and useful too.
The Outlander scores a five-star ANCAP rating and was tested this year (2022), meaning it is at the peak of the current testing criteria.
| 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2022) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
Value for Money
This has always been a strong point of Mitsubishi vehicles, and the new Outlander is no exception. As noted, the Tourer isn’t the postcard for value in the range, but the Aspire at $41,490 for front-wheel drive, or $43,999 as an all-wheel drive (both before on-road costs), is the real sweet spot.
Keep an eye on Mitsubishi’s offers page too, drive-away deals are usually easy to spot and right now the Outlander range has reasonable no-surprises drive-away deals, like this Exceed Tourer at $54,490 drive-away
Mitsubishi offers a 10-year warranty if you maintain the dealer service schedule, which of its own is also a reasonably strong value proposition. Service outside of the dealer network (or for some fleet customers) and the warranty reverts to five years or 100,000km.
| At a glance | 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer |
| Warranty | Five years / 100,000km (up to 10 years/200,000km if service conditions are met) |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $597 (3 years), $995 (5 years) |
You get 10 years of transparent costs here too, with the first three coming in at $597 and five at $995 (just $199 per year). Years six and eight will run $499 and the tenth service is a major at $799, but given your car is warranted the entire time, this feels like excellent value.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Usage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 8.1L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 10.2L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91-octane petrol |
| Fuel tank size | 55L |
Driving
Not everything is brand-new in the 2022 Outlander. Under the bonnet is a 2.5-litre petrol engine sourced from the 2019 Nissan Altima. The direct-injection PR25DD offers 135kW and 245Nm with a claimed combined-cycle fuel consumption of 8.1L/100km.
It’s not a bad lump by any stretch, but just feels a bit lacking in low-down torque (the peak isn’t until a buzzy 3600rpm), and tends to be thirstier than you’d like as there are no forced-induction efficiency multipliers at play.
Not all engines can be standouts, though, and this, while fundamentally good, is just a four-cylinder petrol. You’ll find the same unit under the bonnet of the upcoming Nissan X-Trail too.
Over our week with the car, the average consumption was 10.2L/100km. It’s not crazy and is actually lower than the claimed urban cycle of 10.5L/100km, but when the RAV4 Hybrid can dish out reliable five-point-something averages (4.8L/100km claim) and the Kia Sportage diesel low sixes (6.3L/100km claim), the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi-Alliance powerplant isn’t all that frugal.
BTW, the forthcoming Outlander PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) variant should change all that.
Thirst aside, the 2.5-litre engine cruises well, and despite not having as much vigour off the line as you’d always want, it has enough punch to manage B-road overtakes and general in-gear acceleration.
In-gear is probably apt, too, as the Outlander features a CVT (constantly variable transmission) with eight preset ratios and on-demand all-wheel drive. Drive is predominantly through the front wheels, though, and as such you barely notice the rears forcibly turning, even when the S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) notification advises you that things are happening.
Ride quality is good, too, and the Outlander compresses and rebounds well enough over speed humps, but the comparative size of the 20-inch wheels on the 2706mm wheelbase has it often feeling fussy over choppy on uneven surfaces.
This is only really apparent when touring, and again it points to where the quality and tactile feel of the Outlander has you wanting, or even expecting, the same level of premium-ness in other areas.
I am being quite picky here, though, as generally the Exceed Tourer is a very pleasant place to spend time, and as a family shopper it works very well around town.
| Key details | 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer |
| Engine | 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol |
| Power | 135kW @ 6000rpm |
| Torque | 245Nm @ 3600rpm |
| Drive type | All-wheel drive |
| Transmission | CVT automatic with eight preset ratios |
| Power to weight ratio | 76.7kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 1760kg |
| Tow rating | 1600kg braked, 750kg unbraked |
| Turning circle | 10.6m |
Conclusion
To briefly revert to my earlier teen-speak, the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer has had quite the glow-up.
It looks modern, stylish and, dare I say, cool.
The interior presents as a particularly upmarket option in this space, and while it may not be an everyday seven-seater, the flexibility on offer as well as the technology and safety inclusions make it an impressive choice for family buyers.
Sure, the Tourer probably isn’t the one that you’d look at first, but in Exceed or even Aspire guise you still get an impressive amount of car for your dollar, with up to 10 years of warranty support to boot.
That said, I know it’s a strange thing to suggest that the implementation of the car doesn’t match the execution, but it looks and feels so good, I just wanted the driving experience to be as refined as the styling.
And while the 2.5-litre petrol engine may be the weak link here, we know a plug-in hybrid version is on the way, which may be just what the Outlander needs to make it straight fire!
Because as crazy as it seems, we’re still a bit shook that the premise of a plug-in electric seven-seat Mitsubishi is exciting, and that, in 2022, it is quite acceptable to stan an Outlander.
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