2017 Mitsubishi Outlander vs Subaru Forester

What's the difference?

Mitsubishi's plug-in hybrid Outlander is officially the best-selling electric vehicle in Australia. Though to be fair, that's like saying Blockbuster is the country's best-performing video store. It doesn't mean much if nobody is noticing, and the Outlander PHEV isn't exactly flying off the shelves.

But that's no fault of the plug-in Outlander - it's sold more 120,000 units globally since its launch in 2014. It's just that Australia's taste for electric vehicles is lacklustre, and the absence of meaningful government support isn't helping. Or, in the words of Mitsubishi's own executives, "Sales in Australia are still in an infancy period…but we're hopeful."

MORE: Read the full Mitsubishi Outlander 2017 review

Since its launch in 2014, the hybrid Outlander has moved around 1650 units here (substantially less than the Prius, which managed almost that many last year alone, but a quirk of the official classification system ensures Mitsubishi's PHEV is classified as an EV rather than a hybrid), which is but a drop in the regular Outlander's petrol-powered ocean, with the conventional models selling more than eight times that number every single year.

But Mitsubishi is hoping this 2017 update will go some way to changing all that, adding a pure EV mode that will allow you to waft about town using nothing but power from the twin electric motors, and tweaking the acceleration and handling for when you're in the mood to burn some fossil fuels.

So, is that enough to attract buyers to the plug-in Outlander like moths to the flicker of an electric candle?

The Subaru Forester has been a dependable, popular best-seller for the Japanese brand for over two decades. A boxy, practical machine, it's far less interested in the fashion for sleek-looking lifestyle SUVs and rather more keen on function.

Along with the Nissan X-Trail, it is by far the most capable off-roader in its class, but has proven itself comfortable and capable on road as well. It might be getting on a bit in years, but with a new Impreza and XV the priority for Subaru, the Forester continues to be a popular machine on Australian roads.