2023 Mitsubishi Outlander vs 2021 Volvo XC90

What's the difference?

The Mitsubishi Outlander LS Black Edition scores big marks for practicality as long as you don’t think of it as a conventional seven-seater. Treat it as a five-seater, with the super-handy option of squeezing a couple of kids into the occasional third row for short trips, and you’ll be laughing.

It’s comfortable, refined and fuel-efficient, but it isn’t perfect. Side curtain airbags not covering those ‘+2’ third row seats is a safety miss. The exterior design, especially at the front, is polarising (my guess is mostly to one pole). And the lengthy warranty hand-cuffing you to Mitsubishi network service to enable an ‘extra’ five years’ cover feels awkward.  

However, the closer is solid value-for-money. It not only passes the family practicality and flexibility test, it’s keenly priced and well-equipped relative to mid-size competitors.   

The XC90 Recharge makes a lot of sense for a family with a couple of kids, who live and spend most of their time in the city and surrounding suburbs.

You’ll need access to a power point for charging and you’ll have to do it regularly to get the best out of this SUV, but in return you’ll get effortless and efficient driving, along with the practicality and prestige which comes with any XC90. 

Say what you like about the current Mitsubishi Outlander, but there’s no doubt the design of the car’s ‘face’ is distinctive.

The large grille section consists of an upright lower panel and sloping, broadening, slotted upper piece. Big splashes of curved chrome run down the sides, at the same time defining the slim, angular daytime running lights above.

Then, more upright headlight units sit on top of separate fog lights, the entire combination topped by ‘Outlander’ script in proud relief along the bonnet’s leading edge, the latter obviously inspired by Range Rover’s long-established badge treatment.   

The rest of the exterior is more conventional, with - surprise, surprise - the Black Edition defined by a whole bunch of black stuff.

Everything from the 20-inch alloy wheels to the front and rear skid plates, exterior mirror housings and the grille are blacked out.

And the theme carries over inside with a sleek and comfy combination of black synthetic suede and synthetic leather on the seats (with contrast stitching), a black laser-etched panel in the front centre console around the gearshift, black headlining and black front pillar trim.

Overall, the interior is simple, understated and functional with a common-sense mix of physical and digital controls, as well as soft-touch materials where it counts.

Cars are like dogs in that a year for them ages them more than one for us. So, this current-generation XC90 which came out in 2015 is getting on in age. Still, the XC90 is a design lesson in how to defy the aging process because the styling even now it appears modern and beautiful. It’s also big, tough, and prestigious looking which is how the flagship SUV in a premium brand should be.

The Thunder Grey paint my test car wore (see the images) is an optional hue, and it suited the battleship size and personality of the XC90. The enormous 22-inch five -spoke Black Diamond Cut alloy wheels were standard and filled up those giant arches nicely.

Maybe it’s the minimalist styling which has kept the XC90 looking cutting edge, because even the interior looks like the inside of a very expensive psychiatrist’s office with those leather seats and the brushed aluminium trim.

The vertical display is still impressive even in 2021, and while fully digital instrument clusters are in everything these days the XC90’s has a prestigious look and matches the rest of the cabin in its colours and fonts.

As for the XC90’s dimensions, it’s 4953mm long, 2008mm wide with the mirrors folded and 1776mm tall to the top of its shark fin antenna.

At just over 4.7m long, close to 1.9m wide and 1.75m tall, the Outlander is a ‘large’ medium-size SUV.

There’s lots of breathing room up front and the car is wide enough that the driver and front passenger aren’t bursting each other's personal space bubbles.  

Within the car’s overall footprint, a 2.7m wheelbase (the distance between the axles) is pretty generous and rear seat room is good, too.

Sitting behind the driver’s seat set for my 183cm position I enjoyed more than adequate head, leg and shoulder room.

Three full-size adults across the second row are okay for up to medium length trips, thanks in no small part to a flat rear floor. And depending on the child seats or boosters you’re working with, three-abreast for smaller humans should be do-able, as well.

Storage options in the front include a medium-size lidded box between the seats (which doubles as a centre armrest), a reasonable glove box, two big cupholders in the centre console and generous bins in the doors with space for large bottles.

The wireless charging pad is handy for your phone (even when it’s not charging) as well as other bits and pieces. And an overhead bin flips down for your sunnies.

There are directional air vents for those in the rear with storage running to a shelf underneath the vents, map pockets on both front seat backs, two large cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest and slots in the doors, again with space for larger bottles.

Move to the third row, and… you’ll be cramped. Mitsubishi is up front in positioning this car as a ‘5+2’, meaning full-time seating for five and (very much) part-time seating for two.

Those two in the way-back seats will be small kids, on short trips, and even then, the sliding (and reclining) middle row will need to move forward quite a bit to accommodate their legs. Adults? Forget it.

Power and connectivity options include primary USB-A and USB-C sockets for media in the dash plus another two outlets in the rear for power only. There are 12-volt plugs in the front and the boot.

Speaking of which, the boot will accommodate 163 litres (VDA) worth of stuff (to the top of the seats) with the third row upright, which is enough for some shopping bags, school bags, etc.

Folding that 50/50 split-folding row down means removing the ludicrously long (but undoubtedly effective) head restraints for a flat-floor load space of 478 litres (VDA).

We were able to load in the large CarsGuide pram, with room to spare, and our three-piece luggage set (36L, 95L and 124L) was also swallowed easily.

Lower the 40/20/40 split-fold second row seat and you have 1461 litres (VDA - to the roof) at your disposal. 

There are small storage areas either side of the load space behind the wheel tubs and tie-down anchors to help keep loose loads under control.

The Outlander LS Black Edition is rated to tow a 1.6-tonne braked trailer (750kg unbraked) with ‘Trailer Stability Assist’ standard, and the spare is a space-saver.

Clever interior packaging means the XC90 Recharge is more practical than many large SUVs. There are flashes of utilitarian brilliance everywhere from the children’s booster seat which pops out of the centre of the second row (see the images) to the way the XC90 can crouch down like an elephant to make it easier to load stuff into the boot.

The XC90 Recharge is a seven-seater, and like all SUVs with third rows those seats in the very back only offer enough room for kids. The second row is spacious even for me at 191cm tall with plenty of leg- and headroom. Up front as you’d expect has good head-, elbow- and shoulder room.

Cabin storage is good with two cup holders in each row (the third also has containers under the armrests) and there are large door pockets, a decent sized centre console box and a net pocket in the front passenger footwell.

The cargo capacity with all seats being used is 291 litres and with the third row folded flat you’ll have 651 litres of boot space.

Storage for the charging cable could be better. The cable comes in a stylish canvas bag that sits in the boot, but other plug-in hybrids I’ve driven do a better job of providing a storage box for the cable that’s out of the way of your regular cargo.  

The gesture control tailgate works with a foot swish under the rear of the car and the proximity key means you can lock and unlock the vehicle by touching the door handle.

The cargo area is filled with hooks for bags and a lift-up divider to hold items in place.

Four-zone climate control, four USB ports (two in the front and two in the second row) dark tinted rear windows and sun blinds top off what is a very practical, family SUV.

My family is small – there’s just three of us – and so the XC90 was more than what we needed. That said, we found a way to fill it with holiday gear, shopping, even a mini trampoline.

The XC90 Recharge lists for $114,990 making it the most expensive grade in the XC90 range.

Still, the value is excellent considering the number of features which come standard.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster standard, so is the nine-inch vertical centre display for media and climate control, there’s also sat nav, a Bowers and Wilkins 19-speaker stereo, wireless phone-charging, four-zone climate control, power-adjustable front seats, proximity key with auto tailgate and LED headlights.

My test car was fitted with options such as the Nappa Leather perforated and ventilated seats in Charcoal ($2950), the Climate pack which adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel ($600), power folding headrests in the rear ($275) and Thunder Grey metallic paint ($1900).

Even at a grand total (before on-road costs) of $120,715 I think this is still good value.

The Outlander LS Black Edition is powered by a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

It produces 135kW at 6000rpm and 244Nm at 3600rpm, sending drive to the front wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission.

The XC90 Recharge (Volvo calls it this, so for simplicity let's do it, too) is an all-wheel drive SUV with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder supercharged and turbo-charged engine, producing 246kW and 440Nm, plus an electric motor which adds 65kW and 240Nm.

Shifting gears is an eight-speed automatic and acceleration is rapid at 5.5 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

All XC90s have a 2400kg braked towing capacity.

The 11.6kWh lithium ion battery is located under the floor in a tunnel which runs down the centre of the car covered by the centre console and hump in the footwell of the second row.

If you didn’t realise, this is the type of hybrid you need to plug into a power source to charge the batteries. A power point is fine but a wall unit is faster.  If you don’t plug in, the battery will only get tiny whiff of charge from the regenerative braking and that won’t be enough to put a tiny dent in your fuel consumption.

Mitsubishi’s official fuel economy number for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.7L/100km, the 2.5-litre petrol four emitting 174g/km of CO2 in the process.

Over a week of city, suburban and some freeway running, we averaged 8.9L/100km, which is pretty impressive for a close to 1.7-tonne, seven-seat SUV.

Minimum fuel requirement is 91 RON ‘standard’ unleaded and you’ll need 55 litres of it to fill the tank.

Using the official economy number, that translates to a range of around 715km, which drops to just under 620km using our real-world figure.

Volvo says that after a combination of urban and open roads the XC 90 Recharge should use 2.1L/100km. That’s incredible - we’re talking about a five-metre long, 2.2-tonne, seven-seat SUV here.

In my testing the fuel economy varied greatly depending on how and where I drove the XC90.

There was a week where I only drove up to 15km a day doing the day care drop-offs, the shopping, popping into work in the CBD, but all within 10km of my home. With 35km of electric range I found that I only had to charge the XC90 every second day to keep it topped up to full and, according to the trip computer, after 55km of travel I was using 1.9L/100km.

I recharged using the outdoor power point in my driveway and using this method would take just less than five hours to fully charge the battery from empty. A wall unit or fast charger will top the battery up much quicker.

The charging cable is long at more than 3m, and the flap on the XC90 is located on the front left wheel guard.

If you don’t have a way of charging the XC90 regularly then fuel consumption will go up, obviously.

This happened when our family took a break down the coast and the holiday house we stayed at didn’t have a power point within reach. So, while we had been charging the car regularly in the week beforehand with a few long trips thrown in on motorways, for the four days we were away I didn’t plug it in at all.

After 598.4km I filled it back to full at the petrol pump with 46.13 litres of premium unleaded. That comes to 7.7L/100km, which is still great fuel economy given that the last 200km would have been without charging.

The lesson is the XC90 Recharge is most fuel efficient on short suburban and city trips with daily or every second-day charging.  

A larger capacity battery would add more range and make this plug-in hybrid SUV better suited to people who live further out of the city and do more motorway miles.

Close to 4.7m long and tipping the scales at 1660kg, the Outlander LS Black Edition is a substantial rather than large front-wheel drive SUV.

Its 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine produces 135kW and 244Nm with that second, peak pulling power figure arriving at a relatively high 3600rpm.

You can expect 0-100km/h acceleration in around 10 seconds which is pretty handy, if not exactly earth-shattering.

Yet, the Outlander is a pleasant machine to drive - quiet, refined and with enough oomph to get the job done in the cut-and-thrust of suburban traffic and cruise comfortably once out of town.

I'm not a fan of CVT autos, but the unit fitted to the Outlander is one of the better ones, minimising the usual disconnect between road speed and engine rpm.

The suspension (strut front, multi-link rear) is comfy, even over less than perfect urban surfaces, steering feel is good, and the body remains stable in the bends.

That cornering performance is also helped by the (255/45) Bridgestone Ecopia rubber, designed specifically for SUVs and 4WDs. They’re economy-focused but grip hard, without a hint of squeal in tight cornering.

Braking is firm and progressive with (350mm) ventilated discs at the front and (330mm) solid rotors at the rear.

Under the heading of miscellaneous observations, the front seats remain comfortable and supportive after lengthy stints behind the wheel. An 11.2m turning circle isn’t tiny so it pays to plan ahead for U- or three-point turns. And all-around vision is good, with the exception of the enormous third row headrests. If there’s no one in those seats, make sure to remove them and pack the seat flat.

We put more than 700km on the clock of the XC90 Recharge during the three weeks it stayed with my family, covering a lot of motorway miles, country roads and a stack of urban usage, too.

Now without sounding like one of the haters who hated on me the last time I test-drove a Volvo hybrid, you will need to charge the XC90 Recharge all the time if you want to get not only the best fuel economy, but also the best performance from the SUV, too.

There’s the extra oomph from the motor, when you have enough charge in the ‘tank’ but also the serene and smooth pleasure of driving in electric mode on city and urban trips.

That tranquil electric driving experience feels kind of at odds with a large SUV at first, but having now tested a few big family plug-in hybrids and EVs I can tell you it’s a more enjoyable one.

Movement is not only smooth, but the electric grunt provides a feeling of control with an instant response which I found reassuring in traffic and at intersections.

The transition from electric motor to petrol engine is almost seamless. Volvo and Toyota are only a couple of the few brands which seemed to have achieved this.

The XC90 is large and that presented a challenge when trying to pilot it into my narrow driveaway and in car parks, but light, accurate steering and excellent visibility with large windows and cameras galore helped there.

The auto parking feature works well even on the higgledy-piggledy streets in my neighbourhood.

Topping off an effortless driving experience is air suspension which provides a cushioned and composed ride, with great body control all while wearing those 22-inch wheels and low-profile rubber.

Volvo has for decades been a pioneer of safety systems to such an extreme that people used to make fun of the brand for being overly cautious. Well, take it from this helicopter parent: there’s no such thing as being overly cautious! Besides, these days all car brands are striving to offer advanced safety systems which the XC90 has had for years. Yep, safety is cool now. Which makes Volvo the Kanye of car brands.

Coming standard on the XC90 Recharge is AEB which works at city speeds to brake for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and even large animals.

There’s also lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning, cross traffic alert with braking (front and rear).

Steering support provides assistance during at evasive manoeuvre at speeds between 50 and 100km/h.

Curtain airbags cover all three rows and for child seats there are two ISOFIX mounts and three top tether anchor points in the second row. Note, there are no mounts or points for child seats in the third row.

A space-saver spare is under the boot floor.

The XC90 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it tested in 2015.  

Mitsubishi Australia covers the Outlander with a 10-year/200,000 km warranty, with five-year corrosion (perforation) protection also included.

That’s double the time period offered by the majority of brands in the local new car market, however an unlimited kilometre term is more typical. And… there’s a catch.

To qualify for the 10-year cover Mitsubishi says, “The vehicle must have had ALL scheduled services performed within the authorised Mitsubishi Dealer Network (from the first service onwards).” 

Have the vehicle serviced outside the Mitsubishi network, or not in accordance with the service schedule, and you’re looking at five years/100,000km.

Speaking of servicing, capped pricing is available for 10 years/150,000km, with the lowest annual cost being $299, and the highest (year 10) coming in at $849. The annual average over that period is $434. Not outrageous, but not especially sharp, either.

Also worth noting, roadside assistance is complimentary for the first year, renewed annually for up to four years, again, if you have your Outlander serviced by an authorised Mitsubishi dealer.

The XC90 is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. Two service plans are offered: three years for $1500 and five years for $2500.