Last month, Mitsubishi made headlines for reportedly not being very interested in participating in the now-dead merger between Nissan and Honda. When I first heard this, my hand hit my forehead. Full respect to the boldness, but in what world is Mitsubishi Motors—a D-list automaker running on B-list automaker parts that seems to perpetually be on the brink of exiting the U.S. market—in any position to be turning down such a lifeline?
Fast forward a month and I’m sitting behind the wheel of the updated 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander. And from where I’m sitting… I get it. From where I’m sitting, these guys are doing just fine.
The Basics
On paper and price, the Mitsubishi Outlander is a compact crossover that competes with the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, but in practice, it is slightly bigger than those cars and sets itself apart by having a third row. Yep, this is a seven-seater.
This fourth-gen model built on the Nissan Rogue’s platform debuted in 2021 but gets a refresh for 2025. Exterior changes are subtle: wheel designs are new, the upper part of the front grille has been cleaned up, lower fascias front and rear are apparently different, and so are the almost BMW X5-esque taillight signatures. Inside, the center cupholders have been moved to fall easier to hand, the armrest cubby is bigger, the wireless charger has been redesigned, and, of course, the touchscreen infotainment system has grown from nine inches to 12.3.
There are more gizmos than before, too. Both front seats can now be ventilated, there’s a frameless digital rearview mirror, the dome lights are now touch-sensitive, and the pedals are aluminum. Standard equipment includes that big touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors with automatic emergency braking, and the digital mirror.
Climbing in, the Mitsubishi Outlander is a surprisingly nice thing. The dash design is clean and classy, the leathers in this SEL trim are more plush than expected, the speaker grilles look like they came off an entry-level luxury car, and general material and build quality feel pretty great for the segment. Cover up the badges and this probably could’ve passed for, like, an Infiniti cabin from not that long ago. What’s more, there are hella physical buttons and knobs (but not too many!) and they’re all placed and work exactly as you’d expect. Love it.
All seats are unobtrusively comfortable, and the second row is quite spacious with legroom coming in at 39.9 inches—still one inch shy of the beloved CR-V but a clear dunk on the RAV4. As for that third row, it is certifiably cramped as I cannot sit up straight back there as a five-foot-eight adult. However, it’s hard to fault Mitsubishi too much for this considering most of the Outlander’s direct competitors do not feature a third row at all, not even as an option. Keep these folded down most of the time and treat this car as a five-seater that happens to have two extra deployable seats for emergencies and young kids.
What is certainly not small, however, are the sun visors which are notably, almost comically large.
Bikes AND Pianos?
The one enhancement Mitsubishi is most excited about, however, might just be the 2025 Outlander’s new Yamaha sound system. Fun fact, this is the first North American market car ever to get a Yamaha-developed audio system. And as far as we can tell, it’s not just a cynical branding exercise either, as real work has gone into how music in the Outlander sounds.
It’s been calibrated by Yamaha’s in-house “Sound Meisters” to capture a sound that reproduces the artist’s intention as accurately as possible, and the hardware is said to be based on its flagship, $15,000 Zylon-diaphragm NS-5000 bookshelf speakers. Yamaha even helped add dampening to and reinforce the doors to minimize vibration and optimize acoustics. The system compensates for speed as most car sound systems do now, but they’ve taken it two steps further here, compensating for rain (triggered by the high wiper mode) and air conditioning drone as well.
To my admittedly peon ears, the Outlander’s 12-speaker, 1,650-watt Yamaha Ultimate system does do a decent job of delivering levels of bass and clarity you only often get with luxury cars. This top setup is optional, but the standard eight speakers are also Yamaha creations.
Notably, there is no active noise canceling going on, but a Yamaha Sound Meister sounded receptive to the idea when I brought it up. Regardless, the Outlander may not be able to isolate road and wind noise like a Lexus, but that stuff isn’t egregiously loud either.
Driving Experience
A surprisingly plush interior and standout sound system would only go so far if the revised Outlander didn’t also drive fairly well, but fortunately, it does that too. Easy, light inputs are clearly tuned for comfort. The brake pedal is on the slightly cushier side and makes coming to smooth stops very easy. Around town, the steering—tweaked this year to feel better on-center, and be lighter when parking yet firmer at speed—is intuitive and sufficiently precise. Overall, the Outlander feels quite large and substantial going down the ride in a way that brings to mind confidence, not baggage.
Specifically in response to customer feedback from Australia, Mitsubishi tweaked the suspension and tire setup to provide a more comfortable, flatter ride and the car does indeed do a great job of smoothing over bumps.
The 2.5-liter unturbo’d Nissan PR25DD four-cylinder engine makes 181 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, which lets it feel sufficiently not-slow putting around town. At higher speeds, though, the lack of turbos or hybrid motors makes itself known—the Outlander is quick enough for reasonable, everyday driving but it’s also not raising anyone’s pulse.
Not on dry pavement, at least. Front-wheel drive is standard but Mitsu’s family crossover can be had with the company’s Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) all-wheel-drive system. Derived from the brand’s extensive rally experience, this tech debuted on the Lancer Evo X and optimizes torque distribution front and rear while controlling yaw with the brakes.
A wet-weather/off-road test will have to wait—a Subaru Wilderness-baiting Sport Trail edition is coming later this year. This test was conducted in *perfect* LA weather, though, and for what it’s worth, the AWD Outlander uses its rally pedigree to be a competent and smooth momentum car on a sun-soaked canyon road.
Mitsubishi Outlander Features and Options
- ES: Starting at $31,140, the base 2025 Outlander ES comes standard with new 18-inch wheels, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, two USB-C ports up front as well as one in the center console storage, the new 12.3-inch screen, eight Yamaha speakers, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
- SE: The Outlander SE jumps to $33,890 and adds 20-inch wheels, semi-autonomous highway driving capabilities, a hands-free liftgate, front parking sensors, faux leather, fog lights, two USB-C ports in the back, the updated wireless charger, heated front seats, heated and electric-fold door mirrors, and a multi-view camera system.
- SEL: Shelling out $36,995 for this SEL trim driven gets nicer leather, aluminum pedals, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, a pano roof, a full digital instrument cluster, three-zone climate, heated rear seats, and rear sunshades.
- Platinum: That fancy 12-speaker Yamaha audio system comes as part of optional packages for SE and SEL but it’s standard on the $44,640 Platinum Edition. AWD is an $1,800 option across the board except in that top Platinum car where it’s standard alongside the 12 speakers, digital mirror, scuff plates, and Mitsubishi logo ground illumination when you open the doors at night.
The Early Verdict
The 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander is a way nicer thing than its badge might suggest. It delivers a more-than-decent, comfortable drive, has one of the best sound systems in its tax bracket, and is fiercely practical—starting at $31,140, this is one of the cheapest ways to get seven seats. It’s also objectively more interesting than the sea of Toyotas, Hondas, Hyundais, and Kias that flood the road.
I’m not sure I’d have it over the pitch-perfect practical-car darlings that are the Honda CR-V or Mazda CX-5, but it’s more appealing to me as an item than the Toyota RAV4 and drives downright better than the Hyundai Santa Fe. Most notably, perhaps, it’s a compelling but overlooked alternative to the Subaru Forester, proving once and for all that you can have rally-bred AWD in your regular commuter SUV without it feeling like a tin can.
Above all of the material merits and competitive analysis, though, the Outlander simply feels like a car that’s had real care and practical thought put into it. You know what it reminds me of? A Saab. Don’t think too hard about what that analogy says about the future of Mitsubishi Motors as a business, but like a Saab, the Outlander is quietly great. Like a Saab, it’s an underrated, overlooked, mildly luxurious automobile.
And like a Saab, it takes, let’s call it, somewhat questionable hardware from a bigger automaker and simply makes it quirkier—and, ultimately, Better.
| 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Specs | |
|---|---|
| Base Price (SEL AWD as tested) | $31,140 ($45,270) |
| Powertrain | 2.5-liter four-cylinder | continuously variable automatic | front- or all-wheel drive |
| Horsepower | 181 @ 6,000 rpm |
| Torque | 181 lb-ft @ 3,600 rpm |
| Seating Capacity | 7 |
| Cargo Volume | 10.9 cubic feet behind third row | 30.6 cubic feet behind second row | 64.3 cubic feet behind first row |
| Curb Weight | 3,803 pounds |
| Towing Capacity | 2,000 pounds |
| Ground Clearance | 8.4 inches |
| Fuel Economy | FWD: 24 mpg city | 31 highway | 27 combined AWD: 24 mpg city | 30 highway | 26 combined |
| Score | 8.5/10 |
Quick Take
Pleasantly, borderline luxuriously nice to drive and be in, the refreshed Outlander is a spacious, affordable family ride that deserves way more attention than it gets.
Got a tip or question for the author about the Outlander? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com