2026 Mitsubishi Outlander ES 2WD review

How much is the Outlander?

Prices are RRP before on-road costs unless marked as drive-away:

• ES 2WD (5 seats): $39,990 RRP; $41,490 drive-away advertised in VIC.
• ES AWD (5 seats): $43,240 RRP; $47,980 drive-away advertised in VIC.
• LS 2WD (5+2): $44,040 RRP; $48,810 drive-away advertised in VIC.
• LS AWD (5+2): $46,540 RRP; $50,410 drive-away advertised in VIC.
• LS Black Edition AWD (5+2): $47,990 RRP.
• Aspire 2WD (5+2): $48,540 RRP.
• Aspire AWD (5+2): $51,040 RRP.
• Exceed AWD (5 seats): $55,890 RRP.
• Exceed Tourer AWD (5 seats): $58,740 RRP.

What each step up buys

Equipment here follows Mitsubishi's 26MY Australian brochure. The ES is well equipped for the entry grade: a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and satellite navigation, a 12.3-inch driver display, an eight-speaker Yamaha Premium system, dual-zone climate, fabric trim, 18-inch alloys, front and rear parking sensors and a surround-view camera. Going from 2WD to AWD costs $3,250 on the RRPs.

The LS is where the third row arrives, for $4,050 over the ES 2WD, along with a wireless phone charger, keyless smart entry, a retractable cargo cover, second-row USB sockets, privacy glass, roof rails, rain-sensing wipers and Mitsubishi Connect with emergency call. It swaps the ES's full-size spare for a space-saver. The Black Edition adds 20-inch black alloys, microsuede trim with black synthetic leather bolsters, a black headlining, heated front seats and a power driver's seat.

The Aspire brings 20-inch two-tone alloys, a head-up display, lane keep assist with traffic jam assist, adaptive high beams, a power tailgate, a heated steering wheel, heated front seats and a power driver's seat. On the AWD grades Mitsubishi's Super All-Wheel Control and six drive modes come in.

The Exceed goes back to five seats and adds leather-appointed, ventilated front seats with memory, a panoramic sunroof, tri-zone climate, a hands-free power tailgate and a full-size alloy spare. The Exceed Tourer adds the 12-speaker Yamaha Ultimate system with a subwoofer, front seat massage, heated rear seats, a digital rear-view mirror and two-tone paint.

What it costs on the road and per week

On its advertised $41,490 drive-away, the ES 2WD comes to about $237 a week in VIC and $236 in QLD on our weekly-cost model ($5,000 deposit, five years at an assumed 7.5%, plus fuel, rego and tyres). For the seven-seat Aspire 2WD at $48,540 RRP, our drive-away estimate is about $52,040 in VIC and $51,380 in QLD, and the weekly figure about $270 in VIC and $269 in QLD. Servicing and insurance are not in those numbers.

How it compares at the same money

The Toyota RAV4 GX Hybrid 2WD is $45,990 RRP with a 4.5L/100km claim, but it is a five-seater rated to tow 800kg braked. The Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is $42,850 RRP with 172kW, a 4.9L/100km claim and a 1,900kg braked rating, also with five seats. The Subaru Forester AWD is $45,990 RRP with all-wheel drive standard and an 1,800kg rating. The closest relative, the Nissan X-Trail ST 4WD 7-seat, is $41,305 RRP and tows 2,000kg.

So the Outlander does not win on fuel against the hybrids, and it does not win on towing against the X-Trail or Forester. Its case is the combination: seven seats in a 2WD from $44,040, and a longer warranty than any of those rivals' five years on our rows.

Fuel use and range

The 2.5-litre runs on 91 RON regular unleaded from a 55-litre tank. Mitsubishi quotes 7.5L/100km for the ES 2WD, 7.7 for the seven-seat 2WD grades, 7.8 for the ES AWD and 8.1 for the seven-seat AWD and Exceed grades.

At $1.95 a litre and 15,000km a year, the ES 2WD's 7.5L/100km comes to about $2,190 of fuel, and the 8.1L/100km AWD grades about $2,370. Against a RAV4 Hybrid at 4.5L/100km, which is about $1,320 a year on the same sums, the Outlander costs roughly $870 to $1,050 more a year to fuel. Over five years that is roughly $4,400 to $5,300, which eats into the price advantage.

The tank divided by the combined figure gives a calculated 733km between fills for the ES 2WD and 679km for the AWD grades. If low fuel bills matter more than seats, the Outlander PHEV (from $58,990 RRP, a claimed 86km electric range) or a hybrid rival is the better fit on the numbers.

Warranty, servicing and roadside

Mitsubishi's headline is a 10-year, 200,000km warranty, but read the condition: it applies when every scheduled service is completed on time at a Mitsubishi dealer. Skip the dealer network and the warranty is 5 years or 100,000km. Roadside assistance works the same way: an initial 12 months, extended by 12 months after each capped-price service, up to 10 years.

Services are every 12 months or 15,000km, and capped-price servicing covers the first 10 scheduled services, to 10 years or 150,000km. Mitsubishi does not print the per-visit prices in the brochure we hold, and we do not have them on our rows, so ask the dealer for the schedule. For a family keeping the car a long time, that ten-year servicing and warranty package is the strongest number on this page.

We hold no resale figure for the Outlander.

ANCAP and the assist list

The Outlander holds a five-star ANCAP rating from 2025: 85% adult occupant, 84% child occupant, 79% vulnerable road users and 70% safety assist, with an expiry date of 31 December 2031. The 70% safety assist score is the weakest of the four, and it reflects how the active systems performed in ANCAP's tests. Seven airbags are fitted.

Mitsubishi's 26MY brochure lists a long assist set on every grade, the ES included: forward collision mitigation with pedestrian detection, rear automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and prevention, emergency lane assist, traffic sign recognition, a driver monitoring system and a surround-view camera. Lane keep assist with traffic jam assist is added from the Aspire up. The assist table below shows what our row for the grade at the top of this page holds, in four states.

For child seats, there are ISOFIX points on the two outer second-row seats and top tethers on all three second-row positions. The third row is best kept for kids, and check whether your seat fits there before relying on it.

Space, boot and garage fit

The Outlander is 4,720mm long, 1,862mm wide and 1,742 to 1,745mm tall on a 2,706mm wheelbase, with an 11.2m turning circle. Ground clearance is 205mm on the ES and 210mm on the rest. That length fits a standard single garage with some room to spare, but check with the garage-fit tool below.

The boot depends on the seat count. The five-seat ES is 485 litres seats up and 1,466 litres folded, and the Exceed 478 and 1,473 litres. The seven-seat grades are 163 litres with all three rows up and 1,461 litres folded. That 163-litre figure is the honest trade-off of a 5+2: with seven aboard, a pram will not fit, so think of the third row as occasional.

Against the rivals, the five-seat ES's 485 litres is smaller than the Tucson Hybrid's 582, the X-Trail ST's 585 and the RAV4's 705, and close to the Forester's 496. Trim runs from cloth on the ES, LS and Black Edition to synthetic leather on the Aspire and leather-appointed seats on the Exceed grades.

Screens, phones and sound

Every petrol Outlander has a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 12.3-inch driver display. Mitsubishi's 26MY brochure lists wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and satellite navigation from the ES up, and a wireless phone charger from the LS up. USB-C sockets are fitted, and every grade except the ES adds two for the second row. The LS and above also get Mitsubishi Connect, the brand's app and emergency-call service.

Audio is a Yamaha-branded system on every grade: eight speakers across most of the range, and the 12-speaker Yamaha Ultimate system on the Exceed Tourer in Mitsubishi's brochure. Climate control is dual-zone on most grades and three-zone on the Exceed and Exceed Tourer.

The Mitsubishi Outlander ES 2WD has 85 kW for every tonne of kerb weight, 244Nm of torque, a claimed 0-100km/h of 8.7s. It weighs 1,585kg and turns in 11.2m. These are the figures that shape how quickly a car gets moving and how easily it parks.

Power, weight and towing

The 2.5-litre makes 135kW and 244Nm through a CVT, with a claimed 0-100km/h of 8.7 seconds. Kerb weights run from 1,585kg for the ES 2WD to 1,695kg for the AWD seven-seaters and Exceed grades. All-wheel drive is available on every trim line.

Towing is 1,600kg braked and 750kg unbraked on every grade, with a 160kg towball download. That is enough for a mid-size camper trailer or a tinny, but below the X-Trail's 2,000kg and the Forester's 1,800kg. The gross combination mass is 3,845kg for the ES and Exceed and up to 4,005kg for the seven-seat AWD grades.

Payload is a strength: 660kg for the ES 2WD, 605kg for the ES AWD, 710kg for the seven-seat grades and 550kg for the Exceed grades. A full load of seven people is within reach of the 710kg figure for most families.

The verdict

The Outlander is a value buy for families who need seven seats more than they need low fuel bills. The LS 2WD at $44,040 RRP is the one we would shortlist: seven seats, a 710kg payload, 1,600kg towing and the same 10-year warranty package as the flagship, for less than a five-seat RAV4 GX Hybrid.

Look elsewhere if fuel matters most: the Tucson Hybrid and RAV4 Hybrid claim 4.9 and 4.5L/100km against the Outlander's 7.5 to 8.1. Look elsewhere too if you tow more than 1,600kg, or if you want a stronger active-safety score, because the 70% safety assist result trails the other parts of its rating. And remember the 10-year warranty is conditional on dealer servicing, so price that in.

Compare every grade on the Outlander listing, or put it against the RAV4 in the compare tool.