What is the Outlander?
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a three-row compact SUV. It sits above the smaller Outlander Sport and the Eclipse Cross in the automaker's lineup. There is also an Outlander plug-in hybrid model, which we review separately. The Outlander is the largest SUV that Mitsubishi makes in the U.S, so if you're in need of something larger, you might need to consider another brand.
Small three-row SUVs are a bit of a rarity, so the Outlander's competition is a class of two: the Kia Sorento and the Volkswagen Tiguan. We think the Outlander falls squarely in the middle of these two, with the Sorento getting higher marks for its roomier third row and the Tiguan ranking below both due to its overly sensitive capacitive touch buttons.
The Outlander took the 2021 model year off and came back for 2022 with a full makeover. Its redesign catapulted it from an also-ran to one of our top picks in the class. Now based on the Nissan Rogue, the redesigned Outlander has bolder looks, a nicer interior, a more comfortable ride and better in-car technology. (Mitsubishi and Nissan are in a strategic partnership.)
Given that the Outlander is fresh off a redesign, we don't anticipate any major changes to the 2023 model. The only change to come for 2023 is a redesign of its plug-in sibling, which will bring the Outlander PHEV fresh looks and other improvements in line with the gas-powered Outlander.
