50 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: An electric revolution but the price is too high

The plugin hybrid Outlander will arguably go down as the car that truly kicked off the electric motoring revolution, at least here in Ireland and across the water in the UK. Why? Simply because it was the first such model to be priced at more or less the same level as a well-specced diesel model, allowing buyers to make the maximum possible use of its 50km electric-only range and tempting tax benefits. I say “was”, as recently the Outlander PHEV has been given a significant price rise, which rather undermines its credentials (and indeed now prices it way above some very tough part-electric competition), but for a while there it was truly revolutionary. In its favour is a spacious, comfortable cabin, genuinely useful short-haul electric power and very good refinement. On the debit side are nasty cabin plastics, that newly elevated price tag and rather flat-footed driving dynamics. It’s also a car that’s really limited to urban and low-speed mileage. Take it out on the motorway and its average fuel economy quickly plunges towards the 25mpg mark. Revolutionary, then, but the revolution has moved on.

Price range: €51,900

CO2 emissions: 42g/km

Which one? Only one version available

PCP: from €268 per month