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2022 Mitsubishi Outlander pricing, fuel economy announced

Mitsubishi has announced pricing on what is probably the most compelling — and important to the company's future — product in a decade, the 2022 Outlander. As we learned at the reveal, the base ES trim will start at $25,795, or $26,990 when the destination charge is factored in. Fuel economy figures are also in, giving the Outlander a rating of 24 miles per gallon in the city, 31 on the highway and 27 combined for the front-wheel-drive model. Mitsubishi's S-AWC all-wheel-drive system, which is available on any trim for $1,800, drops one mpg highway and combined. By way of comparison, the base 2021 Nissan Roque, which uses a similar engine and platform, gets 27 city, 35 highway and 30 combined in front-wheel drive guise. That combined figure matches that of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. It's worth noting that the Mitsubishi Outlander comes standard with a third row for seven-passenger seating, so a direct comparison with the Rogue isn't exactly fair. The ES comes with what is now an obligatory suite of tech, like automatic braking forward and rear, blind spot warnings, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. 18-inch alloy wheels are standard, but a $1,000 convenience package adds 20-inchers and the Mitsubishi Connect remote services smartphone link (which comes with 24 months free). That places the three-row ES below the Toyota RAV4 but above the Honda CR-V. Next up is the SE trim, ringing in at $28,845 with everything the ES offers and adding 20-inch wheels, heated front seats and side mirrors, proximity unlocking, and a leather steering wheel. Here, the tech content is boosted quite a bit, with the bird's-eye multi-view camera system, parking sensors, and wireless phone charging. You no longer need an upgrade package to get Mitsubishi Connect, and it also has MiPilot Assist which adds adaptive cruise with stop and go in traffic, lane keeping assist, and traffic sign recognition. The touchscreen gets bumped from 8 to 9 inches, and USB charging ports become available for rear passengers as well. A $2,300 SE Tech Package adds a 12.3-inch LCD instrument panel, premium sound system by Bose, and panoramic sunroof.  The top-spec SEL stickers at $31,945, building upon the other trims while adding the aforementioned 12.3-inch multi-function display, leather seats, 4-way power seats key-linked to memory, three-zone climate control, roof rails, and heated rear seats.

Nissan and Renault shelve merger plans, will repair their alliance

Renault and Nissan have shelved plans to push towards the full merger former leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will instead fix their troubled alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, five senior sources told Reuters. Nissan has long resisted Renault's proposals for a full-blown merger as executives felt the French carmaker was not paying its fair share for the engineering work it did in Japan, sowing discord that some feared could wreck the partnership. Now, with carmakers around the world reeling from the pandemic, the partners are planning to overhaul an alliance that largely failed to convert its global scale into a competitive advantage beyond the joint procurement of parts. Both struggling carmakers are set to announce mid-term restructuring plans this week that will serve as a peace treaty designed to resolve the long-standing tensions, five people familiar with the overhaul told Reuters. "After the rain, the earth hardens," said one senior Nissan source, citing a popular Japanese proverb that means relationships become stronger after a period of strife. All five sources within the alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi, declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak with media. Nissan and Renault are each planning substantial restructuring and cost cuts that could affect tens of thousands of jobs, with the Japanese company to announce its measures on May 28 and its French partner likely to follow the next day. Before that, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are holding a joint news conference on May 27 during which they are expected to outline the philosophy behind their new "leader-follower" approach to the alliance. The sources said the companies were unlikely to disclose many details at the events this week of how the new approach will be used to share costs as the companies were still working on specific projects. However, the crisis at both carmakers has accelerated efforts to resolve the disagreements that have stymied collaboration and cost-sharing in technology and product development for five years, the sources said. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault all declined to comment officially about alliance plans. 'Leader-follower' The alliance has steadily ramped up output over the years, delivering over 10 million vehicles for the first time in 2017, the first full year after Mitsubishi joined the partnership.

Mitsubishi planning high-performance Outlander PHEV under revived Ralliart banner

Mitsubishi is finally getting some of its mojo back with its redesigned — and competitive — Outlander. The company reportedly plans to build on that momentum with a high-performance variant of the SUV, bolstering its newly revived Ralliart performance division in the process.  Wait, a non-luxury performance SUV? Well, if any company can pull it off it would be Mitsubishi. It has the history of its WRC victories and Paris-Dakar Rally dominance to build on. Nearly its entire racing heritage has been forged on dirt, not tarmac, so a hotted-up Mitsu SUV doesn't seem so farfetched.  According to Japan's Best Car magazine, the all-out Outlander will be based on the Outlander Vision Ralliart concept shown over a year ago at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. The model will supposedly be called the Outlander PHEV Ralliart, and will feature extensive tuning to set it apart from the standard version. Best Car reports that the chassis will be reinforced to increase body rigidity. Mitsubishi will also strengthen the suspension and visually distinguish it with unique aero bits. What that may be isn't specified, but the Auto Salon concept had wider fenders in front and rear, a new front grille and bumper, and big diffuser beneath a redesigned rear fascia. The concept also came with larger rotors and six-piston calipers in front. The Outlander PHEV Ralliart's drivetrain, says Best Car, will based on the 2.4-liter plug-in hybrid setup on the base car. However, combined power between gasoline and hybrid systems will total an estimated 286 horsepower. Finally, the magazine predicts that the Outlander PHEV Ralliart will arrive in 2024. Japanese pricing is approximated at JPY5.5 to 6.1 million, which converts to $40,300 to $44,700 at current exchange rates, but we expect it to be closer to the high end of that range. With crossovers and SUVs as the de facto car these days, it was only a matter of time before mainstream marques began souping up such daily drivers. If Honda can create an 800-horsepower CR-V race car, a sports Outlander seems only natural. We'll just be here waiting for the first crossover racing league. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.