Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: ‘You'll feel so smug you might even get sick of yourself’ | Martin Love

Since the bad-boy days of the Evo, Mitsubishi has quietly rebranded itself as the queen of serene. And the crown of its electric hybrid vehicles is the Outlander

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0 PHEV GX4h 5dr Auto
Price 36,755
Top speed 106mph
0-62mph 11 seconds
MPG 166.1
CO2 41g/km

For boy racers and speed queens who came of age in the 90s, Mitsubishi was synonymous with one thing: wheel-smoking acceleration of such abrupt intensity that it was like strapping your innards to a firework. The model in question was the Lancer Evolution, known to all as the Evo. It was a bland-looking saloon, but it packed a phenomenal turbo-charged engine beneath the shell of its innocuous bonnet. What I loved about it was its below-the-radar appeal. It had a coy "Who me?" innocence, which added to its subversion. You had to be in the know to appreciate its power. There were clues, of course: the huge rear wing, the gaping air intake and the infamous FQ variant - the "FQ" standing for "Frigging Quick."