Mitsibishi Outlander PHEV pricing to be same as diesel

Mitsubishi has announced that its plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander SUV will cost from £28,249 after the government greener vehicle grant of £5000. That means it carries no price premium over the equivalent diesel version of the Outlander, yet it qualifies for free VED and is congestion charge exempt.

The entry level Outlander PHEV GX3 costs exactly the same as the Outlander GX3 diesel automatic once the £5000 government grant has been deducted. The GX4h and GX4s variants of the Outlander PHEV carry a premium of £1000 over the equivalent diesel, but Mitsubishi says this is down to extra standard equipment.

The advantages over a diesel are obvious – emissions for the Outlander PHEV are 44g/km while official economy is 148mpg. On purely electric power the car can travel up to 32.5 miles, meaning it can run as a pure EV on the average UK commute.

For business users the low benefit-in-kind (BIK) rate of 5% means annual company car tax bills comparable to a small hatchback model – plus it’s one of few new models to qualify for congestion charge exemption under new, stricter rules. The Outlander PHEV is available to order from May 2014.