The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Standard all-wheel drive
- Decent interior space
- Competitive warranty
- Good view from driver seat
Dislikes
- Mediocre value
- Just average fuel economy
- Just average fuel economy Dull performance
- Cheap materials and finish
Buying tip
Mitsubishi provides great warranty coverage, but there’s little other reason to buy an Outlander Sport.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport? What does it compare to?
Despite a low base price, the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport falls short of rival subcompact crossovers. Check out competitors first, particularly the Honda HR-V, Kia Seltos, and Subaru Crosstrek.
Is the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport a good SUV?
The Outlander Sport is underpowered, has middling fuel economy, and finishes its dated design in cheap trim and materials. It’s nowhere near as good a value as it pretends to be, racking up a poor TCC Rating of 4.0 on a 10-point scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
This year, Mitsubishi adds a rear-seat reminder system to the list of standard features.
The Outlander Sport has a bland, hatchback-like design. The interior sports an inoffensive design, but it’s loaded with cheap trim and materials.
This Mitsubishi offers two inline-4 engines, both with a slushy continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and all-wheel drive. Base versions feature a 2.0-liter with just 148 hp, and the 2.4-liter only boosts that rating to 168 hp.
While some rivals make up for modest power with good fuel economy ratings, that’s not the case here, as the Outlander Sport maxes out at a combined 26 mpg.
Though the Outlander Sport’s low base price hints at decent value, that’s a tad misleading, as the base trim omits several features that come standard in rivals, such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Warranty coverage is good, however.
The Outlander Sport fails to impress in terms of crash-test ratings as well, though standard automatic emergency braking and lane-departure warnings may lend some peace of mind.
How much does the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport cost?
Mitsubishi hasn’t yet announced pricing for the 2025 lineup, but with few changes, it should be similar to the 2024 lineup. That means a starting price of just over $25,000 for the base 2.0 S, including destination. From there, the lineup includes 2.0 ES, 2.0 LE, 2.0 SE, 2.4 SEL with the bigger engine at about $30,000, and then back down to the 2.0 for the Trail Edition and Ralliart, both also at about $30,000.
Where is the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport made?
In Japan.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Styling
The 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport blends into a crowd, for better or worse.
Is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport a good-looking SUV?
It’s OK looking. It’s too busy up front and bland along the side profile. Inside, the cabin is functional but not noteworthy in any way. It’s a 4, losing a point for its unremarkable exterior.
Though the combination of lines and angles, adorned with chrome, makes the Outlander Sport seem bigger than it is, the nose works fairly well. The side profile, with a hatchback-like roofline, is typical for the class, but the odd character lines that bisect the doors seem out of place. Out back, the squinting taillights are one of the design’s high points.
The portrait-oriented 7.0-inch touchscreen in the base model is the cabin’s focal point, with some physical controls beneath. In all other trims, that screen measures an inch bigger. The outdated cabin design looks alright, though it’s full of hard plastic even in higher trims.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Performance
There’s little, if any, Sport in this Outlander.
This Mitsubishi is available with two engines, neither of which particularly impresses. Furthermore, the CVT lags and the ride quality is just mediocre. We deduct two points here, one for acceleration and one for the transmission, for a 3.
Is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 4WD?
All-wheel drive comes standard across the 2025 Outlander Sport lineup.
How fast is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
Not very. The base Outlander Sport, with its 2.0-liter inline-4, is rated for a paltry 148 hp. Pay more for the bigger 2.4-liter inline-4, and that nets you just 20 more hp. The CVT delivers sluggish, slushy ratio changes, further adding to the annoyance.
The higher trims’ larger wheels exacerbate the experience, since they amplify every flaw in the pavement right into the seats, with little padding to absorb the roughness. The steering is fairly direct, but that hardly makes up for the other dynamic flaws.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Comfort & Quality
It may be spacious, but the Outlander Sport is far from comfortable.
Though the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport has decent passenger and cargo space, it’s a 4 here for quality and comfort. The cabin falls short of expectations, and the point it adds for cargo space is more than offset by the flat seats and inferior materials and trim.
The Outlander Sport comes standard with cloth upholstery and manually adjustable front seats. You’ll need to spend quite a bit more for power adjustments, heated front seats, and leather upholstery, and even that won’t make much of a difference, since the seats lack enough support in every trim. The Outlander Sport does offer decent rear legroom, though.
The cargo area is fairly sizable for the class, measuring 21.7 cubic feet, and opening up to 49.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Safety
Look elsewhere if safety is your priority.
How safe is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
Not as safe as it should be. It’s a mediocre 5 on our scale, only because standard automatic emergency braking helps offset mixed crash-test scores.
The 2025 Outlander Sport earns a four-star overall rating in NHTSA testing. In 2024 IIHS testing, the Outlander Sport has incomplete scores, with only top “Good” scores in the moderate front overlap and side crash tests.
In addition to automatic emergency braking, the Outlander Sport comes standard with lane-departure warnings, automatic high beams, and the newly standard rear-seat alert system.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Features
The 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport has an appealing base price but just OK value.
You’ll find more features in most competitors’ base models. While 2025 pricing is not yet available, the 2024 Outlander Sport has a base price of $25,190, including a $1,495 destination charge. That buys a 7.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, LED headlights, cloth upholstery, manually adjustable front seats, and 16-inch steel wheels. It earns a point for its warranty but loses one for its weak base content. That’s a 5 on our scale.
Mitsubishi covers the Outlander Sport with a 5-year/60,000-mile new car warranty, 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage, and two years of included scheduled maintenance.
Which Mitsubishi Outlander Sport should I buy?
Consider the Outlander Sport’s mid-range LE trim, which costs about $28,000 and adds heated front seats, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and 18-inch alloy wheels.
How much is a fully loaded Mitsubishi Outlander Sport?
The Ralliart model sits at the top of the lineup, starting at about $30,000. It features an 8.0-inch infotainment display and motorsport-inspired styling elements.
2025 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Fuel Economy
The Outlander Sport’s fuel economy ratings are just average.
Is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport good on gas?
It’s not great. According to 2024 EPA ratings, the base 2.0-liter inline-4 engine returns 23 mpg city, 29 highway, and 26 combined. That’s a 3 on our scale.
Versions featuring the bigger 2.4-liter engine drop to 23/28/25 mpg, while many rivals in the segment yield at least 30 mpg on the highway.
