Compare the2022 Nissan LeafVS 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Leaf have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Leaf are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Leaf has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Leaf has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Leaf has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Leaf (except S)’s optional driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Leaf and the Outlander PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available daytime running lights and around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the general design of front seat head restraints for their ability to protect front seat occupants from whiplash injuries. The IIHS also performs a dynamic test on those seats with “good” or “acceptable” geometry. In these ratings, the Leaf is safer than the Outlander PHEV:

	Leaf	Outlander PHEV
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Distance from Back of Head	36 mm	48 mm
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Max Neck Shearing Force	0	47
Max Neck Tension	313	488

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

Warranty

The Leaf’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Outlander PHEV’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Mitsubishi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Leaf’s warranty.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Mitsubishi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 7 places higher in reliability than Mitsubishi.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Leaf is faster than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV:

	Leaf	Leaf PLUS	Outlander PHEV
Zero to 60 MPH	7.5 sec	6.4 sec	8.5 sec
Quarter Mile	15.8 sec	15.1 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.6 MPH	93.3 MPH	83.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Leaf gets better mileage than the Outlander PHEV running on electricity:

		MPGe
Leaf
	Electric Motor	123 city/99 hwy
	PLUS S Electric Motor	118 city/97 hwy
	PLUS SV/SL Electric Motor	114 city/94 hwy
Outlander PHEV
	Electric Motors	77 city/71 hwy

The Leaf’s maximum EPA estimated driving range with its standard battery is 149 miles on a full charge. The Leaf PLUS’ maximum EPA estimated driving range is 226 miles. The Outlander PHEV can only travel about 24 miles before it has to start its internal combustion engine.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Leaf higher (10 out of 10) than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (7). This means the Leaf produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outlander PHEV every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Leaf’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Outlander PHEV are solid, not vented.

The Leaf stops shorter than the Outlander PHEV:

	Leaf	Outlander PHEV
60 to 0 MPH	120 feet	125 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Leaf SV/SL’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outlander PHEV’s 55 series tires.

The Leaf has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Leaf has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Leaf’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Outlander PHEV (106.3 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Leaf SV handles at .77 G’s, while the Outlander PHEV GT pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Leaf S’ turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the Outlander PHEV’s (34.8 feet vs. 35.6 feet).

Chassis

The Nissan Leaf may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 750 pounds less than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

The Leaf is 8.4 inches shorter than the Outlander PHEV, making the Leaf easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Leaf has .6 inches more front headroom and 1.2 inches more front legroom than the Outlander PHEV.

Ergonomics

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Leaf has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Outlander PHEV only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Leaf has standard extendable sun visors. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer extendable visors.

To direct the driver from any location to a given street address, a GPS navigation system is standard on the Leaf SV/SL. The Leaf’s navigation system also has a real-time traffic update feature that offers alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a navigation system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Leaf, based on reliability, safety and performance.