Compare the2023 Audi Q4 e-tron SportbackVS 2022 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
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q4 e-tron Sportback and Outlander PHEV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q4 e-tron Sportback has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Outlander PHEV’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a GPS response system, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Q4 e-tron Sportback and the Outlander PHEV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback weighs 639 pounds more than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 Q4 e-tron Sportback with leather seats is safer than the Outlander PHEV:

	Q4 e-tron Sportback	Outlander PHEV
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Distance from Back of Head	12 mm	48 mm
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Neck Force Rating	Low	Low
Max Neck Shearing Force	0	47
Max Neck Tension	161	488

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q4 e-tron Sportback its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 101 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Outlander PHEV is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

Warranty

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Outlander PHEV’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Mitsubishi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 6 places higher in reliability than Mitsubishi.

Engine

The Q4 50 e-tron Sportback’s standard electric motors produces 74 more horsepower (295 vs. 221) than the Outlander PHEV’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Q4 50 e-tron Sportback gets better mileage than the Outlander PHEV running on electricity (100 city/89 hwy vs. 77 city/71 hwy MPGe).

On the EPA test cycle the Q4 50 e-tron Sportback gets better mileage than the Outlander PHEV running its gasoline engine (100 city/89 hwy MPGe vs. 26 city/26 hwy).

The Q4 50 e-tron Sportback can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 242 miles. The Outlander PHEV has to start its internal combustion engine after only 24 miles.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback higher (10 out of 10) than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (7). This means the Q4 e-tron Sportback produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Outlander PHEV every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q4 e-tron Sportback’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Outlander PHEV:

	Q4 e-tron Sportback	Outlander PHEV
Front Rotors	14.1 inches	11.6 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q4 e-tron Sportback has larger tires than the Outlander PHEV (F:235/50R20 & R:255/45R20 vs. 225/55R18).

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s 235/50R20 front and 255/45R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outlander PHEV’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q4 e-tron Sportback has standard 20-inch wheels. Only 18-inch wheels are available on the Outlander PHEV.

Suspension and Handling

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Outlander PHEV’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback 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 Q4 e-tron Sportback’s wheelbase is 3.6 inches longer than on the Outlander PHEV (108.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Q4 e-tron Sportback is 1.7 inches wider in the front and .9 inches wider in the rear than on the Outlander PHEV.

Chassis

The Q4 e-tron Sportback is 4.1 inches shorter than the Outlander PHEV, making the Q4 e-tron Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has .3 inches more front legroom and .3 inches more front shoulder room than the Outlander PHEV.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Q4 e-tron Sportback. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Q4 e-tron Sportback’s available liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Outlander PHEV’s (2646 vs. 1500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Mitsubishi. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 11% lower rating, Mitsubishi is ranked 12th.

Ergonomics

When different drivers share the Q4 e-tron Sportback, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Q4 e-tron Sportback and the Outlander PHEV have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Q4 e-tron Sportback is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outlander PHEV prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

If the windows are left open on the Q4 e-tron Sportback the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Outlander PHEV can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Outlander PHEV’s standard power locks don’t automatically lock the doors. The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s standard doors lock when a certain speed is reached. This is an important feature for occupant safety. Locked doors are proven to open less often in collisions, and they are also effective in preventing crime at traffic lights. (The power lock’s automatic feature may have to be activated by your dealer.)

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Outlander PHEV’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Outlander PHEV’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q4 e-tron Sportback Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Q4 e-tron Sportback has standard extendable sun visors. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer extendable visors.

When the Q4 e-tron Sportback with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Outlander PHEV’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Outlander PHEV has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Outlander PHEV GT.

To direct the driver from any location to a given street address, a GPS navigation system is available on the Q4 e-tron Sportback. The Q4 e-tron Sportback’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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige’s Park Steering Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Outlander PHEV doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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