While the 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander has its pros and cons, as a PHEV, it excels in a lot of areas. In fact, compared to the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, the Outlander PHEV actually fairs pretty well. Here’s a look at why some people may want to consider buying the 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid instead of the Jeep Wrangler 4xe.

The 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is more fuel-efficient

Off the bat, as MotorTrend wrote, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is actually one of the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the market right now. Since it’s a hybrid, it obviously has a fuel economy advantage over many traditional cars. But, at the same time, it won’t have that advantage compared to any all-electric SUVs like the Tesla Model X or the Ford Mustang Mach-E. 

Regardless, as far as non-electric SUVs go, the Outlander PHEV came in at fifth place for fuel economy. MotorTrend said that the Outlander PHEV gets about 74 MPGe. One of the reasons why this Outlander achieved such a great fuel economy was because of some special programming that only kicks in when certain conditions are met. On top of that, the Outlander PHEV gets a decent 24 miles of battery-only range. 

In comparison, MotorTrend wrote that the Wrangler 4xe gets about 49 MPGe. As far as battery-only range goes, the Wrangler 4xe will get a respectable 22 miles. 

The Outlander PHEV is cheaper than the Jeep Wrangler too

Not only is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV significantly more fuel-efficient than the Jeep Wrangler 4xe, but it’s also a more affordable car overall. This is largely because, according to Car and Driver, Mitsubishi reduced the engine options on the Outlander for the 2021 model year, and now, the Outlander is only available as a PHEV. As such, its starting price tag of about $37,000 isn’t that big of an expense to pay, considering the fact that the PHEV is standard.

On the other hand, the Wrangler is a far more expensive car than the Outlander is. In fact, the standard Wrangler with a regular gas engine will start at about $40,000. This means that, without even adding on the PHEV powertrain to the Wrangler, the Wrangler is already about $3,000 more expensive than the Outlander is. 

The Wrangler 4xe, which is basically just the Wrangler with a PHEV powertrain, costs just over $49,000. This means that the Jeep customer will need to pay roughly $12,000 more than the Mitsubishi customer will. So, if price and practicality were all that mattered, the Outlander PHEV would win this comparison. Unfortunately for Mitsubishi, customers care about other things too.

Many will choose the Jeep Wrangler 4xe anyway

Even though, like MotorTrend wrote, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is the best-selling PHEV in the world, it’s not exactly a fan-favorite car like the Wrangler is. Jeep fans simply love Jeeps, and they have a lot of reasons for why they love Jeeps. 

As such, even though the Wrangler 4xe is less fuel efficient and significantly more expensive than the Outlander PHEV, many Jeep fans will still buy the Jeep. After all, the Wrangler 4xe is still a Jeep, and it can still do all the things that a Jeep is known for. The Wrangler 4xe still looks like a Jeep, it can handle offroading just fine, and of course, with the 4xe trim, it’s more fuel-efficient than other Jeeps.

Plus, while the Jeep Wrangler 4xe isn’t the first hybrid on the market, it is Jeep’s first PHEV car on sale in America, according to MotorTrend. That’s not really meaningful for most people, but for Jeep fans, that’s something to be excited about. And so, while the Outlander PHEV may be better on paper, the Wrangler 4xe is probably going to be more well-liked in real life.