By Ashley Oldfield

Certainly one of the quieter brands around, Mitsubishi has been going about its business under Imperial management reasonably well. The introduction of its best seller the ASXhas seen Mitsubishi stay afloat after some iffy times in the late 2000s. The new Outlander was first available to overseas markets from mid last year and has now landed on our shores hoping to make a solid dent in the medium SUV market with its petrol, CVT seven-seater.

Engine and gearbox

It’s just the one model for now with a possible diesel coming in the future. Under the bonnet there’s a 2.4-litre DOHC four-cylinder petrol motor, complete with 123 kW @ 6 000rpm and 222 Nm @ 4 100rpm. It’s the same engine from the previous generation Outlander but it’s been specifically fettled with to improve fuel economy – a serious issue with the outgoing model. Mitsubishi claim it’ll do 8.2l/100km now but we couldn’t get it below 10l/100km on our mostly rural escapade around the Cradle of Humankind and Hartebeestpoort area.

Whilst overtaking a fair amount of trucks and general mashing of the accelerator, the long periods of 120 km/h driving at 2500rpm couldn’t recover the fuel economy figure. The CVT gearbox is the only option of transmission and in standard CVT mode can be very elastic in response and drone on when accelerating. Slip it into manual mode with a flick of the paddle shifters and it becomes a much more useable gearbox with snappy response to triggers and more natural power delivery. The gearbox also has an ‘L’ mode for locking the transmission in a single gear without automatically shifting up – handy for towing purposes.

Interior and space

The interior of the new Outlander is a nice improvement over the previous generation, as usual from the Japanese it feels strongly put together and carries a nice combination of soft-touch and rugged surfaces. There’s even a trace of wood around the passenger dashboard and doorsill, although I think it’s probably more modern to exchange that for a section of brushed aluminium or plastic carbon fibre.

All of the seven seats are covered in leather and it’s spacious wherever you choose to sit. The middle seating arrangement is very flexible as it slides backwards and forward to offer more legroom for that third row of passengers that often feel like they’ve been jammed into to the final row of seats on an EasyJet flight. The seats also fold flat with a couple pulls of levers and manoeuvring of bits to lay out a 1.74m flat loading bay that works out to 1608 litres of cargo space.

Standard specification for new Outlander

On the gadget side you won’t be left wanting as the Outlander is specced full of all the modern tricks and gizmos. Bluetooth, CD, MP3 and USB compatible radio sits up front and is connected to a powerful Rockford Fosgate sound system that harnesses the bass of a pretty big subwoofer next to the third row of seats.

The major selling point on the gadget side will be the roof mounted 9-inch DVD screen, it folds down for the back seat occupants to entertain themselves over those long distance holiday runs to the coast. Better news still is that it comes with a set of wireless headphones with a second pair added as an optional extra. If you miss those good old drive-ins you could always dispense with the headphones and play the sound through the Rockford Fosgate system and lay a mattress out on the back seat.

Safety features

Driving and safety aids aren’t skimped on as the Mitsubishi Outlander carries a five-star Euro NCAP and ANCAP (Australia) rating – right-hand drive models are tested in the ANCAP test. All the passive safety aids are thrown in so you get ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Active Stability Control and hill-start assist for those incline pull-aways although not really worth having on an CVT gearbox. The new HID headlamps on the Outlander are said to be 1.4 times brighter than before and shine over an 80 degree angle, illuminating those sidewalks better.

One of the most impressive facets of the Mitsubishi Outlander is the ride and drive quality, it feels firm on the tarmac whilst dealing with bumps in a kind to the spine manner. The steering is standard rack and pinion with power assist, and is really well weighted with good feel making for a supremely-controlled drive. While we didn’t get to test its mettle on the rougher terrain Mitsubishi has fitted the Outlander with a 3-way variable all-wheel-drive system.

4×4 Abilities

The standard mode is 4WD Eco and runs the Outlander as a 2WD car until wheel slip is detected at which point it provides torque to the wheels with traction, this mode though is purely focused on making the Outlander as fuel efficient as possible. Mode number two is 4WD Auto and works in the same way as Eco mode, but is more generous with its use of fuel depending on throttle position. Mode three is 4WD Lock and does not lock the differential as the name suggests, but takes Auto mode a step further to use the differential more aggressively for that rougher terrain and slower speed 4×4 activities.

Summary and conclusion

The Outlander punts itself against some hefty competitors but aims to offer added value for money over its competitors. According to Mitsubishi the medium sized SUV market the Outlander faces consists of 60% 2WD, 55% petrol cars, 51% automatic models and is dominated by the Nissan X-Trail and Dodge Journey – 28% and 22% market share respectively. Other models they say are in the mix include the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Forester and the Volvo XC60.

I can think of a few German models that may feel they take a bite out of this market too, but the Outlander has got decent value for money on its side. I don’t expect sales numbers to be too eye catching but those who do choose the Outlander will be quietly pleased they did.

Mitsubishi Outlander price in South Africa

The new Mitsubishi Outlander retails forR429 900

Mitsubishi Outlander gallery