Interior
Ratings: 3.5/5
Crossovers - due to their popularity, size
and manufacturer competition for a share of a rare growth market - have become
the recipients of ever more stylish interiors in recent years. Not that you’d
know it by sitting in the Outlander. Even with the full leather trim, glossy
black dashboard inserts and metallic highlights befitting a range-topper, there
is no disguising the wanton lack of imagination here.
Mitsubishi does at least provide a
functional environment that’s easy to get to grips with. From the gated
cul-de-sac of a gear selector to the extra-large buttons to disengage the
parking sensors and traction control, the Outlander’s inner workings are
instantly decipherable. Things get a bit more fiddly when it comes to the
slightly obtuse Multi Communication System (another standard benefit of GX5
trim), but even here there are shortcut buttons to avoid any confusion.
The re-engineered third row of seats is
similarly straight to the point. The 50/50 split sprung chairs (replacing the
old bench) rise from their flush position in the boot floor at the prod of a
lever. Thanks to the generous length of the load bay - 1.85m with both sets of
seats folded - and 250mm of slide adjustment in the second row, legroom in the
rearmost seats compares favorably with that of rivals. But they remain
primarily seats for children. Meanwhile, tall second-row occupants will find
themselves comfortable only when the seatbacks are reclined slightly and their
heads are parked in a cove cut into the roofline.
With the third row folded away, there’s a
950mm-long load space, which translates into a competitive 591 liters of
luggage capacity.
The best and worst of the Outlander’s
interior. The climate control switches are well laid out and easy to
understand, but above them is an untidy ragbag of buttons and warning lights
that would be better located elsewhere.
The
best and worst of the Outlander’s interior.
The Outlander’s soft-touch trim feels
cheaper than most, but its tactile appeal is light years ahead of the mock
carbon fiber inserts that also feature in the GX5.
Its
tactile appeal is light years ahead of the mock carbon fiber inserts that also
feature in the GX5.
Heated seats and SUVs go together like
moustaches and wax, so it’s nice to find these high/low toggles. Unfortunately,
they aren't standard on the Outlander until the pricier GX4 trim.
Heated
seats and SUVs go together like moustaches and wax, so it’s nice to find these
high/low toggles.
Hip point isn’t as high as in some SUVs and
headroom isn’t quite as generous, but there’s still plenty of space and getting
in and out is easy.
There’s
still plenty of space and getting in and out is easy.
Headroom in the second row is good,
provided you remember to recline the backrests slightly. Folding them flat
isn’t as intuitive a process as it should be.
Headroom
in the second row is good
Maximum load length is quite generous by
class standards, as is overall boot height. Third-row seats are fine for kids
but occasional use only for adults.
Maximum
load length is quite generous by class standards, as is overall boot height.
Entertainment
Entertainment
An entry-level Outlander comes equipped
with a six-speaker sound system with USB connection and monochromatic LCD
display. The latter improves with Mitsubishi’s Multi Communication System
(MCS), but that doesn’t appear until GX4 trim level. A DAB radio is available
only on the range-topping GX5 model, which seems a bit tight-fisted.
COMMS
The capacity for a hands-free Bluetooth
connection to your phone (and the steering-mounted controls to use it) only
comes as standard with GX3 trim and above. Pairing isn’t an easy or quick
process, though - and connections aren’t the most reliable.
Hands-free
Bluetooth connection
Nav
Satellite navigation comes as part of the
MCS, which also includes a rear-view camera. The unit has touchscreen menus,
but buttons provide direct access to the map, zoom, destination and night/day
settings. Inputting information and understanding the directions are easy, but
the system is rudimentary and quite antiquated in appearance.
Performance
Ratings: 4/5
Slower it may be, but the new Outlander
certainly isn’t slow. Taking 10.2sec to accelerate from 0-60mph is about
average for a medium-size 4x4. It’s also much more competitive than the claimed
0-62mph time of 11.7sec for the automatic would suggest.
What MMC has realized is that little of
that actually matters much. Most Outlander owners will care a great deal more
that their new 4x4 is rated to tow two tons on a braked trailer more than an
equivalent Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V and that, broadly speaking, it’s a strong
performer with bountiful low-down lugging power.
The spacing of ratios in the automatic
gearbox takes some getting used to. First to fourth use a different final drive
from fifth and sixth - and you can tell. The gearing seems very short indeed as
you pull away - so much so that you wonder how noisy your motorway cruise is
going to be. As it turns out, thanks to that separate final drive, it’s not so
noisy. There is a bit of a hole between fourth and fifth, but you’re never
really aware of it with the gearbox left to shift by itself, which it does
smoothly and intelligently But in manual mode - towing up a long motorway
incline, say - you could find yourself caught in that hole. And once caught,
you’d certainly notice the Outlander’s disdain for operating at high crank
speeds.
Having said that, mechanical refinement
elsewhere is quite impressive - not because the cabin is particularly well
isolated from the engine, but because the engine is fairly quiet to begin with.
Running a compression ratio of 14.9:1, Mitsubishi’s aluminum four-pot may not
be the quietest in the class, but its combustion certainly seems softer and
less clattery than many.
Track notes
Dry circuit
·
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.2 DiD auto: 1min 30.4sec
·
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2: 1min 27.4sec
·
Outlander quickly runs out of body control, and
grip soon after. Peak lateral grip of under 0.8g is low even for a 4x4. It’s
predictable and benign enough, mind you.
·
Under steer sets in early around T7. Driveline
provides scant rearward torque shift to mitigate it on the throttle.
·
Lack of grunt means the Outlander peaks at 87mph
before breaking into T5; Santa Fe hit 91mph here.
Dry
circuit
Wet circuit
·
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.2 DiD auto: 1min 17.7sec
·
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2: 1min 21.3sec
·
Much better lap time here. Outlander feels light
and wieldy, and soft chassis rates produce plenty of grip, but 4WD is
unpredictable at times.
·
Lots of grip and traction make the Outlander
neat and tidy around hairpin T2, and fast out of it.
·
In Auto mode and with the TC off, 4WD does
little for directional stability around T1 either on or off the throttle.
Wet
circuit
Acceleration: 6deg C, dry
·
Mitsubishi Outlander 2.2 DiD auto: Standing
quarter mile 17.6sec at 79.2mph, standing km 32.4sec at 99.5mph, 30-70mph
10.1sec, 30-70mph in fourth 11.6sec
·
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi Premium seven-seat
auto: Standing quarter mile 17.0sec at 81.4mph, standing km 31.2sec at
104.3mph, 30-70mph 9.2sec, 30-70mph in fourth na
Mitsubishi
Outlander 2.2 DiD auto
Hyundai
Santa Fe 2.2 CRDi Premium seven-seat auto
Braking: 60-0mph: 3.07sec
Braking
On the limit
On
the limit
The stability control works well with the
torque-shuffling four-wheel drive system to keep the car secure as speed
increases. Grip levels are quite low, but leave everything on and you’ll be as
well looked after as in any 4x4.
With the stability control off, the tires’
grip drops off a cliff once they start to slide and the four-wheel drive system
isn’t clever enough to dial any on-throttle stability back in. In the wet, its
influence on the limit handling is unpredictable in Auto mode and little more
trustworthy in Lock mode.
In the rough
In
the rough
The approach and departure angles on the
Outlander are equal at 22.5deg each, which means that if you don’t ground the
front on the way into a slope, the back will follow quite easily. The 21deg
break over angle is good, as is 190mm of ground clearance. For anything more
hardcore than a spot of light gravel or a dry field, however, you’d probably
want to consider something other than the standard-equipment Toyo R37s, which
are efficiency- biased road tires.
