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Wheels24's Janine Van der Post takes a closer look beneath the edgy styling of Mitsubishi's refreshed Outlander.
Cape Town - Comfy seven-seaters are always nice, especially when it comes with enough bells and whistles to put smiles on the faces of a family.
I had the opportunity to test Mitsubishi's updated Outlander in Cape Town. Does the refreshed SUV meet the criteria of family-orientated SUV?
Let's start with its luggage space since, that's imperative for any large family. Naturally, seven seats means there's loads of space especially when the third row of seats are folded. What impressive about the Outlander, is that not only does the third row fold flat, so does the second row. This creates a voluminous cargo hold capable of handling any luggage need.
It's great for month-end or even year-end shopping, or for handling those odd jobs around the house such as transporting garden supplies. The flat area makes loading larger objects even easier - perhaps a small couch or, i my case, water-collecting drums! This SUV could easily double up as a fancy workhorse akin to a bakkie in its duties.
Niceties galore
The refreshed Outlander if fitted with everything you can think of, heatable seats, air con, cup-holders and compartments galore (even as far back as the third row), leather upholstery... it's simply packed with great features.
However, there's no satnav fitted as a standard. There's is a nifty drop-down DVD player and screen for rear passengers. Honestly, I'd rather opt for the satnav than a DVD player as it obstructs the driver's rear view in the mirror when driving - and if you have passengers in all seat rows, you'd also need special headphones for each. There's no option to allow the DVDs to play audibly on its own without distracting to the driver.
Driving the car is comfortable although its auto-gearbox sometimes struggles to find the right gear, but that's predictable and expected from its Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT).
It picks up speed fast for a vehicle of its size, and overtaking hardly ever leaves a second-thought thanks to its 2.4-litre petrol engine delivering 123kW/222Nm.
The Outlander is all-wheel drive with a six-step Sports Mode shift control. The Outlander's Multi-Select Four Wheel Drive system has three modes to choose from; Eco, Auto and Lock.
It's a large SUV and as such it has a voracious appetite for fuel. Average fuel consumption hovered around around 12.1-litres. I tried to reduce this and ultimately achieved a surprising 8.3-litres/100km as my personal best - also close to what Mitsubishi rates its average consumption at 8.2-litres/100km. Go a fast along a highway, and fuel consumption rockets to 14-litres/100km.
With a pricetag of R549 900, the Outlander isn't cheap but you're definitely aware of everything you're paying for as standard.
Here's the Outlander in pics:
Now that's a nice-looking SUV, all round. The Outlander has sharper design lines and its refreshed front looks somewhat warrior-ish.
Images: Quickpic
The reversing camera displays in full colour and is very handy when entering/exiting tight spots. Image: Quickpic
Having a DVD player in the car is awesome for the kids, but not when it obstructs the drivers' view.
I love reclinable rear seats as it means the toddler's carseat reclines back too, especially awesome when they're taking a nap.
The second and third row of seats folds completely flat for extra load space when transporting large items.
Even the rear seats has cupholders and compartments and a 12V charging port. There's also a built-in Rockford Fosgate zub-woofer in the rear.
