Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed diesel 2017 review

Having been around and largely unchanged for the past five years (apart from a grille update), it's hard to accuse the Outlander of being anything even resembling cutting edge or adventurous, but it is comfortable, familiar and - in top-spec form - handsome in its own traditional way. More importantly, the design is timeless and unlikely to age.

A plasticky looking front end houses the Mitsi (though absolutely nobody calls them that) grille, two silver-framed fog lights and the easily identifiable parking sensors. Side on, it's a simple design, with just a shoulder-line crease running front to back, and simple silver framing running underneath the windows and both doors. Rear on, the simple theme continues, with a silver splash below the rear windscreen and some  plastic moulding that separates the rear lights.

The dash and centre console feel nicely put together.

Inside, you'll find leather seats and a leather-wrapped wheel with gloss black highlights, festooned with all the usual buttons. There are some budget giveaways, especially in the door panels, where the soft-touch covering is paper thin, revealing a rock hard plastic beneath it.

The dash and centre console feel nicely put together, with a marbled high-gloss plastic surrounding the gear stick. And you can engage all-wheel drive (AWD) by pushing a weirdly huge button in the centre console.

The dash itself is nicely uncluttered, with a vaguely wood-ish plastic insert, and a nicely sized and easy to use screen sitting above the recessed air-con controls. One obvious downside, though, is the five-button section that lives below the screen, with only one in use and the other four blanked out - a constant reminder you didn't tick enough option boxes.

At just under 4.7m in length and just over 1.8m in width, there's plenty of space to hide passengers and luggage in the Outlander Exceed.

While boot space is a paltry 128 litres with all three rows of seats in place, the third row is split 50/50 while the middle row is split 60/40, and with both rows folded flat luggage space jumps to 1608 litres. The diesel engine is also a boon for towing capacity, with the Outlander rated at a decent 2000kg.

Inside, there are two cup holders hidden under a plastic flap, while the centre console bin is big and practical. There are bottle holders in each of the front doors, too.

The second row of seating is spacious, with a heap of leg and headroom, but it's bit sparse otherwise. The door pockets are too slim to store bottles, and beyond the two cup holders in the tiny pull down divider, there's little else on offer. And there are no charge points, USB or otherwise. The Outlander Exceed's two ISOFIX attachment points are housed in each window seat in the back.

The third row of seats are most definitely child only, and not just because climbing back there requires the kind of acrobatics anyone beyond their teens will struggle with. There are two cup holders back there to sweeten the deal, though, along with a 12-volt charge point.

The seven seat Exceed sits atop a revamped Outlander line-up, above the seven seat LS Safety Pack (from $36,000), which is also available with five seats (from $32,000), and the entry-level LS (from $28,750).

As a result, it raids the best bits from Mitsubishi's safety and technology swag bag, including a system that will sense if you pick the wrong pedal when parking, slamming on the brakes before you slam into someone else's car. That fresh tech joins a suite of new safety technology that we'll come back to in just a moment.

The design is timeless and unlikely to age.

Elsewhere, though, expect 18-inch alloys, keyless entry with push-button start, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers and a 7.0-inch touchscreen that's both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-equipped, and offers DAB digital radio. All seven seats are leather wrapped, with the front two heated, and there's dual-zone climate control, too.

While the top-spec Outlander is also available with a petrol engine, we've tested the 2.2-litre diesel paired exclusively with a six-speed automatic transmission. That diesel is good for 110kW at 3500rpm and 360Nm from 1500rpm, and sends its power to all four wheels courtesy of Mitsubishi's 'All Wheel Control' system.

The claimed/combined fuel figure is 6.2L/100km, and the Exceed will emit a claimed 163g per kilometre of C02. All up, the 60-litre tank should return an average 968km, but miserly driving should see that number climb above 1000km.

It might not be the quietest diesel we've driven, but the low-down torque matches the car beautifully, with the Exceed happy to lunge forward from traffic lights or overtake with ease, and with far more confidence than in the petrol-powered models.

The suspension doesn't offer much in the way of a deep connection with the road below you, but both are set up to favour comfort and the Outlander Exceed glides over most imperfections. The steering, while numb, is light and easy.

It's not going to set your blood pumping, but it is going to get you where you need to go.

The six-speed gearbox is lightyears ahead of the CVT options in the other Outlander models, and is crisp enough to allow you to ignore the gigantic shifting paddle on either side of the steering wheel. The seats are wide and comfortable, the vision is good and it's easy to navigate through the city.

But let's face it, it's not going to set your blood pumping, but it is going to get you where you need to go with enough storage, technology and safety kit to keep you and your brood entertained along the way.

The 2017 update has shifted the Outlander Exceed from woefully underdone to one of the best in show when it comes to standard safety gear.

For a start, seven airbags are standard fit, with a driver's knee airbag joining the usual dual front, dual side and dual curtain airbags. They join the usual suite of braking aids, along with stability and traction controls and Hill Start Assist.

Perhaps the most interesting new tech is what Mitsubishi calls its Ultrasonic Misacceleration Mitigation System, which is among the more catchy names out there.

You also find front and rear parking sensors along with a reversing camera, AEB and adaptive cruise control, and high-tech systems like blind-spot monitoring, lane departure warning and lane change assist.

But perhaps the most interesting new tech is what Mitsubishi calls its Ultrasonic Misacceleration Mitigation System, which is among the more catchy names out there. The system intervenes if you accidentally hit the accelerator while parking, quickly jumping on the brakes before chaos occurs.

The Mitsubishi Outlander is covered by Mitsubishi's five-year/100,000km warranty and requires a trip to the service centre every 12 months or 15,000km. All Mitsubishis also arrive with four years complimentary roadside assistance, and three years capped price servicing. Service price are capped at $1550.