Mitsubishi Outlander ES 2014 Review

Mitsubishi has been a major player in the SUV field in Australia for close to 40 years, and was a pioneer in the affordable, comfortable market with the Pajero. Mitsubishi Outlander operates more in the passenger wagon arena rather than the full-on off-road segment in which the Pajero plays.

Outlander gives many buyers exactly what they want, the versatility of an on-road wagon with the ability to tackle mild to medium roads as well as traction at the beach.

STYLING

Outlander received a major overhaul to its appearance in 2012. This did away with what some said was too radical a shape of the previous Outlander, instead for a more conservative look. The restyle wasn't just done for the sake of appearance, the co-efficient of drag was reduced from 0.36 to 0.33 to cut fuel consumption and emissions. More about this in a moment.

For the 2014 model year, Mitsubishi Australia added 18-inch alloy wheels and a black-coloured roof rail to all Outlander models, but the real news was the addition items added to the standard equipment. Automatic lights and wipers are part of the package installed on the Outlander LS we have just reviewed. Inside, the Mitsubishi Outlander has a neat design that's easy to live with and likely to remain timeless.

INFOTAINMENT

The Outlander LS now has the topline version of Mitsubishi Multi Communication System (MMCS) previously reserved for the topline Outlander Aspire. This has a 7-inch colour touch-screen which makes a better platform for a satellite navigation that now has 3D mapping on offer.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS

Engines are 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre petrol and 2.3-litre turbo-diesel. On previous tests we felt the smaller petrol engine had marginal performance, particularly if you have a load on board. Our test car had the 2.4-petrol which is much easier to live with.

SAFETY

The Outlander has achieved an ANCAP safety rating of five stars. Active Stability Control is standard across the range and can recognise understeer and oversteer, then applies braking force to the diagonal wheel to assist in keeping the Outlander on-line through corners.

DRIVING

Japanese engineers teamed with Australian Mitsubishi engineers to tune the Outlander's suspension and steering in this country. The result is good handling – for a midsize SUV that is, Outlander is certainly not going to challenge something like a BMW X3 in this area. While not sporting, the Outlander is very safe in the way it responds on the road.

It's obvious that comfort has been given priority by the suspension guys and this seems sure to appeal to the intended buyer group. The smoother body shape of the MY2012 Outlander resulted in lower interior noise levels, something that was appreciated during a long weekend trip with the new 2014 iteration.

The front seats offer good space and support reasonably well. The centre row has good legroom and the third row of seats – not fitted to all models, check with your local dealer – is better suited to children.

We were pretty impressed with the way the centre-row seat folds flat in a single motion to add to luggage space. Previously, the seat was tumble-folded in two stages, the new arrangement adds significantly to the length of the cargo that can be carried.

VERDICT

Mitsubishi Outlander has an intelligent compromise between family station wagon and off-road toy for weekend fun. Its long established reputation on the Australian SUV scene for quality and reliability is understandable and we can appreciate its strong position in our sales race.

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 petrol
Price: from $32,890
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol, 124kW/220Nm
Transmission: CVT, 4WD on demand
Thirst: 7.5L/100Km, CO2 174g/km