Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage
Test Drive

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

Mitsubishi Outlander and Subaru Forester sell much worse than the new Kia Sportage, but this does not prevent them from looking down on the Korean.

Korean brands are imposing a struggle on the Japanese on all fronts. They are also high-tech, but at the same time they are more democratic and do not force people to eat with chopsticks. The sworn neighbors of the emperor's subjects do not need to impose a cultural code to occupy half of the TV market and lead in the number of smartphones sold - even despite the exploding Samsung scandal. The roads of Russia are full of budget Hyundai and Kia, and in the more expensive and most fashionable segment today, the Sportage crossover is snapped up, even if its statistics are inferior to the sales of Toyota RAV4. However, the success of the Korean does not prevent two other Japanese - Mitsubishi Outlander and Subaru Forester - to look down on him.

Moreover, the 200-mm ground clearance allows them to do this. Outlander and Forester are warriors created for the most difficult tasks: to cross an impenetrable forest, offend climbers and climb the mountain faster than them, to transport a closet the size of Godzilla from apartment to apartment. Unlike the Sportage, they are so similar to each other that there is something deeply personal about this Japanese rivalry, like the warring samurai clans Minamoto and Taira. The Kia Sportage is less aggressive and doesn't try to pretend to be an SUV. At the same time, it formally belongs to a more compact class, but in terms of wheelbase it bypassed the mid-size Forester and caught up with the Outlander.

Last year's restyling turned the Outlander from a plump, plump family man into a fanged mythological demon. This is the most outwardly unusual and most chrome crossover on the market, although evil tongues compare the new Mitsubishi style with the "X-design" of Lada. The massive front panel is deliberately asymmetrical and turned towards the driver. It is almost entirely soft, and the instrument visor is trimmed with leather. In general, everything is solid and expensive, only the piano lacquer with a spark is lurid, and the wood-like inserts with a bizarre texture shine unnaturally. Another factor that lowers the overall impression is an outdated multimedia system with a bunch of buttons and knobs, mediocre graphics and confusing menus.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

Turn away, and Subaru Forester turned into a giant robot and ran away - an angular crossover resembles a transformer from the multiseries of the 1990s. The design, albeit original, but not modern: due to the long nose, the profile of the car turned out to be unbalanced. The interior of the Forester is ascetic and, in addition, unified with the younger model XV: a minimum of buttons and very mean lines. Its gloom is partly offset by the brown leather upholstery of the seats and doors. The pliable dashboard top, soft door handles and leather-trimmed display visor, all introduced in a recent update, are an unprecedented luxury for Subaru. As well as a heated steering wheel and two automatic windows.

The new Starlink multimedia system in the top version is equipped with navigation, touch buttons and looks elegant. With a connected phone, you can check the weather and listen to internet radio, and Apple devices have Siri support. Average fuel consumption, transmission modes and climate control indications are still displayed on two displays in the center - black and white and color. If you consider another display on the dashboard, the Forester is a clear record holder for their number.

The new Sportage is a frog with a tiger's mouth and looks more Asian than its predecessor. But as soon as the Outlander and Forester are parked next to them, European features are clearly visible in the crossover. Not otherwise, there are big fans of Porsche in the design center of the company in Frankfurt. This, of course, is not about blind copying - the Porsche motifs are gracefully inscribed in the formed image of the Sportage. Moreover, the motives are the most modern, like a combination of four LEDs on the top version of the GT Line or a strip connecting the lights.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

The front cliff panel with a prominent visor, three-spoke steering wheel and the shape of the air ducts are a free composition based on the Cayenne and Macan. Familiar details are made deliberately plump and voluminous, which completely deprives the interior of austerity, although Germany is felt in the attention to ergonomic details. The quality of the finish and the fit of the details - no premium in five minutes: pliable plastic, stitching identical to natural, dense keys and handles. There are unexpectedly many buttons on the center console deployed to the driver, but they are all large and logically located. You don't have to play the accordion to find the right one without looking. Here is the best multimedia system: a huge display, good responsiveness, clear graphics and a clear menu. Navigation maps are the most detailed, and when calculating the route, they receive information about traffic jams via a connected smartphone.

The Forester's upright seating position resembles a minivan and has the best view of any test car. Headroom and in front of the knees are impressive, and the rear doors swing wide open. Despite the smaller wheelbase and shorter rear overhang, the Forester's trunk volume is the largest in the test - 488 liters.

Behind the wheel of the Outlander, the elongated paddles on the steering wheel shine dully - almost like a sports car. The driver's seat cushion has a well-defined lateral support, but the backrest tilted back adjusts for a comfortable movement. Mitsubishi is slightly less spacious: with similar legroom for the rear passengers, the seat cushion of the second row is shorter, and the headlining is slightly lower. The trunk of the "Outlander" is slightly inferior to Subaru in liters (477), but wins in depth: when the rear seat backs are folded, 1640 liters are released against 1577 liters. Its loading height is the smallest in the test, the tailgate rises higher. In addition, the spare wheel is located under the bottom and there is a capacious organizer underground.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

The Sportage seat does not seek to squeeze the driver with bolsters, its back has the most successful profile, you can adjust the lumbar support. "Korean" is inferior in internal dimensions to Japanese crossovers and seems even more cramped due to massive struts and a lowered ceiling. The giant panoramic roof partially compensates for the lack of space in the second row. The shape of the rear seats of Kia is the most comfortable, there are additional air ducts at the end of the front armrest. The Sportage trunk is surprisingly deep and voluminous - 466 liters, but the backrests will have to be folded more often. In this case, he easily swallows a playpen and a stroller, an inflatable boat and an outboard motor. The fifth door rises automatically, it is worth approaching the car from behind with the key in your pocket. On the one hand, it is convenient when the hands are busy with things, on the other hand, false positives occur quite often.

An atmospheric two-liter engine - and this is the option most often chosen by buyers of all three crossovers - is barely enough for a large four-wheel drive car, in any case, all three need more than 100 seconds to accelerate to 11 km / h. Subaru has a sport mode, and if you press the gas pedal harder, the smooth acceleration curve becomes jagged - the variator simulates gear changes. The relaxed “automatic” Sportage, like the Japanese CVTs, is the enemy of haste. In sport mode, the crossover rides rather strained, but in the test it is the fastest, if only 11,6 seconds to “hundreds” can be defined as “fast”.

For those looking for dynamics, Mitsubishi offers an exotic V6 (230 hp), Subaru offers a turbo four from the WRX sports sedan (241 hp), and Kia offers a supercharged 1,6 liter (177 hp). and a robotic box with two clutches. There are also intermediate options - more affordable and combining relatively good dynamics with acceptable consumption. So, the Outlander with a 2,4-liter aspirated gasoline accelerates in 10,2 seconds, starts well, but then gets bogged down in the monotony of the variator, the salvation from which is the manual mode with paddle shifters. Forester with an opposed 2,5 is slightly faster, but more voracious. The head of the diesel Sportage with 400 Nm of torque is impressive, but the consumption and dynamics cannot be compared with a gasoline naturally aspirated car. Diesel is noticeably noisier and more expensive to maintain, but it combines best with the combat settings of the chassis and steering.

Forester never registered in Russia, but its suspension is the most omnivorous, and the shoes are the most correct for our remote places: thick tires on 17-inch rims. After the update, Subaru became more collected, a clear “zero” appeared on the steering wheel, but it still performs better on a country road. This is not the first time Mitsubishi has adapted the Outlander to Russian conditions - a crossover on 18-inch wheels is a little tougher than the Forester. The steering wheel is pinched in the near-zero zone so that it does not break out of the hands on bumps.

The Forester is the only one in the three equipped with a special off-road mode X-Mode, in which electronics makes the accelerator less sensitive, transfers traction faster and uses the brakes to skillfully lower the car down the mountain and grab the slipping wheels. The multi-plate clutch is located here in the same crankcase with the transmission and will not overheat in severe conditions. The ground clearance of the "Forester" is the largest - 220 mm - but the movements of the long nose must be monitored in both directions: so as not to scratch its lower part, painted in the body color, on the ground.

"Outlander" is inferior to Subaru in terms of ground clearance (215 mm), while its articulation is better, and the long front overhang and arches are protected by unpainted plastic. Mitsubsihi is not afraid of diagonal hanging, the only pity is that the electronics that activate the brakes are nervous and reactions to the "gas" are too harsh. The variator here with a belt, and not a chain, as on Subaru, so the safety electronics are stricter to ensure that it does not overheat. Outlander does not have a special off-road mode, you can only set up the transmission of traction to the rear axle along the axes, and the Lock position distributes it equally, but without rigid blocking.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

The Sportage is well protected by plastic armor, but it still doesn't look ready for the dirty work. Its ground clearance is the smallest - 182 mm, the front bumper is less suitable for off-road adventures, and due to the small suspension travels, the "Korean" lifts the wheels off the ground earlier than rivals. Strict electronics also helps out on the off-road when hanging, but in difficult cases, the clutch can be forcibly locked by pressing a button.

A steep climb is not given by the Mitsubishi Outlander because of the massive stern, it scrapes on the ground with the exhaust pipe and the spare wheel. Subaru Forester drives in there without any problems and becomes "king of the mountain" or whatever the Japanese call it. The most amazing thing is that after a minute, the Sportage takes the same height thanks to its short overhangs. This isn't something you'd expect from a city dweller, but the Kia's rivals still look preferable outside the tarmac.

The Subaru Forester is not only the most off-road and the most spacious, it also climbed at a price higher than the other two crossovers: from $ 22. for a car with "mechanics" and four-wheel drive. Moreover, the four-wheel drive here is permanent and differs from the version with a variator for which they ask for $ 544. The difference between a two-liter crossover and a version with a 1 liter engine is more than $ 036. "Forester" cannot boast of rich equipment, but you have to pay extra for the Japanese assembly and boxer uniqueness.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

Most customers do not care whether the engine is under the hood of the car - in-line or boxer. Mitsubishi Outlander is simpler, but with similar dynamics and roominess it costs less, including due to the Russian assembly. There is a choice from a variety of trim levels, you can purchase a front-wheel drive version, but only with a "variator". Prices start at $ 18 for a $ 347 all-wheel drive car. more expensive. The upgrade to the 2 engine from Outlander is the most affordable - only $ 609 for a car in the same configuration. In addition, some options, like the Forester, are not available with the base motor. For example, the 2,4L Outlander lacks an electric tailgate and navigation.

From January to October, more than three thousand Foresters, according to the Association of European Businesses, accounted for more than 11 thousand Outlander. During the same period, Kia Sportage sold over 15 thousand units, including the remnants of the previous generation cars. The starting price of the Korean crossover assembled in Russia is noticeably less - from $ 15. The range of options for the two-liter engine is unlimited: panoramic roof, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, seat ventilation, music with a subwoofer and an impressive array of electronic assistants. At the same time, the most packed car will cost less than $ 986.

Japanese crossovers seem to follow the Hagakure samurai code of honor, which equates excessive luxury with sake abuse and pride. They oppose the number of options with liters of trunk and centimeters of ground clearance. For example, the Outlander has a heated windshield, while the Forester has a steering wheel. Only the Sportage offers both options at the same time, and only he knows how to read the markings and signs.

Test drive Outlander and Forester against Sportage

Kia chose European premium brands as a benchmark, but did not burn out on it like Samsung, trying to catch up with Apple. Even if the remote control of the tailgate is not fully thought out, and the car parker does not always detect a free space between cars. A rare set of options for the mass segment, an elegant interior - all this adds up to a tangible advantage that a machine gun has against a samurai bow. And the desire to sell diesel cars on the inhospitable Russian market is also a kind of valor.


We would like to express our gratitude to the Integra Development Group for assistance in filming.

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4       Subaru Forester 2.5il       Kia Sportage 2.0 mpi
A type
CrossoverCrossoverCrossover
Size mm
4695 / 1800 / 16804610 / 1795 / 17354480 / 1855 / 1655
Wheelbase, mm
267026402670
Ground clearance, mm
215220182
Cargo space, l
477-1640488-1548466-1455
Curb weight, kg
15051585-16261496-1663
Gross vehicle weight, kg
221020152130
engine's type
Gasoline naturally aspirated, 4-cylinderGasoline naturally aspirated, 4-cylinderGasoline naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder
Working volume, cubic meters cm
236024981999
Max. power, h.p. (at rpm)
167 / 6000171 / 5800150 / 6200
Max. cool. moment, nm (at rpm)
222 / 4100235 / 4000192 / 4000
Drive type, transmission
Full, variatorFull, variatorFull, 6AT
Max. speed km / h
198197180
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s
10,29,811,6
Fuel consumption, l / 100 km at 60 km / h
7,78,38,4
Price from, $.
24 39327 9331 509 900
 

 

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