Test drive Mitsubishi Outlander
Sales of the previous generation Mitsubishi Outlander in Slovenia suffered mainly for one reason - the lack of a turbocharged diesel engine on sale. According to Mitsubishi, 63 percent of this class is sold in Europe.
diesel. Creating a new generation, the Japanese took into account the wishes of buyers and substantiated the well-known two-liter Volkswagen turbodiesel from Grandis in the Outlander.
And it's not just a two-liter "barn" with 140 "stallions" that will be the only choice from the engine lineup in February, when the Outlander is on sale in our showrooms. The rest of the parts have also been updated and improved. And as the first races at the World Championships in Catalonia and on the test track at Les Comes showed, the new Outlander is better for its class than the previous one. At least for the class.
Otherwise, it has outgrown the current generation by 10 centimeters in length and is one of the largest SUVs in its class. A two-liter turbodiesel has a difficult task in front of it - it must tow a 1-ton car, which in practice is known for its explosiveness, which is not. This combination of engines will appeal to calm drivers who are not too demanding on the highway and need to upshift when driving off-road. That's where the Outlander impresses.
It allows you to choose between front-wheel drive, can drive all four wheels (where the electronics decide, according to given conditions, how much torque goes to the front wheels and how much to the rear wheels), and also has a locking center differential. , with the control knob prominently positioned between the two front seats. In automatic 4WD mode, up to 60 percent of the torque can be sent to the rear wheels.
The off-road look (front and rear aluminum protection, bulging fenders, ground clearance of 178 mm ...) of the new Outlander - I admit this is a personal opinion - is much better than the first generation, which modern SUVs with their aggressive futuristic literally outline strokes. The LED taillights also convince with the design progress.
The chassis seems to be well designed with individual front wheel mounts, as the Outlander leans surprisingly little on paved roads during cornering, unlike the (Korean) competitor, while remaining comfortable at the same time, which is also proven on “perforated” gravel. roads. When developing the Outlander, the engineers tried to keep the center of gravity as low as possible, so they decided to (also) use an aluminum roof and took the idea from the road special Lancer Evo IX.
If someone asks you what the Mitsubishi Outlander, Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, Peugeot 4007, and Citroën C-Crosser have in common, you can surely launch: the platform. The history of this is long but short: the platform was created in collaboration with Mitsubishi and DaimlerChrysler, and thanks to the collaboration between PSA and Mitsubishi, it was also inherited by the new C-Crosser and 4007.
Initially, the Outlander will be available with the aforementioned 2-liter diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission, and later the engine lineup will be complemented by a 4-liter petrol engine with 170 and 220 horsepower, a powerful 6-liter. VXNUMX and XNUMX-liter PSA turbodiesel.
The new dimensions gave the Outlander a much greater level of spaciousness that, if you choose the right equipment when it hits the market, will offer a third row of seats with two emergency seats. The rear row of seats, which folds completely into a flat bottom, is very uncomfortable for adults due to the lack of knee room. Access to the third row of seats is provided by a folding second row of seats that automatically folds behind the front row of seats at the touch of a button, which in practice requires two conditions: the front seat must not be too far back. be empty.
The enlarged trunk pleases with a two-section rear door, the lower side of which can withstand up to 200 kilograms, and the flat bottom of the seven-seat trunk makes it easy to load and unload larger items of luggage, furniture ... There is a configuration space in a five-seater car. Depending on the position of the other, eight-centimeter longitudinally movable row of seats. For comparison: the trunk of the current generation is 774 liters.
The cabin has several control buttons. There are quite a few boxes and storage spaces, including two boxes in front of the passenger. The choice of materials is a bit disappointing as this is a plastic dashboard that wants to please motorcycle enthusiasts with the sensor design and also reminds many of the Alfa. The new Outlander's cockpit is better soundproofed, and with improvements in individual parts, it has improved chassis rigidity by 18 to 39 percent.
We believe the Outlander is also one of the safest SUVs in its latest release as Mitsubishi is confident it will get all five stars in Euro NCAP test crashes. A solid construction, two front airbags, side airbags and curtains will help to achieve this goal ...
More details about the equipment of the XNUMXWD Outlander on our market, most likely in February, when sales also start in Slovenia.
First impression
Appearance 4/5
If they were still thinking about the design of the first, then with the second generation they succeeded in a real SUV.
Engines 3/5
First, only with the two-liter VW engine already known by Grandis. In the beginning, we won't have much choice.
Interior and equipment 3/5
We didn't expect all-plastic designs, but they impress with their transparency, ease of use and dashboard elegance.
Price 2/5
Slovenian prices are not yet known, but German ones predict a fierce battle for buyers with wallets for medium-sized SUVs.
First class 4/5
The Outlander is no doubt a serious competitor to most of the SUVs currently on sale and those that will soon hit showrooms. He rides well, flexible and handsome, among other things. He also has a diesel ...
Half of Rhubarb
