THE MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER is a medium-sized SUV that can be had with five or seven seats. It is a rival for the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq (seven-seat model priced from €30,750) and the Kia Sorento (seven-seat model priced from €41,394).
The cabin is roomy and has space for seven people. While there aren’t many fancy touches, the interior is very family friendly thanks to how functional, durable and robust it feels. There is plenty of storage and leg and headroom is great in the first two rows.
The third row of seats are only really suitable for children, although legroom can be increased by sliding the middle row forward.
I really like the big comfortable seats and large windows that make the space feel airy and bright. The driving position is nice and high and visibility is great.
The boot can hold 128 litres with all seats in place and with the rear seats tumbled it can hold 1,608 litres. The loading lip is low and the boot has a large aperture that makes sliding luggage in the back really easy. As a comparison, the Kia Sorento can hold 116 to 1,530 litres and the Kodiaq can hold 270 to 2,005 litres.
In Ireland, the five-seat and seven-seat Outlander are available in one trim level but the cars are very well specced. All models get a seven-inch touchscreen with rearview camera and rear parking sensors, Bluetooth connectivity with USB port/iPod connectivity, dual zone auto air-con and cruise control with speed limiter. The infotainment system is also set up for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and while the display may not be the most high-tech it is bright, clear and easy to use.
The seven-seat four-wheel drive model also gets full leather upholstery on all seven seats, heated front seats and an eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat, keyless operation system and a multi-select 4WD system (on-demand 4WD with 4WD ECO, Auto and 4WD Lock Modes) with drive mode selector.
My test car was the seven-seat ‘Instyle’ model powered by a 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine mated to a six-speed manual, four-wheel drive transmission. It produces 150hp and 380Nm of torque at 1,750-2,500rpm. Thanks to that torque, the Outlander never feels sluggish.
The steering is nicely weighted and feels accurate and the car feels very sure-footed and stable. The ride quality is nice and supple and well suited to Irish roads absorbing lumps and bumps with ease. The cabin is quiet too – Mitsubishi has done a good job blocking out wind, road and engine noise.
Off-road, the Outlander should be quite capable thanks to its four-wheel drive system and its max braked trailer towing weight is 2,000kg.
For when you want to conserve fuel there is an ‘ECO Mode’ energy-saving control for the engine, air conditioning and four-wheel drive system. It suppresses engine output for more gentle acceleration, reduces air con use and automatically switches to the fuel-efficient four-wheel drive eco mode.
The Outlander has a combined fuel consumption figure of 5.3 litres/100km (53.3mpg) and 139g/km of CO2 for the six-speed manual version. This is better than many of its rivals.
The five-seat Mitsubishi Outlander has a two-wheel drive, manual gearbox set-up and is priced from €32,500. The seven-seat models have four-wheel drive and are available with a manual (€39,900) or automatic gearbox (€44,900). While these prices may seem high compared to other seven-seat SUVs with four-wheel drive you have to remember that the Outlander is very well specced, so make sure you are comparing similar trim levels when comparing models.
The Outlander also comes with an eight-year/150,000km warranty.
Overall, the Outlander is a solid, reliable and family-friendly SUV that is easy to drive and has decent off-road abilities. It is also economical and good value for money when compared to rivals with similar engines and trim levels.
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