Expert Review
Mitsubishi Outlander SUV (2013 - ) review
Read the Mitsubishi Outlander (2013 - ) car review by Auto Trader's motoring experts, covering price, specification, running costs, practicality, safety and how it drives
Words by: Ivan Aistrop
Last updated on 26 February 2015 | 0 min read
The Auto Trader expert verdict:
3.7
With decent space and good versatility, as well as seven seats on most versions, the four-wheel drive Outlander makes a good go-anywhere family car
Reasons to buy:
- Spacious cabin and comfortable ride
- Good fuel economy and low CO2 emissions
- Seven-seat versatility on most models
How good does it look?
The Outlander may be a rough-and-tumble SUV, but it's not the slab-sided Tonka Toy you might expect. On the contrary, it’s much more rounded, but those curved surfaces and that sleek shape aren’t just there for effect: they are designed specifically to make the car more aerodynamic, and more fuel-efficient as a result. Still, efficiency and elegance go hand-in-hand, and the resulting shape is a perfectly pleasant one (if not terribly distinctive), without some of the bulk you might expect of a big 4×4. All but the most basic GX2 models come with alloy wheels and tinted rear windows, while roof rails are standard across the range, as are body-coloured bumpers and mirrors. PHEV models look basically identical, but are distinguished by black, rather than silver, roof rails.
Expert rating: 3/5
What's the interior like?
“The quality of the materials compares favourably with any other car in this market”
Mitsubishi hasn't been renowned for the quality of its cabins, but the Outlander's is probably its smartest yet. The quality of materials compares favourably with any other car in this market, and there's plenty of colour around the cabin to smarten things up. The layout is generally good, too, with nice, chunky buttons, but the touch-screen sat-nav that is fitted on top GX4 trim is fiddly to operate. On the other hand, there are no complaints about the driving position, which has plenty of adjustment (a height-adjustable driver's comes on every model) and gives the slightly higher view that SUV buyers love.
Expert rating: 4/5
How practical is it?
“The boot is well-sized and you can fold down all five rear seats (where fitted) to leave a completely flat floor”
The Outlander will make a fine family car: with a couple of six-footers in the front seats, there’s enough room for a couple more in the second row, and only the transmission tunnel in the floor limits the space for a central passenger. On all trims from GX3 upwards, the Outlander is a seven-seater; and, although the third row of seats is only suitable for children, by sliding the second row forward a little, you could get seven on board. To cap it all, the boot is well-sized, and you can fold down all five rear seats (where fitted) to leave a completely flat floor. The hybrid is rather different, however, as it is only a five-seater, no matter what the trim, while the boot is also a little smaller.
Expert rating: 4/5
What's it like to drive?
“If you settle back into a more relaxed driving style, that plays to the car’s strengths”
The suspension has clearly been set up for comfort – and to pretty good effect. Other than a slightly lumpy feel at low speeds, diesel versions of the car ride comfortably - and more smoothly than the hybrid version. The key to that is having plenty of travel in the springs to absorb the bumps, but the price you pay is plenty of body roll in the bends. That’s not to say the car handles badly – on the contrary, it’s very safe and secure – but the roll (combined with the lack of side support in the seats and the lack of feel through the steering) soon discourage you from barrelling down a B-road. Instead, if you settle back into a more relaxed driving style, that plays to the car’s strengths.
Expert rating: 3/5
How powerful is it?
There are two versions of the Outlander, one with a 2.2-litre diesel engine and the other with a petrol/electric hybrid powertrain. Once the diesel-engined version is up and running, it has decent performance, with strong pull in the mid-range and plenty of performance for a car of its type. However, so far, we have only driven the GX5 version, which comes with an automatic gearbox, and our only gripes are that the car was slow to pull away from rest and that the gearbox was reluctant to kickdown when you needed a burst of acceleration. However, using the paddles behind the steering wheel to change gear manually soon sorted that out. The hybrid model is a very different beast, almost silent and plenty quick enough in electric-only operation in town. However, beyond the city limits, it's very noisy when you put your foot down and the petrol engine kicks in. Worse still, even with the petrol engine screaming away, the car doesn't pick up speed all that quickly at higher speeds.
Expert rating: 3/5
