SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

We get acquainted with the 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander

Car-like SUV with a touch of attitude

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday March 17, 2010

Let’s face it: the old Outlander was pretty bland to look at and the interior trim was somewhat on the hard-plasticky side, but the then-new CVT worked like a charm.

Late last year, it was given a facelift, starting with its er.. face. Any marketing guru will tell you that if you have a legendary vehicle in your stable, you make sure its siblings get an injection of the same design DNA. The Lancer Evolution X is Mitsubishi’s supercar and the quickest way of upping the Outlander’s ante was to graft an Evo snout on to it.

The result is a more car-like SUV with a touch of attitude that helps it stand out from its competitors.  It also gets new aero work in front, a mesh grille, upgraded fascia with a pleasant mix of hard and soft, redone instruments and redesigned hood and fenders. The six-disc, nine-speaker Rockford Fosgate audio system now boasts output of 710 Watts versus the previous model’s mere 650. A pair of RCA connectors provides basic music player connectivity via an adaptor bought cheaply at your local discount store.

A Range Rover-like rotary control on the centre console selects two-wheel drive, variable four-wheel drive or 4WD lock. Americans call it tarmac, snow and lock.

As for the constantly variable transmission (CVT) with its six-step sports mode, I am undecided. When I drove the earlier Outlander in December 2008 I really liked its CVT, as well as those in the Lancer 2,0 litre and a couple of others. Since then, I have been exposed to double-clutch transmissions and some seriously good torque converter ‘boxes. I have also been frustrated by a dreadful CVT unit in a new model from another manufacturer, so I am no longer sure that all CVTs are as sexy as I initially thought.

This one rated only an “OK” in light of more recent experience: great when using the manual override, but a bit wishy-washy when instantaneous action is demanded. Will the average city driver using his or her SUV as a family bus ever need what I look for in an automatic or even care? I don’t know.

Moving on, there’s loads of people-space with plenty of headroom in the rear where the seats have reclinable backs and adjust fore and aft as needed. The result is that there is as much legroom back there as in a super saloon; with the bonus that luggage space is hardly compromised at all. A standard sunroof is a pleasant touch as are two cubbies. The upper one shares internal air conditioning, so you can keep your choccies cool in summer. The downside is that it would be a good idea to remove them before using the heater to ward off wintry chills, though.

Moving further back, the tail gate opens in two sections, with the lower part folding down to create a nice low extended loading sill or an occasional seat for watching your teens help thrash the opposition at hockey or rugger.

On the road, ride is pleasantly firm with none of the top heaviness often found in SUVs. Performance from the 2,4 litre four-cylinder engine is pleasant enough but not electrifying, especially with the CVT ‘box mentioned earlier. Americans have the option of a 3,0 litre V6 mated to a six-speed twin clutch transmission that they reckon is a far nicer proposition, with only a tiny trade off in fuel economy. Might be a good idea to offer that combination here as well.

Safety kit includes the usual ABS with EBD, Active Stability Control (ASC), six airbags, keyless entry and starting, rear parking sensors and adaptive lighting that lights up the area into which you are about to turn and provides improved forward vision.

Overall, the new Outlander is a thoroughly pleasant family bus with ability to tackle the occasional rough and slushy bits, and for about half the money of some European competitors, a bargain as well.

The numbers

Price: R381 000

Engine: 2,4 litre DOHC 16 valve

Power: 125 kW at 6 000 rpm

Torque: 226 Nm at 4 100 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 10,2 seconds

Maximum speed: 190 km/h

Car magazine fuel index: 9,1 l/100 km

Real world usage over 480 km of testing split 60% city to 40% freeway: about 11,0 l/100

Tank: 60 litres

Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km

Service plan: 3 years/60 000 km

 

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

 

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