Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0 DiD Elegance 09 Model-Further Thoughts

Well its been a few weeks now since I took possession of the Outlander so I have collected a few further thoughts and here they are:

Really glad I have got this car in all the recent wintry weather its been great.This is a love hate car not something bland like the Audi A4 Avant I reviewed previously.

Fuel economy generally good I am getting 35+ mpg overall spookily enough the same as the Scirocco though as that was petrol it was cheaper to run.Hopefully we'll see an improvement once this engines got some more miles under its belt and get up the official touring average of 40 mpg. !
Oil Consumption is a bit heavy but thats always been the case for this engine (its a VW Audi 2.0 tdi).
Performance is improving as the engine is running in plus I am getting the hang of getting the best out of it ,practice makes perfect I suppose.
Both Front and Rear Doors don't open wide enough not that its a big problem.
The self cancelling on the indicators could be better you sometimes need to cancel yourself if the corner you have turned isn't sharp enough.
Top marks for the odour absorbing headlining great the morning after a take away !
Its good that it comes with switchable 4WD.All operated by a dial between the front seats.You leave it in 2WD most of the time which gives the best fuel economy and use 4WD if you want better traction or handling through corners .4WD Lock is for the really slippery stuff and works well it really gives you a sense of security though perhaps its only a sense and not reality.
Aerodynamics are pretty unsophisticated as you can tell by how quickly the back window dirties in bad weather (its because its a square backed just like the Volvo V70 I reviewed previously).
This car is made alongside the Citroen Crossover and Peugeot 4007 (in the Netherlands) and is identical to them bar the nose section.It also shares underpinnings with the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass.I think the Citroen and Peugeot versions with their own 2.2 tdi are probably a lot better performance wise hopefully I'll get to try one soon.
The LED graphics in central instrument binnacle are a little cruse and the LCD graphics in the sat display could do with a makeover too.

I'll post more thoughts in a few weeks!

4th January 2010

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0 DiD Elegance 09 Model

Must admit to having mixed feelings picking up the Outlander last week having handed back a VW Scirocco in exchange talk about 'chalk and cheese'.More about the Scirocco in another post.

However it arrived at the right time just as Ice and Snow started .Mine is 'Cool Silver' with a Black Interior .First impressions are good its solid well made overall and reasonably good to drive.Its certainly practical too lots of space and seven seats if you include the occasional seats in the boot.

Great equipment ,sat nav, fabulous stereo,cd ,dvd hard drive etc and very large sub woofer in the boot plus leather heated seats,reversing camera,parking sensors so no complaints on that score.

Good ride and handling for a medium sized SUV too.

Downsides ?

Well its a little underpowered ,I think its a bit heavy for this engine in other markets it is supplied with 2.4 litre and 3 litre V6 petrol .This one has a 2.0 litre diesel (its sourced from VW Audi). Its a little noisier than it should be in this class but not noisy enough to really bother you.Besides you have a 600 watt stereo to create your own noise !

The other thing is if your being picky which I am whilst the general fit and finish is good and what you would expect from a Japanese Car the plastics in some parts of the cabin are a bit cheap hard and shiny when you compare them to the best you can get from the likes of Audi .

More updates and thoughts to follow.