Mitsubishi Outlander: review

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firemachine69

Joined
Apr 29, 2008
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1,967
Location
Sudbury, ON, Canada
The good:

-Cheap. This is the absolute cheapest vehicle with a 4wd-lock/diff you will find that has comfortable family seating arrangements.

-Great gas mileage. Getting about 9L/100km. With the four-banger/CVT combo. Not much different than our Yaris, except that it weighs an extra 700 pounds (!)

-Our base ES 4wd model came with pretty much all the basic gizmos one could want... BT, cruise, heated seats, power everything, etc. Only real option missing is auto headlights and roof rails (meh). Even an auto temp control is included.

-Warranty is superb. Five year, 100k kilometer bumper to bumper. Ten year, 160k kilometer powertrain.

-Mitsubishi dealerships are apparently very lenient on warranty work. Something to do with having a small customer base, apparently.

-4wd system seems to actually work better than the one I had in my F150. That being said, the outlander got winter tires, the f150 didn't.

-Decent crash ratings.

-Looks. I don't mind it.


Cons:

- OCI. They're ludicrous. Could easily double the recommended OCI without issue.

-Feels cheap. Subjective feeling. Expecting a light, mid-size SUV that weighs 3k pounds to feel solid or rugged is a tall order.

-Interior is cheap. I don't care, many people do.

-Abysmal tow rating. I understand with the 4cyl/CVT (1500lbs). I don't get it with the V6/6spd is only 1800lbs. Pretty sure that's the lowest reading in its class. I only have a 14' boat to tow, so I don't care, but many others will.

-Odd tire size. Could mount sedan tires, but for some reason Mitsubishi sticks with LT/SUV rated tires (again, keep in mind even the 4wd model tips the scale around 3k pounds, lighter than most full size sedans).

Complicated fold-flat seating arrangement. Definitely no "sto-and-go". YMMV how much that actually matters to you.

-On the fence still if I find the seats comfortable. No way of adjusting the lumbar support in our base model. I find there's too much, girlfriend thinks it could use a bit more. Again, YMMV.

To me, the steering in the middle feels really "numb" for such a new car. 10k km (we purchased the dealer shuttle). Girlfriend doesn't notice it. YMMV again.

-Looks. I don't mind it.


The ugly:

-Did I mention the absurdly frequent OCI's? Also applies to the coolant, diffs, and transmission fluids. 3 years/ 40k km, or something like that. Definitely no lifetime fluids in this thing.
 
ya that warranty is awesome.

what is the recommended oci?

from what i have seen most mitsus have a minimalist interior.

congrats on the new vehicle!
 
It looks to me to be a fairly good choice in crossover SUV's.

I kind of like the looks. The lines are a bit more smooth and flowing than some of the other designs out there.

Many of the reviews from actual owners seems to be on the favorable side.

For the money? Looks nice.
 
OCI is recommended at 5 months / 7800km with 0w-20 synthetic. 3 months / 5000km with regular 5w-20. Suspect most of it is a plot to recuperate the low initial purchase cost. OLM is the default the dealer goes by for service, however. Also suspect eventually Mitsubishi will be sued for unnecessary over-servicing by our government up here in Canada. Time will tell. They take a dim view of corporations unnecessarily introducing more "waste" oil back into the system. Ask our oil sands how the numerous bureaucrats make their existence miserable.

I'm already going to file a complaint with the competition bureau against the corporation, and see where that goes (going to run UOA before as scientific evidence, of course.)
 
Hello, My friends are on their second one. They love 'em.
I've never driven either but have been a passenger in both. Seems OK to me.
Out of the box I'd fear any CVT (old fashioned, fearful kinda car consumer I am) but my friends say it's great.
I could do without 18 inch wheels on any car however. I sure hope it contributes to a quiet ride. Kira
 
Actually, one of the flaws I failed to mention was that unless you mash the gas pedal, the revs hover around 1200-1400rpms. You can sneak past the speed limit without noticing it.
smile.gif
 
Maybe the service schedule supports a better than industry average warranty program.

It could be worth the trouble if you keep the vehicle for a longer period of time/mileage.

GM is giving their warranty program a big cut. Maybe that also reflects the quality of their products as experienced in the recent past.

I don't think that many people pay attention to the warranty while they are taking that prospective new car for a test drive. This would of course exclude BITOG members that obsess over such details.

Just remember, having a car payment is your way to support the economy.
 
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
OCI is recommended at 5 months / 7800km with 0w-20 synthetic. 3 months / 5000km with regular 5w-20.


In NZ service interval on all Mitsubishi is 15,000km, regardless of what oil you run. I worked for the local Mitsi dealer for 5 years, left a couple of years ago. The Outlander was bullet proof, nothing ever went wrong with them, just servicing and brakes, there was no warranty work done on them at all. We only lost one engine - 140,000km on 3 oil changes, and one of those was a mistake because I noticed it was overdue on it's yearly safety inspection, so did it. We got told off by the customer because he said he just changed it and we had to reimburse the cost. The engine was completely sludged up. He got no warranty on that one!
 
Originally Posted By: Silk
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
OCI is recommended at 5 months / 7800km with 0w-20 synthetic. 3 months / 5000km with regular 5w-20.


In NZ service interval on all Mitsubishi is 15,000km, regardless of what oil you run.


Same in Australia. We have a couple of these Outlanders at work, I find them OK to drive. Nothing exciting, but they do the job.
 
Mitsu's website lists the tow rating of the GT S-AWC model as 3,500 pounds. That's the V-6 model with a stepped 6-speed transmission.

Re: the tires; if you have the 215/70R16s, there are some downright car-like tires offered in this size (and even some true passenger all-seasons as well):

Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia
Continental ContiProContact
Dunlop Signature CS
Firestone Destination LE2
Goodyear Assurance All Season
Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max
Kumho Solus KL21
Kumho Solus KR21
Michelin Latitude Tour
Pirelli Scorpion Verde
Yokohama Avid Touring-S

I make no claims as to how good or bad any of those tires are...just that you do have some pretty comfort-oriented tire choices in that size when it comes time to tire replacement.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Mitsu's website lists the tow rating of the GT S-AWC model as 3,500 pounds. That's the V-6 model with a stepped 6-speed transmission.

Re: the tires; if you have the 215/70R16s, there are some downright car-like tires offered in this size (and even some true passenger all-seasons as well):

Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia
Continental ContiProContact
Dunlop Signature CS
Firestone Destination LE2
Goodyear Assurance All Season
Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max
Kumho Solus KL21
Kumho Solus KR21
Michelin Latitude Tour
Pirelli Scorpion Verde
Yokohama Avid Touring-S

I make no claims as to how good or bad any of those tires are...just that you do have some pretty comfort-oriented tire choices in that size when it comes time to tire replacement.



That's the portion neither me or the salesman could figure out, the tow ratings in Canada were substantially lower than the US. Actually, the RVR has a tow rating in the states, in Canada, "towing is not recommended." Weird, because I always thought the USA being the more litigous country of the two...
 
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
That's the portion neither me or the salesman could figure out, the tow ratings in Canada were substantially lower than the US.


My bad; I didn't realize the border cross is that significant to Mitsubishi! Isn't it sad, how published vehicle capabilities are done based on how likely they are to get sued?

I am a proponent of standardized towing ratings (like an SAE rating). At least you know you're comparing apples to apples. As it is now, despite the towing rating carrying legal weight, how a manufacturer derives it is anyone's guess.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
That's the portion neither me or the salesman could figure out, the tow ratings in Canada were substantially lower than the US.


My bad; I didn't realize the border cross is that significant to Mitsubishi! Isn't it sad, how published vehicle capabilities are done based on how likely they are to get sued?

I am a proponent of standardized towing ratings (like an SAE rating). At least you know you're comparing apples to apples. As it is now, despite the towing rating carrying legal weight, how a manufacturer derives it is anyone's guess.


I think it's a combination of how likely they are to get sued and likelyhood of selling someone a pickup truck.
 
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