The Mitsubishi Outlander has never been the kind of car one buys because of burning desire, but it was always competent and one of the better vehicles to drive in its class. Now, the all-new model, which is radically different from its predecessor, takes center stage, as Mitsubishi tries to keep itself relevant in the current context of the automotive industry, both in the US and the rest of the world.
The new 2014 Outlander needs to be very good, but if we are to listen to Consumer Reports (CR), which recently took it for a drive, things aren’t looking up.
Right off the bat, the car is criticized for its “melted” styling, which CR says nowhere near as sharp-looking as the car it replaces, and even that wasn’t a particularly eye-catching piece of automotive art, either. The bad points continue with the ride quality, high levels of road noise and a driving experience which is inferior, according to the reviewer, to that of the previous generation model.
It does, of course, have some redeeming features, like the fact that it gets third-row seating as standard on all models, as well as an optional V6 engine (only the Jeep Cherokee offers it in the class), and a much improved interior quality than before, with more intuitive and modern controls. The new model is also around 200 pounds lighter than before, so this should translate into marginally better fuel efficiency and performance numbers, especially for the 224 hp V6.
By Andrei Nedelea
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