Mitsubishi Outlander reviews

2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Driving Impressions

The Mitsubishi Outlander with the V6 engine is noticeably smooth and steady at high speeds, which it negotiates with little effort. It's quiet at 80 miles per hour with the windows up; tire noise is kept under the car. It feels almost long-legged, because the engine loses some of its confidence, and gains some harshness, under hard acceleration up to, say, 60 mph. But maybe the important thing is that the acceleration is actively there when you need it. Definitely not lacking with your foot down.

Fuel economy for the Outlander XLS 2WD is an EPA-estimated 20/26 mpg. The Outlander GT S-AWC is rated 19/25 mpg. Premium fuel is recommended for the V6 but not required. Mitsubishi builds good engines and the SOHC V6 with MIVEC electronic valve timing produces 230 horsepower and 215 pound-feet of torque at 3750 rpm.

The Outlander ES and SE models come with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which gets an EPA-rated 23/28 mpg. Regular unleaded is the recommended fuel. Outlander SE 4WD gets 22/27 mpg.

We like this engine and suggest that the best Outlander value might be the Outlander SE 4WD with the CVT with the 6-step manual mode. The dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine, with the MIVEC electronic valve timing, same system as the V6, makes 168 horsepower, good enough to keep up on the freeway.

The manually switched 4WD system on the Outlander SE 4WD, although less versatile than the automatic S-AWC system of the V6-powered Outlander GT, might get you up that snowy hill just as well. The Outlander GT costs nearly $10,000 more than while getting 4 mpg less on premium fuel. It doesn't beat the Outlander SE by that amount, unless you simply must have that luxury.

Conversely, the S-AWC all-wheel-drive system in the Outlander GT uses an Active Front Differential and electronically controlled center differential. One method Mitsubishi uses to test this system is to drive up a hill with the left wheels on pavement and right wheels on ice. The system is not fooled, it adjusts. We tested the S-AWC Super All-Wheel Control on a sand dune, and our Outlander GT eagerly blasted to the top. There's a dial on the console with three positions: Tarmac, Snow and Lock.

Another advanced feature in the GT is called Idle Neutral Logic, which puts the transmission into neutral when the vehicle comes to a stop, using less fuel at a redlight. The driver never feels it.

We found ride quality in the Outlander okay, not harsh but not like silk. Road jiggles and vibrations can be felt in the wheels. They seem to dance, a million tiny steps.

However, we sprinted through one 30-minute section of mountain curves, using the throttle, brakes and 6-speed Sportronic transmission hard. We can report that the Outlander GT accepts being driven inappropriately, without trying to buck you off at every turn. If it was Super All-Wheel Control at work, the intervention was undetectable. We're not saying it hugged the road and loved it, just that it didn't get squirrelly. But it's still pretty darn good for an SUV like this to perform like that.