CD Article: 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander

[smaw]

I just went to the dealership to take a quick look at the XLS today (didn't test drive it yet).  And here are the things I noticed:

1).  3rd row seats are funky and uncomfortable.  But because the back of the seats is thin you still have some trunk space (about 12") left for storage even when the seats are up.  I looked at other SUVs with 3rd row (Santa Fe, Rav 4 etc), you bearly have room for a few bags of groceries when the seats are up.  Yeh the seats are not comfortable.  But good trade off of comfort vs versitily?  I think so!  Especially when you don't use all 3 row all the time.

2).  Fast Key is cool.  You don't even need to put any key in to start the car.  I was pretty impressed when the salesman did that.  I read on Mitsu web site (US) you can program the key if you have the nav system.  You also have to option to use the key.

3).  Pretty nice+soft leather.  Front seat very comfortable and snuggly.  2nd row not too bad but a little tight for 3 adults.

4).  I like the 4WD dials in the middle between the front seats behind the transmission.  Easier to reach and read then having it under the steering wheel.  But it's also near the cup holder ... what if you spill coffee in it???

5).  Centre console slide forward.

6).  The tailgate ... best idea ever!

[gottarondo]

We not only bought one of the first crossovers that came out, but we also came at the crossover segment coming UP from a station wagon and really missed looking at compact SUVs to see if any would meet our needs, so I am anxiously watching this segment to see if anyone comes out with something that will make me regret buying the Rondo.  Since we are among the 2% of Canadians who DID look at Mitsubishi when we were shopping, this made me hold my breath for a moment... but no.  Pricing is almost competitive, but the third row does look a little cheesy, and besides having AWD that we don't need, it's nearly 10 cm longer than the Rondo which is already as big as I want to go for city parking (2 cm narrower, same height).  The floor of the Outlander may be lower than the average SUV but the Rondo is still 6 cm lower. 

Nice to see someone working on the tailgate idea though, as it seems time for some new ideas here.  That one looks pretty good.  We saw an old (sixties, I think) station wagon parked at Rona a while back that had a tailgate that actually slid down under the car... we thought the guy had taken the tailgate off until we saw him pull it up and close it.  Now THAT was cool.   

[outlander]

We not only bought one of the first crossovers that came out, ....

Probably the subject of another thread, but IMO "crossovers" have existed a long long time, albeit marginally. It's just recently that they've been applied with a label. 

[Scaerio]

We not only bought one of the first crossovers that came out, ....

Probably the subject of another thread, but IMO "crossovers" have existed a long long time, albeit marginally. It's just recently that they've been applied with a label. 

I think that those Colt Vista/ Eagle Summit wagons and the Nissan Multi/Axxess certainly qualify as crossover trailblazers...

[airbalancer]

One of the first CUV AMC Eagle http://amceaglenest.com/rotm.html

[outlander]

One of the first CUV AMC Eagle http://amceaglenest.com/rotm.html

Precisely one of the models I was thinking of.... I especially like the one with the fake wood veneer paneling

[gottarondo]

We not only bought one of the first crossovers that came out, ....

Probably the subject of another thread, but IMO "crossovers" have existed a long long time, albeit marginally. It's just recently that they've been applied with a label. 

I think that those Colt Vista/ Eagle Summit wagons and the Nissan Multi/Axxess certainly qualify as crossover trailblazers...

Yes, you're right, and I stand corrected.  Interesting little blurb to that effect on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Prairie

[Alo]

I am looking to get XLS but wonder who was able to get the Invoice price for XLS.

[gottarondo]

I took a good look at this car at the Vancouver Auto Show today.  The third row is very interesting.  The seat is kind of a hammock surface so it is not hard, however it is not roomy:  limited headroom, low to floor so knees are waaay up there, and limited legroom.  Tight even for the young Padawan, age 12. The second row of seats tumbles right forward so access to the rear row is excellent, however.

[prufrock]

Funny that this thread got bumped up.

I just drove by one down the street today. As I was about three houses back from where it was parked, I thought to myself, "I like the styling of that." The back, I found, was quite eye-catching.

[Aerith]

There is a problem with this article.  In the first portion, Paul Williams complains about the column mounted paddle shifters, but in the second portion, Jill McIntosh claims that the paddles are wheel mounted.  I believe they are column mounted.  And to Paul Williams, are you a real auto journalist?  You prefer wheel mounted shifters? Are you a real car enthusiast, or just someone pretending to know cars?  F1 cars, Ferrari, Lamborghini, all the exotics with paddles have column mounted shifters, because in a real handling situation, your wheel is going to be constantly rotating, your hand is constantly going to change position; you are not going to remain in the 10 and 2 o'clock positions of the wheel at all times, and if its rotated more than 180 degrees, the up and down switch places, which means you have to constantly keep track of which side is which.  Real drivers would know that column mounted paddles are much more intuitive, since the up and down remain in their respective positions despite steering wheel position allowing easy and quick upshifts/downshifts.  Also, under normal non track conditions, when you are turning, it should be with the hand over hand technique (the recommended technique by ICBC) which means even if you have steering wheel mounted shifters, you will still lose them.  So either way, your comments about steering wheel mounted shifters is completely contradictory to the views of enthusiasts, other automotive journalists; meaning your comment about steering wheel mounted shifters being superior is unfound.

[wing]

  On the track you will never move your hands from 10 and 2 and 99% of the time you will only shift when your wheel is straight or almost straight, it's not like you are going to shift when your wheel is halfway around that would be a good recipe for a spin.  That said I believe you are incorrect, most race cars and such have the paddles on the wheel so when you are turning slightly it is still easy to operate the paddles.

[citydude]

To clarify, the paddles are mounted on the column.  ie they do not turn with the steering wheel. 

I have never driven a F1 or anything exotic on a track before (nor I will drive the Outlander on one), but I will go with Wing here in agreement that there should be no shifting while the steering wheel is not straight anyway.  At least that's how it should be with the conventional manual shifts.

So it's a moot point to debate whether column mounted or wheel mounted paddles is better (in the context that was brought up by Aerith).

I do agree that the error in the second article by Jil McIntosh needs to be corrected.

Citydude

(And man, I am finally a "Enthusiast".  Took me what? 2 years to get rid of my learners permit!)

[carcrazy]

I tend to agree with Aerith here. Mitsu is comming from the WRC where the driving style is different from the track racing. I remember from back in the day (in Europe) when I was following the WRC, all cars had big ugly paddle shifters on the steering column. From the in-car images you could see the driver holding his hands on the 2/10 position all the times. I also had a good friend, former rally driver, who told me the same (he was driving like that on a daily basis, which was kind of funny).
F1 cars paddle shifters I think are indeed attached to the steering wheel, but again, this is a different type of racing.
For a production vehicle, especially an SUV, those big rally style paddle shifters may look odd, not stylish at all (functionallity versus looks), but there is a reason for them to be like that in a RALLY car. Not sure why Mitsu chose to put them in the Outlander, but that's a different story. They will definetlly be the same in the upcoming Evo X.

Jil's review has a week point when she talks about the 4WD system. Her assumption is that the Outlander's 4WD is like any other AWD system which is not quite accurate. Maybe in the meantime she read a bit more and now she has a different opinion. Waiting for the next review.