2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Review

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Timing is everything and if I had planned it out better, I would have chosen the [Mitsubishi Outlander](http://www.carsoup.com/US-National/new-vehicles/make/Car-Truck/Nationwide/Mitsubishi/Outlander-LS/?maxprice=999999&minprice=0&mode=make&cont=1 "Mitsubishi Outlander new car inventory") to drop my kids off the first week of school. The fighter jet meets shark front end means business. It could set the tone for the year (wishful thinking) that mamma isn’t going to take any crap this year. Perhaps the car could even get my kids to school on time. Ok, now we’re really reaching.While a car can’t play nanny, it realistically is a home away from home for our family and the Outlander is a comfortable, sporty, assessable, and affordable home on wheels. It’s wonderful to be able to jump in and out of a crossover that seems to be a perfect height for us. It’s not too low for my long legged hubs to get out of and it’s not too high for me. It’s just right. (There seems to be a famous story with that line.) The same goes for driving. The height allows you better visual around you but it’s not too high that it’s still fun to take the curves while accelerating.

The interior is down right comfy. The leather front seats are supple but firm enough for support. The dash is soft and smooth and Mitsu adds in a leather upper (almost hidden)compartment above the standard glove box that starts a conversation between the kids about spies. While we’re on the spy topic, it took me a couple of seconds to find the start switch. Lately I’ve been testing vehicles with a push button located on the bottom dash area. My personal car has a key in between the seats. Silly me finally located the keyless switch on the steering column. Dah!

The kids climb in the back seat and do their own version of testing things out. My daughter checks out the center armrest and finds two solidly constructed cupholders. The rear seats are split (60/40) allowing them to be folded down. There’s also a pass through in the rear seat via the armrest to sneak a snack from a grocery bag even though they’re not allowed to eat in the car.

The third row seat jump seat, standard in all but ES, is a thoughtful feature but I wouldn’t want to depend on using it often. Boy Wonder was able to finagle his way through the six step process of popping up the seat. The seat itself is flimsy and has flat almost animated looking headrests. I can’t say I want to shimmy back there and test it out. My daughter has an annoying friend that I should have invited over to test it out on her. There is still plenty of cargo space behind the third row. Thankfully, Mitsubishi designed the third row seat as an underfloor stowable making it completely disappear and flat revealing a large amount of cargo area.

The Outlander HDD Navigation system with Real-Time Traffic is easy to use and the visual displays are easy to follow. The navigation’s female voice reminds me of Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days and is almost pleasant sounding when she demands me to turn left.  Of course you can turn off Mrs. Cunningham and turn up the stellar 710-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with nine speakers and pop in a CD (six disc). Set up the simple to use FUSE hands-free link system and activate your phone, phonebook and iPod/MP3 player with your voice and keep your hands on the comfortable leather wrapped steering wheel.

While the front end of the Outlander is aggressive, the back end is extremely functional. The split tail-gate opens easily. The top part opens at a height that is out of the way making grocery day hassle free. The bottom part of the tailgate folds out flat providing a place to sit and change your boots. The flat tailgate also makes it easy for domesticated furry friends to jump in and out of the back. I’d agree that the Outlander deserves the five paws out five given to them by DogCars.com.

My test model, Outlander GT, is powered with a 3.0 liter V6 engine with 230 horsepower and matched with a traditional six-speed automatic. The AWD package allows drivers to select 2WD for maximum fuel economy or 4WD Lock for maximum traction. This model takes premium gas and while in front wheel drive gets 19/26 mpg and 19/25 mpg in AWD.

The wife and I owned an 04 Outlander and while the car was sufficient, it wasn’t that sporty. The updated Outlander with the V6 engine is energetic and I confess, down right fun to drive. I enjoy a firmer handling suspension. The hubs liked it too and stole it from me to drive to work two days in a row. Ok, I said he could take it because I was stuck sitting at our garage sale. I got the car back just in time for the weekend which was packed with horse back riding lessons and an Italian car show. The car handled well on the bumpy dirt roads.

Lately it seems that the more I like my test vehicle, the faster the week goes by. This past week went by very quickly. I almost feel reluctant to hand the keys back. Perhaps they’ll let me keep it another week? The sales rep was happy to see me and had just left me a voicemail to inform me that they sold my test car. Guess that answers that question.

Standard features include Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) with EBD, *Active Stability Control, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, six standard airbags, Anti-Theft Alarm System, Hands-Free entry and starting, and A/C.

2011 MSRP from $21,995
2012 MSRP from $22,345

Outlander available in four packages: ES, SE. XLS, GT
10 year/100,000 Mile Powertrain
5 year/60,000 Bumper-to-Bumper
7 year/100,000 Anti-Corrosion/Perforation
5 year/Unlimited Mile Roadside Assistance

About one-third of all fatal accidents could be prevented with the Active Stability Control technology according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

My one week Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC test drive vehicle was provided by White Bear Mitsubishi Suzuki in White Bear Lake, MN. Total MSRP $28,605