[Review] 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV Part 1
During the 2016/17 festive season, we will be test driving the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS SUV. This review will be written in multiple parts and each part will talk about specific features of the Outlander. The first part will talk about the specs and my first-impressions of the vehicle.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a seven-seater SUV and my model features a 2.3L diesel engine. This outputs 112kW of power, and 336Nm of torque and because of its diesel engine, it is expected that the Outlander will produce a good amount of torque!
Just like the Pajero Sport, the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander also incorporates Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. This time they were nice enough to include good quality micro USB and lightning cables in the glove box, however I didn’t need to use them as I had my new Anker micro USB cables for Android Auto. Despite my previous annoyance that every micro USB cable I tried wouldn’t work with Android Auto, my new cables finally did! In nearly all my trips in the Outlander, I plugged in my phone to the car and it automatically launches Android Auto. Despite no built-in satellite navigation in the Outlander, I wasn’t too fussed as Google Maps is still my number one navigation system, ahead of all other systems. I could go on about Android Auto and how good it is, but that is for another post for another time. Android Auto works very well in the Mitsubishi Outlander.
One of the first things I do with my test cars is I take it home and take all the pictures while the car is still fresh. Of course, during my month long test drive with the Mitsubishi Outlander, I will be occasionally washing and vacuuming it as I like my cars looking spick and span.
During the first week with the Mitsubishi Outlander, I have already taken it for an hour and a half drive further down South along SH2 with a full load of 7 people in the car altogether and a tiny amount of space for luggage in the boot. It was a relatively good drive thanks to the electric power steering which adapts to the road conditions and load. However I reckon the steering could be a lot more softer when maneuvering around rugged terrain in low speeds. Currently it requires a fair bit of effort to turn the steering wheel just to come out of a parking space. Meanwhile I have noticed on some other vehicles that the steering wheel can be as smooth and soft as room-temperature butter.
Third-row passengers have said that it is relatively comfortable in the back, and there is a lot more airflow to the back unlike our previous test car, the Mazda CX-9, where it got pretty hot back there even with separately controlled rear AC!
The center seat in the second-row operates with a 3-point seatbelt for added safety. Instead of the usual lap belt found in most vehicles these days to save some space, the 3-point belt goes across the passenger’s shoulder and lap to provide the occupant with added safety.
The Mitsubishi Outlander is a very practical car too. After googling and finding out how to completely lay flat the second row seats, we were able to just fit a Samsung refrigerator in the SUV. While we may have driven it home (10 minutes away) with the boot opened, the 3-point center belt was used to fasten the load in.
After 658km it was time for a refuel. The diesel tank takes 60 litres when full and has been on 4WD Auto with Eco mode off. The next part will be to keep Eco mode on (which also automatically turns on 4WD Eco mode) the whole time for a full tank, and see how much more or less KMs I get out of it with a mixture of highway driving and city driving.
This concludes our first part series of the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander review and currently it has been a very fuel efficient and practical SUV. Android Auto has also been working flawlessly ever since. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series!
