Mitsubishi Outlander 2012 By James Baggott, editor of Car Dealer Magazine (CarDealerMag.co.uk)
New car launches take place pretty frequently. Audi, for example, has delivered no less than 21 new models into showrooms since 2010. In those same two years, niche Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi has launched absolutely nothing. That’s why, as car launches go, this new Outlander is a pretty big deal.
So has the wait been worth it? Well, in short, yes. No longer a partnership with Peugeot Citroen (who sold versions of the predecessor), the new Outlander is described by Mitsubishi as an ‘engineer’s car’. What it means is efficiency, space and refinement were all high on the agenda – looks, however, appear to have slipped off it. In fact, it’s worth dealing with our main complaint now. If there’s one thing that lets the new Outlander down, it’s the conservative styling. At a time when design is at the forefront of our lives, the Mitsubishi will be hard pressed to stand out in a class bristling with good-looking alternatives. However, the new model does make a strong case for itself. Let’s start under the bonnet. In the UK, we’ll only get a 2.2-litre diesel engine and a four-wheel drive powertrain. Mitsubishi has worked hard on the unit’s green credentials. We drove a pre-production model, but by the time the car is launched in November, the maker hopes it will produce under 145g/km (down from 165g/ km) and return more than 50mpg.