Review: 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (ninth place) - National Cars

Review: 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (ninth place) National Cars

This review is part of a nine-car comparison of compact crossover SUVs. The Outlander Sport is ranked ninth place of nine.

The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport came to the market three years ago as a product that was already seriously compromised - albeit intentionally so. It's smaller and less powerful than nearly any competitor, which led to an unusually low price and unusually good fuel economy. This came at the expense of acceleration and cargo volume, and the car also lacked the plush cabin and smooth, quiet ride found in many competitors. (The Outlander Sport is unrelated to the Mitsubishi Outlander, a larger model recently redesigned for the 2014 model year.)

Today, competing compact crossovers match or exceed the Outlander Sport's fuel economy without needing to sacrifice acceleration so severely - robbing it of a standout virtue that had been essential to a not-too-scathing review in 2011. That now consigns it to the back of the class despite recent 2013-model updates.

To be sure, the car's gas mileage is still quite good by the class standards, particularly in the city.

EPA estimates are 24 miles per gallon in city driving, 29 mpg on the highway and 26 mpg in mixed driving; this reviewer averaged 25.4 mpg during a weeklong test in mixed driving. (The typical competitor is rated for 25 mpg overall.) And although base prices still remain tantalizing, Mitsubishi charges a lot for its options.

There are some high notes beyond the price and fuel economy: An Acceptable score in a tough Insurance Institute for Highway Safety small-overlap offset crash test - the second-highest of four available ratings - is enough to beat all but one competitor. Mitsubishi offers a longer warranty than most automakers. And its petite exterior dimensions and tidy turning radius are handy in urban conditions.

But beyond that, there's not a heck of a lot to praise in the Outlander Sport. The 2.0-liter, 148horsepower engine is overworked in this heavy, boxy vehicle - the car feels particularly lethargic off the line, and improves little from that. It's mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission, which lacks set gear rations, and this rarely works well in an engine that doesn't have pep and a nice engine sound. This Mitsubishi has neither. The car's driving experience is defined by a sense of wheezing slowness, even though instrumented testing from other reviewers says it's slightly quicker than a couple of competitors. No larger engine is offered.

The rest of the driving experience isn't great either. The tested car's large 18-inch wheels pound over bumps, and the Outlander Sport jiggles at low speeds. It handles with decent agility, but it has an unsettling tendency to continue in whatever direction it was last pointed rather than naturally straightening out, leading to constant wrestling with the heavy steering.

Inside, there's decent passenger space, but the seats are hard and flat, and cargo room badly trails the competition. The typical competitor is some 10 inches longer than the Outlander Sport, and most of their extra size went into room behind the rear seat, which is quite skimpy in the Mitsubishi at 20.1 cubic feet. A high cargo floor doesn't help either the car's capacity or the ease of loading. Several competitors have more than 50 percent more room. The Outlander Sport is certainly not an impractical vehicle, but you can do a lot better in nearly any competitor.

The interior is far more serviceable than plush, with thinly padded armrests and stiffly operating climate knobs. Skip the navigation system to keep a more userfriendly audio head instead of a slow-responding touchscreen surrounded by small buttons.

For the money The Outlander Sport starts below $20,000, which is in economy car territory even with power windows, locks and mirrors, cruise control, a Bluetooth cellphone link, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

But that quickly soars if you want anything more.

An automatic transmission adds $1,200 on the base ES (it's standard on other models), and a handful of extras - a proximity key and HID headlights - push the SE model to $23,000. Add $1,200 more for the LE, which adds a power driver's seat and some trim changes. It costs $1,400 for allwheel-drive on any trim, and - on the SE and LE only - $2,000 for a package that includes a panoramic sunroof and upgraded sound system, and $2,300 for a slow-responding touch-screen navigation system and infotainment interface, among other options. If you want leather seats, that's $950 more, and Mitsubishi doesn't even install the leather at the factory.

In total, an Outlander Sport comparably equipped to this comparison's competition -- with all-whee-drive, heated leather seats, and a sunroof -- would be an LE with a sticker price of $28,620. Expect to haggle a few thousand dollars of that price, and the resulting estimated transaction price of $25,449 is quite competitive for this class. But it's still only the third-cheapest minn kota talon vehicle in this comparison.

Long story short, the more features you want, the weaker the Outlander Sport fares. In a comparison of base-model crossovers, it would come across more favorably, thanks to a larger price advantage.

Not that much more favorably, though. An Outlander Sport ES has a roomy rear seat and high seating position compared to other vehicles at its price point -- such as compact economy cars -though even the Mitsubishi isn't so much less than a comparable Nissan Rogue or Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage.

But there is no longer much that the Outlander Sport does better than the competition, and its

powertrain is the nail in the coffin to its general mediocrity - at any price. Give it a look if you're looking at base models and price is your main criterion, but even then don't expect to be wowed.

And once you're adding a lot of options, forget about it.

Overall grade: F - More photos of the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport - Report card: Rating the Outlander Sport -- how does it compare in different ways, such as comfort, safety and fuel economy?

- Report card: Ranking the Outlander Sport -- how does it stack up for different types of buyers?

More from this comparison: - Next article: 2013 Toyota RAV4 (8th place) - Introduction - Rating the nine compact crossovers - Ranking the nine compact crossovers - Quick summaries of the nine compact crossovers: Pros, cons, conclusions.

See also: All Cars Examiner car reviews Review: 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer SE Review: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Vehicle tested: 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Vehicle base price (MSRP): $19,710 Version tested: SE AWD Version base price (MSRP): $23,695 Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $28,570 Vehicle price as comparable (MSRP)*: $28,620 Estimated transaction price as comparable**: $25,449 Test vehicle provided by: Mitsubishi Motors North America Key specifications:

Length: 169.1 inches Width: 69.7 inches Height: 64.2 inches Wheelbase: 105.1 inches Weight: 3,263 pounds Cargo volume behind rear seat: 20.1 cubic feet Cargo volume with rear seat folded: 48.8 cubic feet Turning circle: 34.8 feet Engine: 2.0-liter I4 with 148 horsepower Transmission (as tested): CVT automatic EPA city mileage: 24 miles per gallon EPA highway mileage: 29 miles per gallon EPA combined mileage: 26 miles per gallon Observed mileage during test: 25.4 miles per gallon Assembly location: Japan For more information: Mitsubishi website *Prices as comparable refer to cars with all-wheel-drive; an automatic transmission; heated, power adjustable leather seats; and a sunroof, or the nearest equivalent. **Estimated transaction prices are based on data from Truecar.com and dealer quotes.