[.anshuman]

Transmission is 6 Speed Cvt,i had mentioned 5 speed auto by mistake.

[GTO]

That's a great looking SUV; like most Mitsubishis, the design is clean and proportionate. And HM has learned its lessons. After the initial failure of stripped down Pajeros & Monteros, they have (sensibly) launched the Outlander with a heck of a goodie list : Tracion control, EBD + ABS, airbags (but only 2?!!), paddleshifts, 9 speaker sound, headlight washers, smart key etc. etc. Even those LED's at the back look snazzy! I am SO glad they didn't go the Captiva FWD road....though a diesel will be sorely missed.

It is built on the Lancer platform. No surprise then that the Outlander has great road manners. I've been looking up some international reviews and they, along with your test report, seem to agree. @ Anshuman : How was the Mivec's torque / driveability?

On initial impression, the Outlander is a worthy contender to the fab CRV.

Originally Posted by speedzak

Nice to know it delivers. FE would be not more than 8kmpl I guess

IMHO 6 - 7 kpl will be the order of the day. Just as the CRV.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Leg room should not be a reason to complaint,i being 6feet and 3inches tall was very comfortable at rear.

Impressed.

[ethanhunt123]

I had the chance to drive the Citroen C-Crosser (based on Outlander) in Germany and it was fantablous. If priced right, it could be a killer in SUV crazed indian market. I hope this is the beginning of some sense into HM/Mitsu's heads in India

[valhallen.282]

hey nice review. here's to add some to it. it is a brilliant looking car. the 16inch rim option is the way to go though. yes it comes with 15in standard ones. the headlights are fantastic nice spread and good levelling unlike the crv's which always seem to be a bit wonky or maybe its just me. back is very nice tho the second cluster of brake lights would have made it a whole lot better. only the outer clusters work. ground clearance is good almost as much as pajero. but it can only probably softroad. i think the springs are a little soft by that standard. it has tilt on turn though. i noticed it on the showroom car as it passed me at about 60 on an open 90degree righthander. engine is a bit noisy. revs well though.
Interiors i don't have much else to add except that the rear seats are best only for 2. a third person will be uncomfortable.
the system is nice but tends to jar a bit at volume.
At low revs there was a bit of vibration inside the car. test drive car was not yet available. will post again once it is.
till then this is a very viable and brilliant option for crv buyers. killer features great comfort and good looks. lets hope HM keeps delivering more like this.

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The advertisements may suggest it to be capable vehicle offroad but i doubt as it has low ground clearance and the stepney below rear bumper is sure to scrap ground as soon as you get down the road.

All wheel traction control is standard and four wheel drive control knob has the options 2wd,4wd and lock.Option to shift to low ratio like Grand Vitara is absent,i think it may never be required thanks to low Ground clearance.

Thanks for sharing a crisp review of Outlander.

According to the specs, Outlander's ground clearance is 215mm. Pajero's GC is 205 and that of Endy is 210. I am not saying that higher ground clearance would make Outlander a better off-roader. I am just trying to clarify that low ground clearance is just a perception.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by hondadude

Thanks for sharing a crisp review of Outlander.

According to the specs, Outlander's ground clearance is 215mm. Pajero's GC is 205 and that of Endy is 210. I am not saying that higher ground clearance would make Outlander a better off-roader. I am just trying to clarify that low ground clearance is just a perception.

I agree to the paper specs, but i got down on my knees to have a look below the car and i found a lot of things that may scrape,rear stepney position is very bad.

[rangaraj]

Went and had a look at the vehicle at Southern Motors this evening..Impressions:

Exterior:
- Looks like it is slung low - similar to the Subaru Outback.. More a perception..
- Decent set of mags
- Bumpers seem to be similar to the X-trail - flexible and the 5mph spec.
- parking sensors
- nice LED tail lights
- no indicators in the mirrors
- the sparewheel is slightly visible (mounted below the boot) - loosening a screw inside (base of the boot) releases it
- Roof and the vehicle seems lower than the CRV (height 1680 vs 1710 of CRV though GC is higher than CRV by 1cm)
- HIDs, washers, fog lamps - front and rear..

Interior:
- Good quality interiors overall - similar to CRV possibly better
- easy to get in and out..
- Seats dont have lumbar support, but feels comfortable and holds the sides well - electrically operated and does have a heater (front two seats) - not much use down south!
- first vehicle that i did not feel the need to push the seat right to the end (i am 6'2")
- Dash well layed out, but the LED's dont seem to have the sharpness (MID)
- Steering control has volume, selection, cruise control..paddle shifters and is leather mounted and looks and feels sporty
- All controls - hand brake, gear lever, drive control, audio, A/C, parking sensor control (audio) easily accessible
- Loads of space to store stuff
- electrically operated rear view mirrors including folding, but fairly simple small rear view mirror
- no sunroof, but in India with the heat i think its fine to not have one
- keyless entry
- engine immobolizer with security system
- none of the fancy elevation/compass stuff that the pajero has
- speakers well positioned to provide the best factory fitted sound for this price bracket and lower
- Leather upholstory is decent, but as someone else mentioned not as high end as the jetta
- The lighting control is on the left, but could be OK considering it is an automatic, otherwise painful in a manual shift..
- HID, fog lamps (front and rear) control
- electrical outlets in dash (below the music system - lighter) and in the glove compartment
- 6 speed gear box with triptonic/paddeshift must be cool to use
- switchable between 2 wheel drive/4 wheel/lock modes while in motion at any speed

Rear
- Flatish floor and three adults would be a little bit of a squeeze, but supposed to be wider than the CRV (by 2cms).
- Fantastic leg space - the rear seats can be pulled ahead or pushed back! Tilt back
- Split (similar to the CRV)
- rear vents are below the front seats apparently (similar to the embera) - i guess you dont have to worry about airconditioning with mitsubishi!
- Roof height is quite decent for my height
- a central cushion drops down with two cupholders

Boot
- Spacious (probably larger than the CRV) with the subwoofer tucked on one side and the tool kit on the other
- levers to automatically drop and fold rear seats
- protector to draw out for privacy of boot content
- good finish overall
- didnt seem to be an electrical outlet
- great feature of a tailgate opening - protects the paint when you drag stuff from the boot, especially suitcases, and doubles up as a cool place to sit (similar to the older CRV?)

Engine
- Sounded quite, but did not get a chance to rev it too much as it was in the showroom
- looks cool
- torsion bar visible clearly

Noticed in the spec sheet - turning radius of 5.3m - similar to most cars - CRV is 5.54

Seems like a very nice package - only wish it had the X-trail/passat engine in it! It would have kicked everyone's butt. But with Mr.Deora thinking of a dual pricing strategy, especially for diesel, things may not matter..Deliveries start in couple of weeks and a TD vehicle should be available from monday.. looking forward to driving this vehicle. It cetainly promises to be a great ride for the highway, and with the auto for bangalore traffic as well..

[GTO]

Originally Posted by rangaraj

Seems like a very nice package - only wish it had the X-trail/passat engine in it!

That's a heck of a detailed review, Rangaraj. Why didn't you drive it? Great positioning by HM and I hope a diesel is in the pipeline.

[TheHorse]

this vehicle is such a beauty only if they give a diesel crdi with it...darn it would be on my hot list for sure

[rangaraj]

Originally Posted by GTO

That's a heck of a detailed review, Rangaraj. Why didn't you drive it? Great positioning by HM and I hope a diesel is in the pipeline.

TD vehicle available only on Monday..

[.anshuman]

This is the thing about the stepney i was talking about,note the plastic cover.
Interiors(pardon me for the poor quality pic though)

[Chat]

Drove Outlander yesterday and since then it is on my mind. Everything almost everything about it so perfect. Most of you have already talked about it in detail so no point in repeating those. Drove it on bad slushy road in Whitefield with 4WD on.

That sales guy from Southern motors shared supposedly inside information that they have already booked 11 Outlanders since its launch. Some folks who wanted to pick Pajero changed their mind and picked Outlander instead.

I am curious to find how it fares against the likes of CRVs, Xtrails and others. My money is on it and I am sure it would race ahead of its competetition as it has more ammunition.

[Vid6639]

Well I got a chance to TD the Outlander 2 times over the past few days. A very extensive TD and have noticed almost all the finer points of the car. I'll give my overall impression at the end of the review. I'll be making a few comparisons to the CR-V which also I had a chance to TD a while ago.

The first time I called for a TD was on Saturday at my house. The car arrived sharp at the time at which I requested it at. It was a pristine white colour car with black interiors. From the outside the car is quite a looker. Everyone from my lane came towards the car and started inquiring about it and saying how beautiful it looked. The front looks very aggressive and the rear has the same sharp look with the angled tail lamps light up by LED's. Looks are subjective so I won't go too much into detail.

Onto the interior. Inside the first thing that you notice is the black dashboard and what a relief it is from all the current crop of cars which offer only beige. The dashboard is soft touch and not cheap plastic quality. The leather seats are of very good quality. Comparatively the CR-V's leather was not as soft to feel. The best bart is the exposed stiching on the upholstery, very nice. The car is very easy to get in and out of just like the CR-V. Dad got into the backed and was immeditaley impressed with the space inside. With the front seats fully set back and the rear seats also moved back a 6 foot person can sit without his knees touching the front seat. The rear seats also recline and move back and front. The seats are also wide so 3 abreast is easy. He commented the rear seats were a more comfortable than the CR-V's. The drivers seat is electrically adjustable and is easy to set but has no lumbar support which is a downer. The steering is adjustable as well. The visibility from the front is fantastic, nice high up and clear view of the bonnet as well. The car comes with an awesome Rockford Fosgate system which can playback via bluetooth as well. The system comes with an 8 channel amp located beneath the front seat. The car has no slot to insert the key. There is a stubby plastic knob on the steering column which you turn to start the car. The only way it will start is if the key FOB is in the car. When you park and want to lock the car you have to take the key fob with you and press the small lock button on the door handle. If you forget the fob in the car the car will not lock. It gives a nice beeping sound. If a door is open and you try and lock it again gives the buzzer and the information display shows why it is not able to lock. To unlock just walk upto the car with the key fob in your pocket. Now what happens when the battery dies and you cant unlock the car. The key fob has the good old traditional key hidden inside when you press a small button on it and it pops out.

Boot space is ample even with rear seats pulled back. To put larger bags there is a lower door which is the bumper that also folds out so the loading height is lowered. The lower part also is like a bench seat to sit on when parked and can hold 200kgs. The build quality is really good. Doors are heavy and thud close.

Now the drive. Start up the car and the engine is really really silent. Slowly put it into D and start off. Straight away you know this is a CVT as it gradually starts off compared to a normal AT which sprints ahead. Being a CVT the shifts are super smooth with the revs just rising and know jerks whatsoever. The backdraw is the slight lag which the CVT shows. In traffic being a CVT you don't feel the kickdown and the car is never found hunting for a gear. However if you do need a downshift and you try a kickdown you need to wait for the downshift quite a long while. If you can't wait then the good thing is that the manual mode is just a flick of the paddles away. This is by far the best implementation of the AT I have seen on a car sub 30L. Usually all the car's which are AT and have paddles need you to shift to a dedicated sports mode or into manual mode. Only then can you use the paddles. This is the case for the Civic and the accord. The Passat and jetta have something similar to what the outlander has. The DSG is better than the CVT but compared to a normal auto like the CR-V, the CVT wins it for me. The CR-V is only auto with noe paddles or tip tronic. The only downside to the CVT is transmission whine. This is only heard at high rpm's. Funny thing is you don't hear the engine sound but you hear the CVT whine. Once you cross 5000rpm the MIVEC kicks in and the silent sound changes to a very sporty note and the car continues to accelerate. Passengers in the back seat felt the acceleration with no jerks akin to a german high speed train. One point to note is that 1st gear redlines at 6500rpm at 70kmph. I tested this twice just to make sure it didn't upshift on it's own.

Now the ride and handling. Again the car really excels in both the department. The CR-V has a very stiff ride and jars over bumps. The Outlander is like a magic carpet ride over these surfaces. Over extremely bad surfaces also the ride is fantastic. What's more even high speeds and bad roads don't disturb the car's dynamics. It just keeps on going in the same line and all you need to do is just throw her around and it follows. The CR-V cannot take this abuse and made the passengers jump all over the place. Suspension travel is much more than the CR-V allowing it to take the huge craters withe ease where the CR-V suspension bottoms out. The trade off to this is the handling. The Outlander can't be thrown around as easily through corners and you cannot carry the same speeds through corners as you can with the CR-V. The CR-V is a marginally better handler but you really have to be a skilled driver to get that advantage out of the CR-V else the Outlander will keep up all the way with any other driver. The Outlander has lesser road noise filtering through the cabin compared to the CR-V. There is only tyre roar but no wind noise. NVH levels are really good. The car I got had done quite a few Test drives but did not show any signs of wear. The car was thrown around bad roads and there was not a single rattle from the car. Comparatively the CR-V I tested had all the door pads rattling away.

I also tried the 4WD mode. I took it to a muddy road with no tar loose gravel and mud. Car was in 2WD. Left foot on the brake, right on accelerator. Car revs to 2000rpm. Leave the brake and stomp the gas pedal. Front tyres lose traction and mud galore with no forward movement but wheel spinning crazy in mud. Now with 4WD. Same procedure and voila no wheelspin but straight out and forward acceleration.

Mileage is not a strong point for both the soft roaders. After a very spirited drive trying to redline the car gave 20l/100km. Normal driving is close to 7kmpl and highway is around 11kmpl. Slightly better than CR-V I guess but almost same.

Overall a wonderful car. I loved the CR-V but now this is my favourite car sub 30L. The car comes with only a 2year warranty and now costs 25.51L on road bangalore. Also one point to note is maintenance. Where the CR-V needs to be serviced every 5000kms the Outlander service interval is 10,000kms. If I was looking for a car in the sub 30L segment I would go for this any day.

ps: The review is a mix of both city and highway driving. The first time I called it for a TD I could barely test it due to the traffic around my house and expressed my displeasure to the sales manager. He came again on a weekday to my office where I could get a better chance to test the car.

[Vid6639]

hmmm, just remembered a few points that I left out in my TD.

Tyres are Yokohama Geolander's and they are on the noisier side on the highway.

The paddles on the steering column are fixed i.e. they do not move while turning the wheel.

The engine layout is not conventional. It is rotated by 180 degrees compared to standard layout I have seen. Usually the intake manifold is towards the passenger cabin firewall and exhaust is towards front bumper. In case of outlander the exhaust header is near the firewall and goes straight down. The intake manifold is near the front bumper.

I'm not sure how it is advantageous. One thing which I was told is that the exhaust routing is more efficient as it does not have to go around the engine. Can anyone point out any negatives to this?

[Guna]

@vid6639
This is a very nice review which I must have missed earlier. One question on the CVT- you have mentioned it has a lag. Is it the same 'rubber band effect (change in engine revs doent immediately result in corresponging change in vehicle speed) that is normally spoken in case of CVTs?
How do you rate the performance in low speeds compared to the C segment sedans like say ANHC?