I love the Mini Countryman. If I had to purchase a new car, I cannot think of purchasing anything else.

BHPian Grandizer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have an almost 14 year old Mitsubishi Outlander. It has done over 200,000km. I love this car, it runs fine, and still looks new.

I love to drive. I have driven this car from Uttarakhand to Tamilnadu and back. It is perfect for my needs. There is nothing it lacks. I love looking at it and enjoy driving it. There is no urgent reason for me to get rid of it. There is no reason to change it yet.

I love the Mini Countryman. If I had to purchase a new car, I cannot think of purchasing anything else. It makes no practical sense and is a terrible financial decision, as one can make a lot of money investing that money instead. Probably that much money in 5 years.

But the Countryman makes me happy. I love my outlander also. It feels like a betrayal not to drive it after all it’s done. How to decide? My outlander and I have been through so many experiences, so many adventures. We share a bond. I am afraid I will miss it when it’s gone. And even if I keep it, not driving it everyday seems unthinkable.

Can anyone talk some sense into me one way or the other?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Is the lure for the Countryman a recent one? Then wait a while to see if it's just an impulsive, passing urge.

IMHO, you have used your Outlander enough at 14-years and 200,000 km. Max, in a year or two, I would suggest upgrading to something newer, faster, safer and fun...no matter how much you love it. And I say this as a proponent of keeping your cars for 10+ years.

Two alternatives:

• Keep your beloved Outlander, and get the Countryman anyway. Reason = you'll get peanuts for your Outlander in the used market. Better to retain it since you're attached to it. I still have my 27-year old Mahindra Classic parked down the house
• Consider a pre-owned Countryman & let the 1st owner suffer the depreciation hit.

Here's what BHPian NomadSK had to say on the matter:

Won't you have to let it go considering the NGT rule for the Petrol/Diesel vehicles?

But if such environment rules wouldn’t be in place, I would be happy to keep a good mechanical, fuss free machine forever. There is not much depreciation hit to the well-maintained car after 14/15 years of usage

Here's what BHPian pgsagar had to say on the matter:

I suggest you keep changing CVT fluid. CVTs are very sensitive to spent fluid. Flushing and replenishing every 2 years should keep your tranny in good health. Biggest problem with older automatic cars is the automatic gearbox itself. Weakest link between engine and wheels and most expensive and most hard to find part.

I like this car a lot. Missed one by a day 10 years back. In 2014, I was looking for a good pre-owned petrol dinosaur like Camry, Accord, Outlander, CRV, Kizashi. All 2.4 NA engines with automatic transmission options. Outlander came in AT only. Found none in good shape so finally settled for an Accord V6 3.0 which I am still using, 10 years on. I can feel what you feel. These 2.4/3.0 petrol engines offer smoothness you won't find in today's turbo petrol engines. If parking space is no constraint, I suggest drive it till wheels come off. Won't fetch much anyway.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

Your car will soon be unusable in NCR. You’ll need to not just get an NOC, but ensure it is actually transferred to the new owners name. The last thing you want is for the car to be sold to someone, yet be running in your name as the other party didn’t finish their share of formalities. In cases like yours, rare + old car, where resale value is anyway abysmal, it actually makes sense to get the car scrapped at any government authorised scrap yard. When resale value is 80-100k and scrap value is 50-60k, I’d rather scrap and eliminate the risk and potential liability entirely.

Here's what BHPian mugen_pinaki27 had to say on the matter:

Probably going against the wind here. But given your use case, would a Countryman really be a suitable alternative to the rugged, abuse-friendly Outlander? I'd suggest either the Scorpio-N or the XUV 700 as worthy alternatives. Compared to the Countryman's half-a-crore price point, the aforementioned cars can be had for almost half the amount. You can use the remaining money for traveling and making awesome memories  That's my 2 cents.

Alternatively, as GTO suggested, getting a second-hand Countryman would be a great idea. Use the rest of the money for modding her up and traveling India

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Although the thought was tempting, I was quite skeptical about getting a Mitsubishi, that too Outlander, for it being sold in small numbers.

BHPian martiannomad recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

6 years back, I found myself getting introduced to the first car in my family that my sister bought in my absence, without much discussion with me, because I was doing all nighters studying and partying at B-School. This was a pre-owned 2009 Honda Jazz MT 1.2 P iVtec 2009 model.

I learnt to drive automatic cars when I was working abroad. So Jazz was the car that helped me get comfortable with stick drive and Indian road conditions. Although I had a plethora of motorcycle riding and touring experience, driving a car, that too with your parents in the back seat, was a series of new experiences.

Jazz did what it could do the best: revv to the glory! I did numerous Navi Mumbai - Pune drives, and a few runs to Goa, Dapoli and they were fun - the most memorable being a visit to Matheran, due to its steep inclines with loose gravel underneath - quite a challenge for a new driver. But all along, despite all the goodness of Jazz, it was not my pick, but my sister’s. So, I was itching to get a car with more power + comfort + features + looks i.e. more SWAG. I was not keen on diesel cars because (a) my driving was restricted to occasional highway drives, hence low, and (b) ~30% price premium on diesel cars over petrol.

A visit to a pre-owned auto dealer in Pune in 2018 for checking out a VW Vento AT, got me intrigued about a 2010 Outlander P AT AWD 2.4 MiVec - a shining dark grey, silently waiting in the stable for its next jockey.

Although the thought was tempting, I was quite skeptical about getting a Mitsubishi, that too Outlander, for it being sold in small numbers, and ASS almost non-existent! Also Outlander being a 2.4 NA P engine + CVT, it was definitely not going to be frugal with respect to fuel bills. I was also not a fan of the look of the side profile of this car.

But, I told myself, hey, double the engine cc, half the mileage - fair deal! Also the auto dealer was quite passionate and knowledgeable about Outlanders and Cedias. He had a couple of more Outlanders on sale in his showroom. His daily driver was also an Outlander. So extensive conversation with him and my friend supplied me with sufficient confidence to take the plunge. I exchanged my Jazz and paid more in cash. My dear friend lent me some on the spot, as I didn't want to get a loan or wait for my next salary to complete the purchase - I guess he too was excited about the Outlander. And there I was: suddenly an owner of this white elephant - or not so white? I was about to find out!

Moving from Jazz to Outlander was a big step up in every aspect. For a 2010 car, the feature list was impressive. What significantly stood out were:

• Suburb comfort with Keyless entry, suspensions, AT, cabin quality and NVH
• Driving pleasure with more horses (~170) ), paddle shifters and hydraulic steering
• Superb xenon headlights making night drives safe and comfortable
• Supremely specious overall with gigantic boot space with split tailgate
• Rockford Fosgate music system with subwoofer
• Peace of AWD having my back in conditions get tough

In 2024, many of these are given for a 12+ lakh car. But in 2018, it was still a lucrative deal, considering the price it went for.

Fast forward to 2024:

I’ve driven it for good ~32K and made memories for life. It never disappointed me with no breakdowns whatsoever. Some of the road trips did with Outlander:

• 800 KM trip to Hampi from Hyderabad with my wife and bicycle in Dec’23 (Yes, it comfortably fits a full size bicycle )
• 3000 KM Rajasthan trip with wife and parents in Dec’22: Navi Mumbai > Udaipur > Jodhpur > Jaisalmer > Mount Abu > Navi Mumbai
• Multiple trips to Goa, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mahabaleshwar, Pondicherry and more

Hopefully I’ll write about these trips someday soon.

Living with a(n) Outlander:

• Highly reliable and comfortable tourer with a full load of 5 folks and their (unrestricted) luggage.
• Per MID, it drinks fuel in the city at 5-6 kmpl. Highway mileage is not too bad at ~8-10 kmpl. One can extract up to 12 kmpl too.
• With rear seats folded down, it’s an Anaconda that swallows everything thrown at it. I could even fit a 55” TV during covid when I had no other choice
• No niggles - mostly needs just annual service at FNG.
• Parts are expensive and take a few days to get them - so need to plan repairs. I have a friend with contacts to help here. Thai alternatives are more cost effective as compared to the Japanese OG parts.
• One major expense was when I got suspension parts, engine mounts and brake discs replaced.
• Wish it had rear AC vents.
• I’m not an experienced offroader, so take it or leave it. IMO, CVT fails AWD as it cannot provide low end grunt when stuck deep in sand/mud. I experienced this when I tried a bit of dune bashing at Jaisalmer. I had to stop before getting started. AWD is definitely helpful as a safety net when on inclines and gravels/ slippery surfaces, but it’s not going to satiate off-roading fantasies.
• Wish it had a low case! I drove a 2016 Outlander with low case in Australia - and it felt so much more capable off roader than my Outlander.
• I don’t feel confident to take it to highly remote parts like Ladakh or Sikkim, as it will not be serviceable there, if things go wrong.

Turns out, definitely not a white elephant, but a reliable workhorse! It continues to serve my purpose well and makes me continuously contemplate my next road trip. I hope to add many more tons!

Attempt to find a mean and rugged look.

Munching miles. Facade filled with insect debris.

Got it wrapped (only speed lines) at 3M Kharadi Pune.

Sunrise somewhere in Jaisalmer.

Fits a full size bicycle.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Since 75k service, I have been running majorly on 4WD, makes the car feel more planted, better initial pick up and good to drive.

BHPian gaurav_chopra04 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Bought the 2012 car in 2017, a 5 year old one with 42k kms on clock. Now reading about 1.17 lakh.

Bought new Momo 17 inch matt black Revenge alloy wheels plus Pirelli Cinturado P7 in 235/55 R17s for 40k and 54k respectively.

First major service at 75k kms that included changing all fluids including transmission oil, brake oil, coolant, engine oil, oil filter, Air filter, ac filter and cvt filter costed about 28k from excel motors in august-September 2020. CVT oil plus CVT filter alone costed over 12-14k.

Before this spark plugs were changed at 60k kms service sometime in 2018 at Asian Motors. Plugs alone costed about 8-9k.

Since 75k service, I have been running majorly on 4WD, makes the car feel more planted, better initial pick up and good to drive. Dont really see any difference in FE. The FE varies from 6-7 in local traffic, 10-11 in city plus small highway drives. Usual highway drives give 11-13 including mountains. Got 15.2 kmpl in december last year from shimla to delhi. Family wedding and all were driving at around 80 kmph, hence the FE.

Last year in May June with OD at 94k kms, I had an issue with misfiring, drop in FE and bad pickup. Turned out to be one BAD Ignition Coil. I now use services from SSM automobies, on Khanjawala Road. The guy, Sanjay, was the senior service technician at Asian Motors running his own workshop. he's got lift and all the right tools.

So, the OE Ignitian Coil costed 7.2k and the OE 4mm spark plugs costed 8k. Also checked the suspension, and it was on its way. Could have lasted another 10-15k but it was no more Tought and Fun. So went ahead and changed the entire front suspension, Front shocks - KYB, and the other items including suspension arms, link rods, tie rods and ends, jump rod bushes, and strut mount bearings were all OEM. The strut mounts itself were fine. Also, changed the rear shocks with KYB. With all my cars, I always make it a point to change the entire suspension at once, better immediate results = better satisfaction. the struts and arms were definitely shot, while the right side tie rod end was kaput. While sanjay sourced the coil and plugs, I sourced the suspension from Hanuman traders in Guru nanak market, kashmere gate. The entire suspension costed about 40k plus 4k labour.

I was also having a issue with bubbling, and light steering at higher speeds. The normal wheel alignment couldn't fix it. I was asked to get tyres Road force balanced by a technician at Sanjay's (he too used to work at Asian Motors). Count find one in Delhi, but found one through an old Team Bhp thread in Faridabad - Haryana Wheels Tyres. They have one fine set up and would definitely recommend them. Though expensive, they have proper equipment including a road force balancer and multiple lifts for alignment. Costed 500 per wheel for balancing and 1k for alignment. The car never drove better at higher speeds.

I also skimmed the brakes - front and rear and got brembo ceramic pads for about 7k from the dealer in goa. All together spent about 10k on brakes. The last ones were Roulunds brake pads that lasted 44k kms. they costed about 4k plus brake skimming.

So, ended up spending about 75k last year but the car was running great again.

Last month, I felt like the CVT was pretty noisy on steeps, I now park in basement, so could easily hear the noisy CVT while coming out. Also felt signigicant lag and slight jerkiness in the car. While I knew that the rear lower engine/ transmission mount was on its way, this jerkiness was different. Also, the FE went from 10-12 to 7-8ish. Figured its time to change the CVT as I have been running last 40k kms on 4WD. So, ordered the CVT oil on industry buying.com, costed 920 per litre for 11 liters. 5 Litres for flushing and 5-6 Litres for refill (since I was not changing the CVT filter, you cant drain out the entire 7.8 Litres.) Got the oil in about a week. Its Motul CVTF.

And then starting this month, things got worse, it felt like the AC compressor was cutting off but coming back on revving again. Also, the car would feel much heavier with AC on. Planned to go to Sanjay's on weekend (It was earlier a 30-40 mins drive from paschim vihar, where I used to live, but now that I have shifted to Gurgaon, and its a 2 hrs drive). Came wednesday and the car wont cool on idle. The very next day, there was also belt like noise, could feel something with compressor for sure.

Went to Sanjay's last Sunday and the big news unfolded. The AC compressor was conked off. There was redness all over the compressor clutch, this is because of heating. On opening the compressor, we figured that the clutch alone cannot be changed, as the wear and tear was internal. There was blackness all inside the lines. Hence, a new compressor was needed.

Called Kashmere gate and got 85k - 1 lac quotes for the OE ones. DAMN. The Taiwanese one was costing 16k. Since, I plan to keep the car for good 4 more years (thanks to NGT - not beyond), I wanted to get quality parts and fix the car properly. I also use the car as main car with lot of highway/mountain drives. The condenser also looked flimsy, needed flushing and cleaning.

We also inspected the throttle body and spark plugs before I left. The throttle body needed cleaning and the plugs changing (talk about driving on 4wd - frequent spark plugs and CVT Oil, differential oil and transfer case oil change. Also, there was oil near 2 of the coils because of bad tappet cover gasket.

With too much to be fixed, and the exorbitant prices, I was literally confused. The next upgrade is still a few years away (damn prices of both new and PRE-OWNED cars are sky high and as a thumb rule, I dont buy pre-owned germans over 3yrs /50k kms or japanese over 5yrs /50k kms. So the wait for some personal commitments to finish before I take plunge on the new one. Personally love the 330i M sport as an ideal choice or the new Kodiaq as an outlander upgrade.

Finally on tuesday, sanjay came up with good news. He could source the new OE compressor for 43k. Also, decided to change the Condenser for 17k (kept the old one for emergency purpose). Also sourced, OE tappet cover gasket for 5200, the belt was also old and little worn, got the outerbelt OE for 9100, OE rear lower engine/transmisson mount for 7500, and new OE spark plugs for 8800.

While opening the AC lines to be flushed, the expansion valve also broke. It costed 8800 for new, Sanjay asked to split the cost, but I refused.

Also, changed all the fluids except brake oil, OE air filter - 2800, aftermarket AC filter - Rs.400, and wiper blades.

So, all OE parts plus 6k labour and 2k AC gas costed about 1.15 lacs. plus 10k for transmission oil that I bought online. Total cost 1.25 lakhs.

Whats left, the Brembo pads are also on the way (not finished but gone red/hard because of high speed braking) and the discs are also shot. Significant brake shudder at higher speeds. Since the discs have already been shimmed twice, I would go ahead and replace them. The tyres too are over 5 years and nearly 70k kms old, not finished but gone old. Starting to see cracks on them. Have to go to dalhousie this month end. Will come back and get the brakes and the tyres sorted. Contemplating on getting Michelin Primacy 4. Needed Yokohama Advan V105s, but they are not available due to some import rules on tyres etc. The ones available are 2022 manufacturing.

So looking at another 70k-80k for front discs, front & rear pads and tyres. Thats about Rs. 2 lacs in total this year. Hopefully, it will be a reliable ride for the next few years now.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

About 2 weeks after the service, the car suffered catastrophic engine failure when the car was being used by one of my friend's relatives who'd come visiting from overseas.

BHPian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Introduction:

This is the story of how a Mitsubishi Outlander lit up the home of a friend, how the car went into coma earlier this year, before being revived and coming back on road on its own steam.

Background:

This story dates back to end-2017 when my friend wanted a high seater car different from what was seen around. Options examined were:

• 2008 Honda CR-V with a dealer that was listed at approx. 7 lakhs.
• 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander in blue that was listed at approx. 6.5 lakhs; this was an individual second owner listed car.
• 2009 Outlander in the black shade with a dealer which had done a mere 30,000km.

The first edition of the Outlander came in black interiors; from what I remember of the first edition, only the black exterior came with beige interiors. Also, the Outlander is perhaps the only car that sported silver painted door handles.

The 2009 example that we looked at was in good shape per se, but there were a few elements like

1. a touched up front right fender
2. a badly touched up bonnet that showed fish eyes
3. partly corroded strut bolt
4. corroded brake discs
5. darkened engine oil that would definitely need a change in 2000 km

that needed some "Sherlock Holming". I advised my friend to reach out to the Mitsubishi dealership in Chennai, verify the service history of this car, before moving ahead.

Service history verified and deal sealed:

Service history checked out clean for no flood damage, and post that my friend negotiated and got the car for INR 7.25 lacs plus commission plus ownership transfer. It was a neat car, with all the goodies like two keys and owner manual thrown in, plus tyres that had just been installed. The reason the car had picked up a lot of corrosion at some spots like the discs and the strut top was because it was lying idle at a property on ECR for an extended period of time. Even at the dealership, it was tucked away right inside and so the dealer wanted the deal to be sealed before they even moved the car out for a test drive. The understanding here was - seal the deal, they move the car out for a test drive, and should the car not check out well during the drive, the deal would be nullified; no payments until the car was cleared for purchase. Fortunately, the car checked out well during the TD except for an ABS warning that would pop up every now and then. This was diagnosed to be due to one of the sensors and that was summarily replaced.

Delivery happened a couple of days later and it seemed like a fairy tale. The car was super clean on the inside, with everything working perfect - paddle shifters, the MID, ventilated seats, a pedigree Rockford Fosgate sound system. The only feature it didn't sport for its time and class was an Auto-Dimming IRVM.

Fuss free ownership - end-2017 to Nov-2022:

Many things happened with this car in this period:

• I left Chennai and so the onus was on the friend to look after the car without my physical presence.
• His usage of cars was anyways low and he ended up doing a mere 1000-1500km a year.
• All of 2020 - the car had barely moved from the parking, must have moved for a few kms every 3 months.

During all my visits to his place, I'd find the car lying unused, with the same engine oil still inside. I'd insist that he get the oil changed, and he'd agree, but once I left, it would remain status quo. Yes, the car would get cleaned for sure, but that was about it.

Dec-2022:

My friend finally decided to have the engine oil replaced, and got the oil changed with Castrol Magnatec 5W30 Fully Synthetic at a reputed aftermarket service chain in Chennai. The service point was trying to upsell in asking him to replace the discs and pads too, but he stuck with just the service and got the car back.

After getting the car back, he called a known technician who fixed new tailgate dampers and a new set of brake pads. Neither the dampers nor the pads were OE but it was good enough.

Old brake pads - still some juice left in them:

New front brake pads in the pack:

Tailgate dampers:

Catastrophic engine failure at Kathipara Grade Separator Chennai - Jan-2023:

About 2 weeks after the service, the car suffered catastrophic engine failure when the car was being used by one of his relatives who'd come visiting from overseas. (In fact, had the relative not come, the engine oil would probably not have been changed.). The driver reported smoke out of the engine bay accompanied by loud noise, he pulled over, and it was all over. My friend had a mechanic closeby go examine the car, and preliminary observations pointed to engine failure and oil leaking out in full. The car was towed to the workshop.

The long wait in coma starts.

What is surprising here is that the mechanic never informed him of the nature of failure. All he said was that my friend will need to get a new engine and that would be transplanted. He wasn't keen on re-building the engine.

Engine-ek-khoj (searching for an engine):

We had two options:

Source an old engine.

Rebuild the existing engine (preferred).

I wasn't around in Chennai but managed to find some leads via our own bhpian @prateekswarup, who had got his Outlander's engine rebuilt. He gave us a good lead for spare parts from Delhi. Thank You Prateek for all your help and leads. However, we hit a road block there as my Chennai technician was down with shoulder and back pain and was convalescing. There was no way he was going to be back in action before Mar-2023.

That left us with option#1. We surveyed the All India scene and located three engines - one rather nice looking one in Central/Western India, one in Punjab and one in Chennai. The issue with all three was none of them seemed confidence inspiring - nobody to inspect and certify as usable. What if the engine didn't perform well after fitment? This stalemate continued way into Mar-2023 until when the car was lying abandoned on the roadside, picking up dust.

Engine no.1 in Chennai - inspected physically but not turning. This seemed like a water impacted one:

Engine no.2 in North India. No one to go and inspect:

Engine no.3 in Central/West India - the best looking of the three but again nobody to inspect:

Enter the saviour - Apr-2023:

While the whole saga seemed to never end, here came the saviour, in the form of a 2008/09 Mitsubishi Outlander that had a proper operational "untouched" engine. The engine was inspected to be purring well, and after a long and arduous wait, there finally seemed to be hope. My friend negotiated hard and the final agreement was that this parts dealer who had bought that car would sell him the engine but in exchange of the failed engine.

Project Transplant:

Another road block here was where this job could be performed. The parts dealer had no mechanics, and while my technician was getting better from his pain, he did not have the necessary chain-pulley block to lift the engine out. A place was finally fixed and once the donor engine was out, the dead car would be brought to the OT (Operation Theater) on a flatbed so that the transplant could happen.

The donor car:

Donor engine removed and waiting for the transplant:

Donor engine - note the coolant elbows in bad shape:

Pandemonium unfurled - my technican was stuck with a family festival at his native, while the donor engine had already been taken off the car. The friend was getting restless, and here I was caught between the dead and the alive! Weather was unforgiving with the Chennai region seeing the worst of weather in recent years. This only added to my technician's woes.

Day-1:

Finally, the storm settled down and things got into place. My technician started working on the dead car at approx 3 pm and got the engine out. Only that day, it was discovered that this engine's block couldn't have been salvaged. Why? Connecting Rod no.4 had smashed through the block. Here is all that was planned:

• All good parts from the dead engine viz. pulleys, idlers, tensioner, serpentine belt, Power Steering Pump, AC Compressor, spark plugs, thermostat, water elbows will make its way into the donor engine. This was a very good move as the donor engine water elbows, hoses and thermostat were all reported in bad shape.
• My friend will bring along CVT fluid, 5w30 engine oil, an oil filter and an air filter, besides coolant concentrate and distilled water.

Had I not stepped in, Type A Suffix A ATF would have found its way into the car and that would have been curtains for the CVT. I'd asked my technician to salvage all the CVT fluid which I knew would be in top shape, and it was.

Long story short, the dead engine was out, and the donor engine was in place at approx. 9 pm. Someone in the garage was there to help my technician and hence things got easy.

Day-2:

My technician started work at approx. 10 am. After all the hard work that took almost 6 pm to complete, the engine would not turn. Reason: there was some issue with the key not getting detected. The blade was put into the key fobs, taken into the car and presto - engine fired! The black Outlander comes out of coma after four months!! The car needed to be jumpstarted as the dead car's battery had also gone dead. A test drive revealed no issues, and the engine was reported purring away happily.

The fluids that were used:

Outlander back to life:

What went wrong?

Looking at the amount of sludge/gum on the engine, it appears that the oil change in Dec-2022 was a case of too much too late. Someone remarked," What is the point of performing suryanamaskars when one has lost one's eyes". My technician's take on this was that the crankshaft was running oil starved, and not much oil made its way up to the camshafts too.

Although the car had done under 5,000km in six years, the engine oil was already on its way out in 2017. It should have been changed within a few months of getting the car.

Damaged block - note the con-rod inside:

The camshaft area all gooey:

Sump opened - oil pump strainer intact:

Chain driven oil pump removed:

Key takeaways:

• I am myself an advocate of condition-based engine oil replacement, and had advised a quick term oil change on this car knowing that the condition of the engine oil was tending to bad. However, this was a classic case of the oil being stretched too far.
• I've seen sludging/gumming in cars of the 90s and 2000s when oil grades would be API SF/SG at best, but to see this on a modern day car with better grade oils is strange.
• Coolant and engine oil - keep a watch on their condition and have them changed at periodic intervals. Else be prepared to face the music.
• One doesn't get to see a donor Outlander every day . So, rarer the car, more careful one needs to be.

• Acknowledgements:

I'd like to thank:

• Almighty for having opened a window via a donor car.
• BHPians @Prateekswarup, @Sandy Damodaran, @CAPTAIN REX for all their help with parts suppliers - the power of Team BHP on show yet again!
• My technician Senthil , who, despite his physical condition, managed to execute this project all by himself with very little assistance. Although a sensitive guy, he is passionate about his work, never looks at the clock, and seldom looks at his wallet.
• My technician up west, Sanju, who always pitched in with his suggestions and actually offered to come down and build this engine, if all other options were exhausted.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

My family is looking for a larger car and I wanted to consider the Outlander instead of the newer SUVs.

BHPian burst_mode recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone, need some advice for the community.

Any opinions on how viable buying a used Mitsubishi Outlander 2010 model would be?

Ever since I saw it for the first time, it's been a car I have wanted to own. My family is looking for a larger car and I wanted to consider this instead of the newer SUVs.

I know there is an ASC on Pune, but how easy/difficult is it to source parts?

Would love to hear from owners or those who can help me connect with those who've had one in the past.

Here's what BHPian vishy76 had to say on the matter:

Have you driven the Outlander firstly? I think you should first. It has happened many a times and often that I have loved a particular car a lot, ogled at it since time immemorial, only to drive it and realise it was nothing great. Classic never meet your hero situation.

Test drive a well kept example first. If you still like it, you will need to factor in longer wait times for parts along with the associated costs too. In the end, the Outlander was a premium D-segment SUV, keeping aside the fact that it was built by a company which was never able to commit to the Indian market.

I would recommend you consider more contemporary options. A few that come to my mind include a later model XUV500, an Innova (the Outlander is anyway a softroader. If you can overlook the Innova's MPV image, it's a great buy) and maybe the 2012 Toyota Fortuner (below average brakes and bumpy ride being the deal breakers here).

Used Outlanders are cheap for a reason. The 2.4 Mivec is nothing great in terms of fuel efficiency and it was built by a rather infamous brand in the Indian context as I mentioned before.

Here's what BHPian cool_dube had to say on the matter:

Please stay away from a Mitsubishi, as great automobiles as they may be. Authorized after-sales support is non-existent in India, (original) parts are very expensive and procurement lead time is very high. These can be "hobby" cars at best, never recommended as primary/regular-usage cars.

Here's what BHPian condor had to say on the matter:

Ford was much more established than Mitsubishi in India, and yet people think twice if they want a Ford today. A Mitsubishi car carried the bad reputation about spares availability even when at the time the company was in operation. Do you want to live with one now ?

The Outlander does look attractive from outside. A softroader that is not too big, not too small. And has some of the Pajero's aura reflected on to it. But I would not consider one today.

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I now feel a noticeable difference in power and pickup. While the Outlander is no speed rocket, the build of power is slightly better than before after the rebuild.

BHPian prateeekswarup recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Due to the pandemic, the Outlander had not really seen a lot of travel, apart from the few outstation trips and the routine intercity travel, overall distance travelled since purchase in Dec’19 to Jan’22 was around 13k kms.

Jan’22, life was getting back to some normalcy, so dramatically disrupted by the pandemic. Vaccinations done, offices opening up. I had not yet team-bhp’d the Outlander & had recently bought a fresh set of stickers and Republic Day weekend is when I finally got the Live To Drive (my favourite) stamped on it’s posterior. Minor photo shoot over & feeling properly enthused, I decided to take an imprompto dash to Starbucks Jewar (on the Yamuna Expressway) with the thought of pushing the 2.4 Ltr NA petrol MIVEC engine through it paces. This was also an opportunity to fully test the column mounted magnesium paddle shifters.

Stickered!

So armed with a thermos of black coffee and my trusty Team BHP mug, I set out towards the Yamuna Expressway.

The morning sun rays were just starting to filter in through the trees when I reached the Expressway. Considering a Sunday and early morning, traffic was moderately light as I footed the accelerator and inched towards the speed limit.

The Rear Bench:

Normally, I do not need to use paddle shifters. I have a fairly sedate driving style and with the near rock-bottom efficiency figures that show-up on the instant fuel consumption screen in the Multi Information Display (MID), sudden acceleration / deacceleration is what I typically avoid. Plus, the Outlander’s instant consumption bar has a very rewarding green colour when you do pace the drive. It gamifies the need to drive sensibiliy, much like the Eco green hue of the Honda City’s instrument cluster.

The Outlander reaches 100 kmph at around 2000 rpm and hence in my 2+ years of ownership, I had yet to see the needle cross a 4000 rpm (some sections of the Dehradun hills where I did need to downshift on an incline).

That Sunday drive became my Nurburgring, in many ways than one. Couple of downshifts to reach 5k rpm (redlines at 6k), build acceleration and coast to maintain safety speeds. 15 mins into the drive, start feeling a little shudder from the engine and the dreaded check engine light comes on!

Wiping my Fast & Furious grin off my face, I park on the shoulder to do an inspection, while having a flurry of thoughts jostling to take the lead in the Formula 1 start.

• Engine temperature – check!
• Stepped out, did a visual inspection under the body for leaks and tyre related issues – all ok!
• Opened the hood, seeing for any signs of overheating, leakage, belt related, etc – all seemed ok!
• Switched off the engine. Sipped coffee while sitting on the split tailgate for a tumultuous 10 mins.

Restarted, check engine light still yellow. Put into gear and slowly accelerated. There seems to a noticeble loss is power and higher than 1500 rpm, the vibrations were back.

I’m not a very technically clued on to all the inner workings of the engine, but a fair guess on the problem was either an engine mount issue, leading to vibrations at particular speeds or misfiring spark plug, leading to improper firing in the block.

Managed to find a close u-turn to return towards Greater Noida, ensuring less than 1500 rpm effort from the engine. Took me 1 hour to return home compared to the 20 mins earlier. I have a FNG close to my place for immediate diagnosis and they have done minor body and suspension work for me earlier. Competent but basic from an infrastructure point of view. Took it there.

Final diagnosis – oil in the spark plug, coming from engine blow back at higher rpms, needs an engine overhaul. The lead mechanic was confident of doing the overhaul, but parts would be a problem since only once did they open the engine would they get to know what they would need. Then would take the parts to Kashmere gate for replacements.

Now an engine overhaul is a comprehensive process and hence before I took the plunge, wanted a 2nd and a 3rd opinion. Ask the Mitsubishi Service Centre (Faridabad), to have a look at the same. The Outlander has been to their service center once or twice, and hence they are familiar with the car.

Service centre team picked it up and ran a diagnosis. There was engine blowback as they call it due to piston rings and oil seals being worn out. Final diagnosis, engine overhaul. Estimate given was 2.5 times the FNG near my place.

Oil on the spark plug:

Now what?

Now I was in a dilemma. I had barely used the car since it’s purchase. Unlike the Grand Vitara, this one has run 50% in the same time, owing to the Pandemic. Anyway I looked at it, without repair, this would become a very costly ornament in my garage, good to look at, zero usage value. For repair, I had 2 options – one, put oversized piston rings, get the engine working and sell the car.; two – get the engine rebuilt, use for a couple of years and then sell it.

With my limited running, buying a new car seemed to be an overkill. Pre-owned options in Delhi NCR for AWD/4x4 are limited to petrol due to NGT ban. Buying a 5 year old diesel AWD was as good as buying a new Creta and hard to find. In the limited amount of money, there were almost neglibile contenders for a replacement.

After much though I decided to get the engine overhauled and keep the Outlander for another 2-3 years as per the NGT rule. Now came the question of where to get this done with surety that the workmanship will be good, adequate costs and transperancy of parts used.

Conversations with Mitsubishi did not inspire confidence. They started with very high quotation and then reduced the same by 50% when I wished to walk out with the car. Also, was not very sure on the engagement I would be able to get if I let them do it. There were no gurantees that they offered post engine rebuild.

Overhauled!

Spoke to Ashwani at Goodwill Motors. He has been my go-to guy for Grand Vitara and Outlander also. He was confident of sourcing parts, but said would take time. He gave a slightly lower estimate, also. The main aspect was that I was confident on him – I could pester him for updates, go and have a look at the build, and he has proven technical knowledge & parts sourcing contacts to get this done.

So the decision was made. I picked up the Outlander from Mitsubishi and deposited it to Goodwill Motors at Gurgaon.

Long story short, it took almost 30 days for the rebuild to happen. Parts sourcing was a challenge, plus labour delays. But I was in no hurry as I was more keen to get it done well then get it done fast.

Images of the overhaul:

As good as new?

Post the overhaul, I have driven almost 7000 kilometers. We did an oil change after the 1st 1000 kms. I now feel a noticeable difference in power and pickup. While the Outlander is no speed rocket, the build of power is slightly better than before after the rebuild.

I took this to Chakrata with my family during May’22. There are some steep gradients and lots of twisties on the way and with a full load, AC on all the time, I did not feel any sluggishness or missing. Have kept a sharp eye on the engine temperature, but that has largely been steady.

At Chakrata:

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