2010 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Utility Vehicle Review & Performance

The big news is that the new 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander has been welcomed into the family with the Mitsubishi nose. Mitsubishi calls a jet fighter front grille, and yeah you can see it. Others call it a fish face, and yep, there's the grouper. Whatever. We think it looks good. It pushes the limits of how much in-your-face we can stand, but pushing the limits is what good design does. The inward-leaning angular headlamps complement the Outlander's face. In the most popular Outlander SE model, there's a body-colored stripe through the cavernous black mouth of the GT. On the Outlander GT it's blacked-out, giving that jet fighter look.

It was the 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV that started the big edgy fender flares thing. It's hard to tell if the Overland tones it down or it's just that we're used to them now. Its wheelwell flares don't look so big, as the edges have been nicely smoothened. The seven-spoke wheels on our GT could have been worse but have missed an opportunity. Not sure if the chrome side sill extensions could have been worse.

There are character lines above those side sills, more like a long dent in the doors about 8 inches above the rocker panels. Thank you for body-colored door handles, says the Outlander, as it clings to stylishness.

The chrome trim around the windows is odd, discontinued, detracting from any flow to the lines, but turning the third window from a trapezoid into an upside-down triangle. The rest of the window panels and the B-pillar and C-pillar are blacked out.

There's lots of glass from the rear, and no roof spoiler, just a nice wedge that holds the brake light. Your standard wide chrome strip, with your non-standard Mitsubishi emblem. The jeweled clear LED taillamps look grayish. There's a twin pipe coming out one side, in the V6 models.

We'll get the compact third-row seat out of the way first, it won't take long. It's tiny and flips up out of a hole. Figure two kids no older than 9, and not for long. When Mitsubishi says luxury seven-passenger, it's a stretch.

The five-seat Outlander ES and Outlander SE models offer storage space under the cargo floor, in that space that the third-row seat folds into. They also offer nearly 3 inches more legroom in the rear seat, a good 39.6 inches, thanks to not having that compact third-row seat.

The standard 60/40 rear seat is fold-and-tumble. You pull the nylon loop and stand back, as the seatback flops down and carries the seat bottom on its roll, up against the front seatbacks for extra cargo room, an impressive total of 72.6 cubic feet. It takes some muscle to flop them back, especially the 60 side, maybe more muscle than some otherwise above-average kids might have. On the XLS and GT, the rear seats slide 3.3 inches, and that's useful.

Two big cubby holes in the way back, and nice door pockets with bottle holders in the rear. Only one standard seatback pocket (driver side optional), but standard heating/air conditioning ducts in the rear.

In back, there's the usual liftgate but then a 10-inch-tall tailgate that lowers and flattens the entry; it's great for loading groceries because the stretch into the cargo area isn't far. This flap fold tailgate, as it's called, is strong, it'll support a 440-pound golf bag. Or 10 44-pound watermelons. Or two 220-pound football fans at a tailgate party.

The doors sound light, we won't say tinny, but we will say less solid than many others. Maybe it's because the roof is aluminum, lowering the center of gravity. Headroom and rear visibility are both very good. Well, rear visibility is covered by two odd headrests shaped like platypus bills rising from the third-row seat when it's raised.

On the full-tilt Outlander GT, especially with optional navigation on a big screen and perforated leather, you've got a very stylish interior. Between the clean speedometer and tachometer there are some colored digital gauges, and a three-instrument package just forward of the shift lever. The aluminum pedals seem to be trying too hard, with their exclusive cutout design.

We put quite a few rough miles on our Outlander in one day, and the interior was pretty much flawless, not just the comfort of the great seats, but the function of the panel. The dashboard is broad and bold, stitched synthetic leather, with a center split that swoops with the suggestion of a gullwing. It looks nice.

The Mitsubishi Outlander with the V6 engine is noticeably smooth and steady at high speeds, which it negotiates with little effort. It's quiet at 80 miles per hour with the windows up; tire noise is kept under the car. It feels almost long-legged, because the engine loses some of its confidence, and gains some harshness, under hard acceleration up to, say, 60 mph. But maybe the important thing is that the acceleration is actively there when you need it. Definitely not lacking with your foot down.

Engineers have improved the SOHC V6 (with MIVEC electronic valve timing) by increasing intake efficiency and compression ratio, now making 230 horsepower and 215 pound-feet of torque at 3750 rpm. No fuel mileage has been lost, it gets an EPA-estimated 19/25 mpg City/Highway. Premium fuel is recommended but not required. (Likely, it makes more power and may get better fuel economy with Premium.)

The Outlander ES and SE models come with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which gets an EPA-rated 21/27 mpg. Regular unleaded is the recommended fuel. We like this engine and suggest that the best Outlander value might be the Outlander ES 4WD, not only for the four-wheel-drive but also for the six-step manual mode with the CVT (continuously variable transmission). The dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine, with the MIVEC electronic valve timing, same system as the V6, makes 168 horsepower, good enough to keep up on the freeway.

With 4WD, the four-cylinder gets an EPA-estimated 21/25 mpg. And the manually-switched 4WD system, although less versatile than the automatic S-AWC system of the V6-powered Outlander GT, might get you up that snowy hill just as well. Our GT test model cost nearly $10,000 more than while getting 4 mpg less on premium fuel. It doesn't beat the ES by that amount, unless you simply must have that luxury.

Conversely, the S-AWC all-wheel-drive system in the Outlander GT uses an Active Front Differential and electronically controlled center differential. One method Mitsubishi uses to test this system is to drive up a hill with the left wheels on pavement and right wheels on ice. The system is not fooled, it adjusts. We tested the S-AWC Super All-Wheel Control on a sand dune, and our GT eagerly blasted to the top. There's a dial on the console with three positions: Tarmac, Snow and Lock.

Another advanced feature in the GT is called Idle Neutral Logic, which puts the transmission into neutral when the vehicle comes to a stop, using less fuel at a redlight. The driver never feels it.

We found ride quality in the Outlander okay, not harsh but not like silk. Road jiggles and vibrations can be felt in the wheels. They seem to dance, a million tiny steps.

However, we sprinted through one 30-minute section of mountain curves, using the throttle, brakes and six-speed Sportronic transmission hard. We can report that the Outlander GT accepts being driven inappropriately, without trying to buck you off at every turn. If it was Super All-Wheel Control at work, the intervention was undetectable. We're not saying it hugged the road and loved it, just that it didn't get squirrelly. But it's still pretty darn good for an SUV like this to perform like that.

The 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander comes in four models, ES, SE, XLS (all either as 2WD or 4WD), and GT, which uses S-AWC, or Super All-Wheel Control.

Outlander ES ($20,840) comes with the 2.4-liter DOHC I4 and a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The 4WD version ($1400) includes paddle shifters controlling six steps to the CVT. Standard equipment includes cloth upholstery, manual air conditioning, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, remote keyless entry, urethane steering wheel with cruise control, 60/40 folding/tumble rear seats, a 140-watt 6-speaker CD/MP3 sound system, LED taillamps, and 16-inch steel wheels.

Outlander SE ($22,540) and SE 4WD ($23,940) comes standard with the same paddle-shifting six-step CVT as on the ES 4WD, along with roof rails, foglights, privacy glass, 18-inch alloy wheels, leather shift knob and steering wheel with audio controls, Bluetooth capability, sport fabric seats with leather bolsters, a couple of color gauges, and on the outside there's chrome grille trim and body-colored front fascia, mirrors and door handles.

Outlander XLS ($24,990) and XLS 4WD ($26,390) raises the ante quite a lot, with its 3.0-liter V6 engine, six-speed automatic transmission, automatic climate control, console box between the seats, a compact third-row seat, and something called the FUSE Handsfree Link System, that can call up your songs using voice command, by artist, genre, playlist or album through an iPod or USB device.

Outlander GT ($29,250) is a new model for 2010, and it's the flagship. It uses the V6 and six-speed, but uses all-wheel-drive system as used on the Mitsubishi Evolution, called Super All-Wheel Control. It adds rain-sensing wipers, bi-Xenon HID headlamps, aluminum pedals, and a 710-watt Rockford-Fosgate sound system. But not leather, that remains an option.

Options on all models are numerous, with seven packages containing upgrades in upholstery, sound, navigation, etc. There are also many stand-alone options, from remote start to tow hitch to rear-seat DVD system.

Safety equipment includes frontal airbags, side impact airbags, and airbag curtains; Active Stability Control, and anti-lock brakes with brake-force distribution, and a tire pressure monitor. All-wheel drive is optional.