The latest industry trend to be spotted at the New York auto show was the incredible shrinking crossover, exemplified by the Nissan Juke and this Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. Both vehicles were making their North American debuts, having premiered at the Geneva show last month. (The Mitsubishi is known as the RVR and ASX elsewhere on the planet.)
Of the two, the Juke is the cute but weird-looking one, whereas the Outlander Sport looks more substantial. We also have to say it’s more handsome than the bigger Outlander that’s already in the Mitsubishi lineup. With an overall length of 169.1 inches, it’s just over a foot shorter than its big brother, although the wheelbases are identical at 105.1 inches.
The interior of the Outlander Sport doesn’t break much new ground, but will satisfy the needs of most drivers. Our demonstrator featured some soft touch materials, both on the doors and the dashboard. The gauge binnacle had the expected tachometer and speedometer along with fuel and temperature gauges, and a between gauge information read-out to keep the driver informed of mileage, trip meters, and other such information.
Although an optional Rockford/Fosgate audio system was available; ours was equipped with a standard AM/FM/CD/MP3 head unit and six speakers. The base head unit was not capable of tuning satellite radio, but we could introduce Sirius XM satellite radio through the Bluetooth streaming audio function of our Android smartphone.
The seats throughout were covered with a black knit material that appears to wear well from our brief exposure to it. They proved very supportive during our day trips.
The rear seats fold down in a 60/40 split, and open up the rear cargo area to 49.5 cubic feet of storage space. With the seats in their normal upright position, cargo space drops down to 21.7 cubic ft.
Finally, the redundant controls and alloy paddle shift levers were a welcome touch on the steering wheel when trying to get out of our own way.
The base 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander ES model has the four-cylinder and keeps it simple, though it includes air conditioning, keyless entry, and a 140-watt, six-speaker sound system. At the top of the lineup, the luxurious XLS picks up fog lamps, steering-wheel audio controls, remote start, cruise control, and automatic climate control, plus the new FUSE hands-free link system, controlling audio and calling functions with voice commands. The GT includes, along with other appearance extras, rain-sensing wipers, heated mirrors, leather seats, bi-xenon HID headlamps, and a more powerful 710-watt Rockford Fosgate premium sound system with nine speakers and a huge 10-inch subwoofer.
The SE version can be optioned up from front-drive to four-wheel drive, complete with a locking center differential. The GT version adopts the all-wheel-drive system of the Lancer Evolution and Ralliart models, and has a knob-controlled choice of Tarmac, Snow, and Lock traction modes. With its Active Front Differential and electronically controlled center diff, the GT has nearly seamless distribution of torque between the wheels. Good, communicative steering is an Outlander hallmark, and the ride and braking feel are like those in the smaller Lancer--nicely firm.
Our Outlander Sport came equipped with a 2.0-liter MIVEC in-line four-cylinder engine, which makes 148 horsepower and 145 lb-ft. of torque. By the way, in case you were interested, MIVEC stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Valve–timing Electronic Control. It’s their name for variable valve timing. Fed by a multi-port fuel injection system the EPA says to expect 25-city/31-highway. We averaged about 25 mpg during our combined city/highway loop.
Power from the four banger is sent to Mitsubishi’s continuously variable transmission, which simulates six–speed shifting while using the paddle shift levers that, in this case, are mounted on the steering column and do not spin with the steering wheel. The suspension is made up of a pair of MacPherson struts and 22 mm anti-sway bar in front, and a multi-link kit with 18 mm anti-sway bar in the rear.
Driving around presented a few challenges while behind the wheel of the Mitsubishi. With local roads swollen to capacity, rapid acceleration is a necessity when merging onto heavily trafficked thoroughfares. Squeezing the go pedal results in a high-pitched whine typically found in vehicles with CVTs. The trouble is that most of the time, the whine usually results in power to the pavement. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. A couple of quick squeezes to the downshift lever dropped the gearing down so we could safely merge into traffic.
In our opinion, the only thing the Outlander Sport has going for itself, at this moment, is a low price. You should only consider it if you are absolutely certain that you will never make another dollar in your life that would enable you to buy one of this vehicle’s competitors.
reference:www.leftlanenews.com,www.thecarconnection.com,www.caranddriver.com
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