2004 Mitsubishi Outlander Reviews

When launched at the start of 2003 the Mitsubishi Outlander replaced the Mitsubishi iO, a 4WD that had not sold particularly well. Mitsubishi had been in the vanguard of the affordable recreational 4WD market since the 1980s, but the little iO was aimed at the semi-serious 4WD buyer and was relatively expensive.Mitsubishi’s move into the crossover segment with the Outlander changed that way of thinking and it soon began to gather a lot of supporters. It continues to sell well to this day and an all-new model seems sure to further expand interest when it arrives down under in a few months time.We anticipate a surge of trade-ins of Outlanders to buy the new model and this could lead to some excellent deals for used buyers as dealers shift the trades. No promises, though...Styling has long been a much talked about feature of the Mitsubishi Outlander.The initial model had a prominent nose that some liked and others hated. The standout nose was removed in 2006, replaced by a smoother shape with the introduction of a slightly larger new model. The move to the Mitsubishi ‘jetfighter’ front grille in 2009 gained a lot more praise for its radical shape. Interestingly, the upcoming new model has again gone for a more conservative design.Though not really aimed at off-road driving, the 4WD system is reasonably sophisticated for its type and the Outlander can competently cope with rough tracks, beaches and corrugated dirt when driven correctly. On-road the Mitsubishi Outlander is capable and generally quiet and comfortable to ride in. Some owners complain about the amount of tyre noise on coarse-chip roads, others say they don’t really notice it.Inside, there’s space for two adults and three children with good legroom and head space. Three adults can be carried in the back seat, but may find themselves on the squeezy side. The optional third-row seat is strictly for tiny kids and even then isn’t particularly comfortable. It steals most of the luggage area, but that’s hardly unusual in this class of compact vehicle. Otherwise boot space is good and the Outlander is easy to load, even more so from the mid 2004 facelift.The 2004 reworking was interesting in that a lot of the work was done by the engineering team at Mitsubishi Australia for global use. The biggest changes were at the rear, with a wider tailgate and styling mods that gave it more presence in the appearance stakes. Also for 2004, Mitsubishi’s variable valve timing was added to the engine. Capacity of the single-cam, four-cylinder powerplant remains at the 2.4 litres, but stronger torque with a good spread made it enjoyable to drive.Disc brakes, with ABS and EBD were fitted to all four wheels to cope with the added engine output when the four-cylinder engine was upgraded. Previously some had criticised the Outlander for having drum brakes at the rear. The optional 3.0-litre V6 engine, though relatively expensive, is the powerplant of choice amongst those who like to drive. It can be quite thirsty, particularly when worked hard.Transmissions are manual and automatic with the added efficiency of continuously variable transmission being used in the latter from the 2006 model. Some don’t like the sound of a CVT but once you become accustomed to it the audio differences soon become unnoticed. Mitsubishi Australia is a well-established player in the local Australian scene having been here for over forty years. Though the company no longer builds vehicles locally it has a large, well-organised dealer network that’s widespread.Due to the company’s success in the 4WD market with the Pajero and Challenger there are more dealers in country areas than is usual with crossover vehicles that compete with the Outlander. We hear no real complaints about spare part pricing or availability. A good amateur mechanic can do a fair bit of their own work due to the generous under bonnet and under-car accessibility. Safety related items should only be touched by professionals.Insurance rates seem to vary more than normal among the major companies so it’s worth shopping around for the best deal. As always, make sure you are doing accurate comparisons when looking at the various policy features.WHAT TO LOOK FOROutlander is well-built and generally reliable but, as always, recommend a professional inspection after you've done initial checks to the best of your technical knowledge. Though it’s nominally a 4WD few Outlanders are taken off road so if you see any signs of body or under body damage - check the lower corners of the bumpers and the door sills - it’s probably best to look for another one.Engines are strong units in the Mitsubishi manner. A powerplant that’s reluctant to start when cold, or which hesitates at any time is a cause for concern. Check the front of a four-cylinder engine for water stains indicating possible water pump troubles. We have heard of a few problems in continuously variable transmissions. During your test drive it should be quiet and smooth. If unsure, have a Mitsubishi mechanic check it out.Manual gearboxes should be light and smooth in operation. When they eventually wear out, the change down from third to second is usually the first to give trouble. Listen for noises and feel for a reluctance to go into gear. Look over the interior for signs of rough use, particularly in the back seats if kids have run amok.CAR BUYING TIPCrossover SUVs that go seriously off road are rare and it’s probably best to pass them up - unless the price is very favourable.  

It took Mitsubishi a while to get into the on-road offroader market, but when it did it did so in its usual competent way with the Outlander. The compact offroader market has been the biggest growth segment on the local scene in recent times so it was only natural that Mitsubishi came up with a contender.The first effort, the Pajero iO wasn’t well accepted. It was well credentialed to go offroad, possibly the best in the class, but an offroad capability doesn’t count when it’s only going to be used to take the kids to school and pick up the groceries.What does matter in this class of town cars is size and the iO was too small, and it was also a little too uncouth for town use. The Outlander was Mitsubishi’s next attempt to break into the market and it was a much better effort.MODEL WATCH Like all compact SUVs the Outlander looked like an offroader, but that’s about where the similarity ended. With its high ride height, and all-wheel drive, it could handle dirt roads and smooth bush tracks with aplomb, but it wasn’t meant to plunge too deep into the real Outback.The reality is that, like all SUVs, the Outlander was a family wagon and it was a capable one in that role. Looked at from most angles the Outlander seems a middle of the road, conventional Japanese SUV, but then you spot the front and wonder if the designer was having a bad hair day.Either that or the guy who chose the name really meant to call it ‘Outlandish’ and got it wrong. The front is just appalling. You really should warn to neighbors you’re buying one so they can put the dog away before you drive it home.Under the prominent snout lies a modest 2.35-litre single overhead camshaft fuel-injected four-cylinder engine that puts out 100 kW at 5000 revs and 205 Nm at 2500 revs. The engine was upgraded with Mitsubishi’s MIVEC variable valve timing system in 2004 when the power jumped to 120 kW at 5750 revs and 220 Nm at 4000 revs to give it a little more punch.It only came with a four-speed auto, which was a smooth unit and perfectly suited to its intended use around town. The Outlander didn’t have a low-range like any serious offroader does. Instead it had a viscous coupling with drive split 50 per cent front and rear with conventional diffs at both ends, and no traction control. As such its off-road ability is limited. There’s little wheel travel, no low-range, no limited-slip diff, no traction control and no underbody protection. On the black top it’s another matter. It’s quiet, comfortable and quite refined.The Outlander has fully independent suspension front and back, with struts at the front and a multi-link layout in the rear. The tuning is well sorted so it can be driven with confidence on all types of roads. On the highway the engine can be found wanting for grunt when you need to overtake, but apart from that it’s quite a smooth unit. Inside, the Outlander is quite roomy, it’s the sort of room a family wants.The LS opened the bidding and had a long list of standard equipment including cloth trim, air-conditioning, power windows, tilt column, cruise, power mirrors, CD player, immobilizer, remote central locking. Buy the XLS and you got leather, sunroof, six speakers and a cargo cover.IN THE SHOP There is no real intelligence on problems with the Outlander; it appears to be quite robust and reliable, although it is early days yet with the early cars now only just past the 50,000 km mark. But based on Mitsubishi’s generally good record of reliability it is fair to assume it will continue to be reliable in the longer term.The Outlander isn’t designed to beat around the bush so look for signs of offroad use. Look over, under, inside and out for stone and rock impact damage to panel work and underbody equipment, and dust intrusion in door openings and hardware etc. Walk away if you suspect it’s been used off the beaten track. Check for a service record to make sure it’s been maintained from new.IN A CRASH All models had seat belts with pretensioners and dual front airbags, while other models higher up the pecking order also had front side airbags as well. Well-tuned suspension with ABS brakes and EBD electronic brakeforce distribution aided safety.FUEL ECONOMY On average you could expect to get 12-13 L/100 km from the Outlander, which appears a little thirstier than its main rivals.OWNERS SAY Len Gemelli bought a later Outlander VR-X in 2005 when he wanted to downsize from a Mitsubishi Challenger he’d done 200,000 km in without any trouble, and says he’s extremely happy with its comfort, performance and economy in the 45,000 km it has done. The only downside is the Sat Nav system, which due to an issue with Mitsubishi and Eurovox cannot be upgraded.Bruce Gill bought his Outlander in December 2005, when Mitsubishi was doing a drive-away special deal. Bruce says it’s not a performance car, but it is a great package. The MIVEC engine moves it along as well as it needs to, and it’s comfortable and quiet. For the first time he says he really appreciated the full-time all-wheel drive on a snow and ice covered road to the ski resorts It hasn’t missed a beat, and he’s getting around 10.5 L/100 km on a mix of mostly country and some around town driving. Doing 100-110 km/h on highways, it’s comfortable and quiet. His only real criticism is the relatively small load area and slightly odd style at the rear.LOOK FOR • challenging looks• very roomy interior• modest performance• limited offroad capability• robust and reliableTHE BOTTOM LINE Reliable and roomy, it’s one of the better SUVs if you can get used to the looksRATING 70/100

As the legend goes, our hapless stick insect found physical relief in a gym well-stocked with elephant juice and returned to the beach to conquer Muscle Man and win back the girl.Mitsubishi is also back on the beach with more beef for its previously simpering Outlander.The mid-size soft-roader wagon – which competes with the highly successful Mazda Tribute, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 – gets the engine it should have been born with for zesty performance to put a smile on the driver's face.Now, at least in the performance stakes, it is competitive. Without the extra oomph it simply couldn't match its rivals.The power boost comes from a variable-valve engine that changes the duration of the opening and/or closing of the valves. Open the valves for a longer time and the cylinder gets more fuel and air, and therefore more power. A short valve duration saves fuel.This valve action depends on the revs and requires no driver intervention. But the result is a more flexible engine to better suit all driving conditions that is 20kW more powerful than its predecessor. There's also more torque.The Outlander comes only as an automatic so the extra oomph is more important to the wagon's performance.It is now faster off the mark, quicker at overtaking and seems to haul more cargo without running out of breath.In shoehorning a new heart, Mitsubishi also added four-wheel disc brakes – deleting the previous disc/drum set-up – and cleaned up the wagon's styling.There's a new tailgate (engineered in Australia), a grille now shared with European models, projector-style headlights and a bee-sting radio aerial.The changes to the base-model LS tested include standard ABS brakes with EBD, roof rails, white-faced dials in the instrument panel and the incorporation of the central locking buttons within the key – not in a second fob.Dual airbags, airconditioning, electric windows and mirrors, cruise control and a CD player are standard LS fare.The Outlander has a constant all-wheel-drive system that allows it to traverse firm sand or gravel tracks. It is not intended as a 4WD and should not be seen as such, unless you're peculiarly adept at digging out vehicles on the beach.It is a very simple and easy machine to punt around, though the power steering is very light and the foot-operated parking brake unnecessarily more complex than a traditional hand lever.More luxury is available in the $36,390 XLS model, and a bit of a sporty look in the recently released VR-X version that costs $37,990.

Toyota's RAV4 was slowly sagging in the market until it beefed things up with a bigger engine, producing 120kW of power.It now competes favourably against the Nissan X-Trail's 132kW, Honda CR-V's 118kW and Subaru Forester's 112kW, while Mitsubishi's Outlander was languishing on 100kW.But now Mitsubishi has introduced its innovative Mitsubishi Innovative Valve lift and timing Electronic Control (MIVEC) engine which has been incorporated in all its new products.The Outlander also has received a tart-up that almost makes it a substantially new vehicle and helps complete the model range makeover which incorporates a new Colt, the full-blooded Lancer Evolution VIII and Grandis people mover.MIVEC uses a single overhead cam with three distinct profiles for various speeds, giving the engine 20 per cent more power and a wider spread of useable and greater torque – up 15Nm to 205Nm.It is a perfect marriage with not-too-sensitive fly-by-wire throttle and an automatic four-speed transmission featuring Mitsubishi's INVECS II Smart Logic and sports mode sequential gearshift.On the launch, journalists criticised the gearbox for hunting between third and second. Mitsubishi said it was a software problem and promised to fix it.They obviously have because I could not fault it, except to say that it needs a fifth gear for the highway.And engine noise is much better than its class competitors. Either the MIVEC doesn't rev as robustly or there is better noise damping in the firewall. What I could fault was the body roll and incompatible rubber.The Forester also is shod with Geolanders but doesn't howl or scrub its tyres the way this does.Not that there appears to be huge handling problems associated; just a little body pitch and roll. But the tyre noise on sweepers is most disconcerting.It sounds like something ominous is about to happen, yet the Outlander's chassis feels sturdy and the drive is a balanced 50:50 torque split using a modification of the Evo.Perhaps the 17-inch rubber and sports suspension on the VR-X will work better.Apart from the tyres, it feels just right. And all the controls in the cockpit fall readily to hand as if you have been driving it for years.This all equates to a comfortable, if unexciting drive experience.Brakes are also now more biting, thanks to a rear disc instead of a drum and electronic brakeforce distribution which keeps it straight when the pedal starts kicking back under ABS activation.Outside, the XLS I tested is fitted with flared mudguards; together with the restyled Mitsubishi pug nose it looks a little like an armadillo.However, simplified badging and body paneling, especially at the rear, make it a not-unappealing vehicle.It also now features a roof-mounted spoiler and tasty roof racks.And all this for $1100 less than the previous XLS model.