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The soft roader has landed!
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Can the new SUV from Mitsubishi take the Honda CR-V out? ASHISH MASIH tells you about the new Outlander
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The Outlander's motor has been developed by Mercedes and Hyundai and also powers the new Sonata
NOTHING OUTLANDISH Brazen good looks penned into every breathing line, the Outlander is the kind of machine you'd wake up earlier for - just so you can stand in your balcony with a hot coffee and feast your eyes on it...
With the CR-V, Honda made the soft-roader concept a success in India - a car that has a SUV-like stance, but yet is easy to manoeuvre in city traffic. Now, Mitsubishi wants to emulate some of that success. The Outlander is not just another car from Mitsubishi - this is a car that has the company's considerable off-road and rally car know-how going into it. Incidentally, the Outlander will also be the basis of Peugeot's and Citroen's first SUVs in Europe.
Love at first sight
The first impressions of Mitsubishi's soft-roader are good. Styling bears more than a passing resemblance to the Lexus RX300. The front windscreen is raked to generate maximum internal volume. Overall, the car looks handsome and there is a certain sophisticated elegance about the design. Thirty mm longer than the CR-V, it is also wider, but Mitsubishi has attempted to camouflage this bulk by using a thick layer of black paint on the lower half of the car.
Inside, the cabin is spacious and well finished, with high-quality switchgear and a good driving position. The Outlander's dash is clean and uncluttered, with simple rotary controls and a minimalist feel. The design of the instruments panel is in the league of legendary marques like Alfa Romeo or Mercedes and is much better than what you'd expect in a Japanese car. The centre console's design echoes that of the Toyota LandCruiser - not a bad thing, since the Mitsubishi is expected to retail at half the price.
Driving position is good and there is height adjustment for both the seat and steering wheel, while the lofty stance and tall shape provide fine visibility. Passengers in both the front and rear get plenty of headroom, and there's enough legroom for four six-footers. However, a third rear passenger sitting in the middle will feel cramped because of the raised central tunnel housing the transmission. Another outstanding feature on the car is its aluminium roof. The roof helps to reduce the car's centre of gravity, thereby reducing body roll and overall weight.
One-upmanship
One significant area where the car is a step up on the CR-V is in its four-wheel drive system. Called `All Wheel Control', it drives as a front wheel system for the most part, but unlike the CR-V it doesn't lose energy and fuel efficiency. It also keeps the four-wheel drive system partially engaged as a preparation towards quicker correction, in case it encounters any wheel-slip. The Outlander doesn't have the same off-roading skills of, say, a Pajero, because of its limited road clearance, but in slippery conditions it should be more than capable.
Another important and interesting feature on the car is a vehicle stability control package. It is similar in concept to Mercedes' ESP, where individual wheel braking is used to prevent the car from skidding. ASC, as Mitsubishi calls it, also acts as a traction control device that prevents wheel spin. This feature could also be a major boon in case of a sudden tyre blow-out. Currently, the only other SUVs on sale with this feature retail for over Rs 45 lakh.
The Outlander features a 2400cc engine generating 170 bhp and 23 kgm of torque.
These numbers will meet tarmac through a six speed manual or an automatic, continuously variable transmission system (CVT). Incidentally, the Outlander's motor has been developed by Mercedes and Hyundai and also powers the new Sonata. A VW-sourced 2000cc diesel is also on offer in Europe, but it is highly unlikely that it will make an appearance in India - a pity, considering that the CR-V's only weakness is the missing link with diesel.
One really can say that Mitsubishi's renaissance continues apace - the new Outlander looks set to make a far more convincing case against its rivals than any of their current cars, including the new Cedia.
If Mitsubishi can maintain this kind of proactivity here in India, the future could take on a brighter tinge and could give rivals like Honda something to really worry about.
TECHNICAL DATA
MITSUBISHI
OUTLANDER
How much?
Rs 15 lakh (estimated)
How big?
Length: 4,640 mm
Width:1,800 mm
Height:1,680 mm
Wheelbase:2,670 mm
Fuel tank capacity:60 litres
Engine
Layout: 4-cylinders inline,
2359cc, petrol
Max power: 170 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Max torque: 23.0 kgm @ 4100
rpm
Tyres
225/55 R18 or 215/70 R16
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