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3.1 3.0
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
3.2THE platform underneath this 2017 Outlander is the same as the model before it, but Mitsubishi’s engineers have made incremental tweaks to the suspension in an attempt to improve ride refinement and add stability.
Macpherson struts take care of suspending the Outlander’s front end, while at the rear, there’s a multi-link axle. However, a new front suspension cross member has been added for reinforcement, while all the dampers have been retuned for extra comfort. The rear axle features revised bushes, and elsewhere Mitsubishi claims it’s targeted 40 areas to reduce noise and vibration.
Alongside these tweaks, the Outlander benefits from more sound insulation in the tailgate, engine bay, around the windscreen pillars and in the floor. All this should combine with the acoustic glass for the windscreen, different engine and gearbox mounts, and cleaner air flow around the wing mirrors to deliver a more refined car.
There’s no doubt the Outlander offers the level of equipment you’d expect from a £34,000 SUV. Satnav, Bluetooth, DAB and LED headlights are all fitted as standard to our 4-grade car, as are cruise control, heated seats and steering wheel, parking sensors and a 360-degree camera. Material quality isn’t the greatest, though, with a mixture of textures and finishes. The piano black plastic and some of the soft-touch materials applied to the facia look and feel like afterthoughts, especially when compared with the more premium interior of the Kia.
PRACTICALITY score
THERE are only 128 litres of luggage space with all the seats in place, but in five-seat form this increases to 591 litres – although that figure is still 14 litres down on the Kia, which has the largest boot here. The Mitsubishi is some way up on the Hyundai’s 516-litre capacity.
You don’t have to lift bags up too high to get them into the boot, and a standard-fit power tailgate helps. An around-view camera and parking sensors make manoeuvring the Outlander’s vast bulk easier in car parks. Space in the middle row just trails its rivals here, but passengers in the very back get as much room as in the Santa Fe, while access is slightly better.
Storage matches up to rivals, with two cupholders and a tray in front of the gearlever, door bins and a lidded cubby between the front seats. Stowage areas aren’t as generous in the rear, though.