Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE | 113

T

he base front-wheel-drive
2.0-litre petrol/fi ve-speed
manual Outlander ES fi ve-
seater is $29,290, while a
continuously variable automatic
(CVT) transmission and two
extra seats adds $2000.
The all-wheel-drive 2.4-litre
petrol CVT ES seven-seater is
$33,790. Each of these models
is also available with a Safety
Pack, comprising automatic
emergency braking, lane-
departure warning, radar cruise
and automatic high beam. It
adds $1500–$2500. It’s standard
on the $36,290 LS 2.4 and the
2.2-litre turbodiesel AWD six-
speed automatic seven-seater
LS, priced at $39,790.
Exceed seven-seaters cost
$42,290 (2.4/CVT) and $45,790
(2.2/six-speed auto) respectively.
The CVT transmission tries
as hard as it can to fl atter the
2.4-litre petrol engine but it’s a
struggle at times. In normal drive

mode the Outlander is sluggish

off the line and slow to reach

your chosen speed.

CVTs can be effi cient and

responsive — but not this one.

You get a lot of noise and too

little action compared with a

conventional automatic.

If you are fully loaded with kids

and gear, you’ll probably wish

you had bought the diesel, which

I haven’t driven. At the relatively

modest $3500 premium, I’d

suggest it’s money well spent.

If you’re happy enough with

fi ve seats, a fi ve-speed manual

and front-wheel drive, the base

model Outlander LS works well

enough around town.

It is very bare bones, though,

and there are more blanks on the

dash than actual switches and

controls, just to remind you that

this really is the poverty pack.

The Outlander PHEV plug-

in petrol/electric hybrid has a

lithium-ion battery that gives the

car an electric-only range of up to

55 kilometres, travelling at up to

60km/h. It uses an electric drive

motor at each end of the vehicle.

Its 2.0-litre petrol engine can

operate as a generator or as part

of the drivetrain, giving a range of

up to 880 kilometres.

It’s priced at $45,990 for ES,

$47,490 withthe safety pack, or

$53,990 for Exceed.

We managed about 30

kilometres in pure EV mode with

the air-con on before the battery

became depleted.

Switching to Series Hybrid

mode, which uses the petrol

engine to replenish the battery

pack, for a similar distance

again was enough to almost fully

recharge it.

So the PHEV is certainly

viable as a day-to-day drive. If

your commute or daily drive is

relatively short, or a series of

short trips, you can probably just

plug it in each night and forget

about petrol. However, the petrol

engine is there in case you need it.

The Outlander is resolutely

anti-sport but it’s light, so

although it’s pretty big by

class standards it doesn’t feel

cumbersome. The steering itself

is over-assisted and imprecise.

The seven-seater is roomy and

versatile with a sliding row-two

seat, easy access to row three

and seats that can safely and

comfortably accommodate kids.

There’s nothing seriously

wrong with the Outlander but

it sits well back in the very

competitive mid-size SUV fi eld.

Outlander PHEV is, for the

moment, in a class of its own.

In fi ve-seater wagons,

Subaru’s Forester, VW’s Tiguan,

Mazda’s CX-5 and the Kia

Sportage are the leaders. As far

as seven-seaters go you get a

more accomplished, polished

wagon for similar money in a Kia

Sorento or a Hyundai Santa Fe.

MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER FROM $28,290

compare with ...

Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento,

Nissan X-Trail, Subaru Forester

S

3

THINGS WE LIKE

Space-effi cient seven-seater

Safe and solid

Five-year warranty

A versatile kid carrier

Acceptable handling and

roadholding

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE

Sluggish performance, amplifi ed by

ineffi cient CVT transmission

Handling is OK but Forester,

Sportage and Santa Fe are much

better

Over-assisted, vague steering

Seven-seater models are way

overpriced compared with Hyundai

Santa Fe and Kia Sorento

SPEX (LS AWD)

Made in Japan

2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol/CVT/

all-wheel drive

124kW of power at 6000rpm and

220Nm of torque at 4200rpm

0–100km/h N/A

6.2L/100km highway; 9.7L/100km

city; regular unleaded; CO 2

emissions are 174g/km

Standard: Stability control, seven

airbags, 18-inch alloy wheels,

Bluetooth, reverse-parking sensors,

camera and an alarm. XLS adds

tinted glass, touchscreen audio,

navigation and dual-zone air

Warranty: Five years/100,000km

Redbook future values: 3yr: 48%;

5yr: 33%

Safety

ANCAP

Green Vehicle Guide

Performance

Handling

Quality and reliability

Comfort and refi nement

Value for money

Overall

STARS