Motoring Discussion > Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Manatee Replies: 14

 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
Summary

Overall I'm pleased so far. The 2.2 diesel engine is smooth, powerful and economical. The car is quiet, comfortable, spacious and economical for a largish car that will tow up to 2000Kg.

Only the built in touch screen navigation system really lets it down – with a clunky interface, outdated maps and no postcode compatibility – worse than my low expectations for built-in navigation, which I wouldn't have added as an extra had it not been bundled with the equipment level.


The details -

Mitsubishi calls the diesel engine in the Outlander a “2.2 DI-D”. Actually there are now two different engines, the 2179cc Ford/PSA with 154bhp/280Nm also found in the similar Citroen C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007, and the new 2268cc Mitsubishi 4N14 diesel with “MIVEC” variable inlet valve timing and lift. As well as being more powerful with 174bhp/380Nm, the MIVEC diesel is more economical and in my opinion quieter than the PSA engine.

Versions with the SST twin-clutch auto flappy-paddle gearbox still get the PSA engine. For 2011MY, the manual transmission cars get the new MIVEC one. That was a factor in choosing the six-speed manual that I have now owned for two weeks and about 1,000 miles. A friend runs a diesel C-Crosser, and his experience of real world economy with that engine is well below the official combined figure of 40.4mpg. The Outlander MIVEC diesel claims 43.6mpg combined, and so far that looks achievable, with a brim-to-brim figure of 41 on the first refill.

The MIVEC diesel of course has a DPF. This is 'regenerated' by injecting extra fuel, some of which can end up in the oil – sounds familiar? The dipstick has an 'X' some way above the full mark, and should the oil level reach it, the car has to have an oil change. Service interval is a very low 9,000 miles, compared with 12,000 for the PSA engine, presumably largely because of the potential for oil dilution.

Happily the engine has a timing chain, with no scheduled replacement requirement, unlike the PSA engine which needs a belt change at 75,000m.

There are 3 settings for the transmission – 2WD, 4WD Auto, in which typically 30% of torque goes to the rear wheels, and 4WD Lock which distributes a higher proportion of torque to the back. It's all electronically controlled and can be switched on the move using a rotary control on the centre console. In theory, in 4WD Auto or Lock, it should perform better than the on-demand systems found in rival models which need to see some front wheel slip before sending drive to the rear wheels.

Performance is brisk and feels very sure-footed, at least in the dry and in 2WD – I haven't seen much rain in the last 2 weeks, only just enough to test the operation of the automatic wipers. The engine is quiet, and while some reviews complain of road noise, it seems fairly subdued to me. Steering is positive and direct and the car changes direction very smartly, without undue body roll or drama. The handling presumably benefits from the Outlander being a little lower than most rivals, assisted by a weight-saving aluminium roof, meaty-looking anti-roll bars and a front strut brace.

I picked up the car with 6 miles on the clock, and immediately embarked on a 140 mile drive. The ride is certainly not “magic carpet”, but it is acceptable in the context of relatively good handling and, though I was surprised and disappointed by the ride initially, it improved dramatically when I reduced the tyre pressures from 37 to the recommended 32psi. The GX4 has 18” wheels with 225/55R18 tyres, not too silly, but I think I would have preferred higher profile tyres even if the out and out handling might have been slightly compromised.

In addition to the auto-wipers, the GX4 also has auto-lights, cruise control, climate control, leather seats, electric glass tilt and slide sunroof, xenon headlights, the now essential turning lights mounted just inboard of the headlights, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Boot space is very good at 590 litres up to the window line with 5 seats in use. The boot floor conceals a further two fold out seats, but frankly they will be a waste of space and weight for most people, including me – not just because I don't need 7 seats, but because they are only suitable for very small people or young children – even then, they look very thinly padded and uncomfortable. They also create the only rattle on the car and I will look into removing them.

The second row seats can be moved back and forth to maximise leg room (more than adequate in the rearward position) or luggage space. They also have adjustable rake.

The drivers seat has electric adjustment including height and tilt, but no memory. The front passenger seat has no electrics and only fore-and-aft and rake adjustments. The steering wheel has height adjustment but not reach. As it happens the reach is fine for me, but at the price the lack of adjustable reach is disappointing.

What should be the piece de resistance is the only real let down. That is the all singing and dancing multimedia navigation and audio system. On the plus side, it has the probably the best sound I have heard from an OEM system, at least when carefully tweaked with the sound controls, including turning down the boot mounted sub-woofer.

On the minus side, it has a 40GB HDD “music server”. That should be a good thing, but unfortunately the implementation of it is poor. Short of some sort of hack, the only way to load this with music is to feed it CDs, which it will then rip at 4x speed. To fill it (and I do have 40GB of MP3s) would mean sitting in the car for several days and nights. Album and track details are added from the Gracenote database stored on the HDD, which was of course going out of date from the minute the image was created. I dread to think how long it would take to add catalogue details manually. A much better approach which I am following is to buy a 32GB USB stick, add the MP3s to it with a few clicks, and plug that in to the USB socket. That works quite well, and can be browsed at folder / album / song level and displays all the artists, album and song titles -so what's the HDD for anyway?

The USB connection is also supposed to work with an iPod. It did, for a while, but it now refuses to 'see' the iPod, and tries and fails to read it as an ordinary USB drive. Apparently this is not unusual either.

The coup de grace from this frustrating device is the navigation - the last map update was in 2009, and it will not accept UK postcodes either – just an address. The next update is due in 2012. So I find myself carrying a £100 Garmin as a back up.

It should play DVDs when stationary, but I haven't much use for that function and haven't tried it yet.

The top trim Outlander at a list price of over £29,000 including metallic paint is more expensive than the Citroen and the Peugeot equivalents, though you'd need to add extras to them to match the equipment level of the Outlander GX4. In all probability you could probably still get a better net price on the C-Crosser given the deals available on Citroens, but you would then be limited to the PSA engine.

Overall the Outlander meets my expectations, with the exception of the multimedia/navigation gadget – an embarrassment for Mitsubishi in my opinion, and the fact that none of the professional reviews I have read even hints at it shows the limitations of relying on them. I still hope to crack the iPod issue and get the maps updated (sometime).
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Videodoctor
Nice review.Its good that people take time to review their cars.It sounds like a lot of money at £29,000.I feel that cars like this should be closer to the £20-£25,000 mark.Maybe after a discount this price is more acceptable.
Cheers
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
>> Nice review.Its good that people take time to review their cars

Thanks. The Outlander looks expensive to me too, and cars are not an investment. I expect it to last a good while.

BP, thanks for the comments on servicing. I have got a 27,000 mile/3 year service package in the deal so I am tied to the network anyway for the first three services.

BTW there is a typing error - both engines have the same maximum torque figure of 380Nm. Maybe somebody with a wand will change it for me ;-)
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Bill Payer
>> Service interval is a very low 9,000
>> miles, compared with 12,000 for the PSA engine, presumably largely because of the potential for
>> oil dilution.
>
Mitsubishi's always have very short service intervals, and servicing is expensive, although very comprehensive. Brake fluid change, for example, is included in the service price when needed.

Make sure they do the work called for. Mitsubishi is the only make where we've changed dealers - I normally stick through thick & thin with the supplying dealer. But even the second dealer "forgets" to do some of the work that the service sheet calls for.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Lygonos
Shogun is 12 or 12.5k mile intervals, but it has about 9 litres of oil in the sump to enable the longer intervals.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Zero
The lancer has a 3.5 litre sump and 9k service intervals. In the manual it says use regular oil, so I use semi synth and 12k service intervals.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - BobbyG
Good review Manatee.

Can I ask why you opted for that car?

Thinking off the top of my head that money would get used Range Rover, Discovery, Freelander, X5.

It would get good spec new SUV type cars like Kuga, Santa Fe etc

Not in any way saying you shouldn't have got that, to the contrary I quite like the Outlander, 4007, C Crosser.

Just always like to see the thought process behind a car buying decsion.

 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
I'm wondering myself Bobby! Buying a new car is never logical is it?

As you know I think the CRV 2 is a really good car. Mine had done 95,000 miles and logically I should probably have kept it, but I had a bit of an itch. Apart from an alternator last August, nothing had gone wrong with it, but a lot of man maths, the virtual certainty of rampant inflation, the proximity of 100,000+miles and imagined expensive failures like clutches, turbos, injectors, fuel pumps etc added up to just enough impetus.

The trouble was finding anything I liked as much as the CRV. I was offered a very good deal on a new CRV diesel auto EX with advanced safety pack, but the real world economy on them is not that great - sub 30 locally I'm told, and mid 30s on longer extra urban runs. I was getting 40+ from the CRV. It made no sense to go backwards in fuel economy with diesel going up the way it is. (I couldn't get the same deal on a manual)

Full size 4x4s like Rangies, Discos, X5s are all heavy on fuel and bigger than I want. I like the Freelander 2, but they get expensive when you spec them up. I nearly bought a Superb 4x4 estate last year but big as it is it felt quite cramped in front compared with the CRV. I didn't like the Tiguan, Kuga, which feel a bit small, and the Korean options just don't appeal - illogical, but there it is. BTW - I've just had a look at the Kuga - you need to add a few extras to get to the Outlander GX4 spec, which takes the list price past £30k - and that's without full leather which isn't available. The new X3 appealed, but again much too expensive specced up.

On a whim I called in to a Mitsubishi dealer and saw the Outlander. I drove a GX3 manual and was impressed. Big space for 4/5 people, plus good cargo space, and a very good drive. I preferred the Mitsubishi engine so the Peugeot/Citroen were not an option. I was offered a poor deal, but got a better one from another dealer.

I have probably spent more than I should have but over 5-8 years (I expect to put fewer miles on this than the CRV) it won't matter too much and I'd rather have what I'm happy with.

What don't I like? 9,000 mile servicing, underslung space saver spare (but I prefer the drop down / lift up tailgate to the CRV's side hinged), and that mediocre sat nav - if I'd known about that it might have put me off - but then I might have missed out on a generally excellent car.

 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Lygonos
I presume my Shogun has the same Mitsu Multimedia thingy (12 speaker, 40Gb HDD, etc.)

It does have a postcode input for Satnav but I agree it's not as good as a £100 tomtom for ease of use. It likes to predict the address after you put in 4 or 5 letters and can be a pain to get the street/postcode you want.

The reversing camera is a very nice piece of kit - never had any issues parking the leviathan.

Sounds awesome though, especially with the volume cranked up to mask the tractor-like 4-pot in the Shoggy!
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
It's a Rockford Fosgate / "Mitsubishi Multi Communications System" and definitely doesn't do postcodes. My own postal address at house number level "does not exist on database" either - presumably because it has only been here since 1951. I have found other addresses by putting in the house number and street though.

Something that would be useful is to be able to bung in a town and just drive to the centre - I haven't found a way to do that either. It won't allow "set" until it has street details. There's no hiding the fact it's pretty poor. Pre-planned journeys aren't too bad for me because I tend to plan them on Google maps and set up address book entries in advance, but spontaneity is not catered for!

Journeys to unfamiliar places I would always refer to a map for anyway - all sat navs can come up with daft routes - but sat nav is unbeatable for finding addresses - except this one isn't.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - -
Oh the joy of car maker's sat navs, the Hilux had one, once programmed a truly excellent machine, huge screen and faultless and easy to read.

However getting to the take me there stage was frustrating in the extreme, the handbook for the thing, same size as the handbook for the rest of the car was about as much use as a choc teapot, too complicated by far.

How have they managed to creat such diabolically hard to use fitted sat navs when as said a hundred nicker accessory shop jobbie is simplicity itself.

I'm glad they've put a bigger engine in, i haven't had the pleasure of trying one, the 2 litre i found very easy to stall and felt underpowered beside the PSA cars.

On the subject of the larger 4x4's, they virtually all come with a £450 VED penalty, that's part of the reason there's so many pick ups about.
A spin off of which is that my Hilux lost only a third of it's purchase price in 3.5 years when i sold it to a dealer for cash.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
>> On the subject of the larger 4x4's, they virtually all come with a £450 VED
>> penalty, that's part of the reason there's so many pick ups about.

The manual Outlander is band H, £190. The manual 4007/C-Crosser is band J, £245.

>> A spin off of which is that my Hilux lost only a third of it's
>> purchase price in 3.5 years when i sold it to a dealer for cash.

That's very impressive GB. Especially when you consider the fuel penalty on a pick up , though I suppose if your starting point is a full size 4x4 that's not as much!

What sort of mpg would the Hilux do at 70 on a motorway?
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - -
''What sort of mpg would the Hilux do at 70 on a motorway?''

Mine was the 3 litre with torque converter auto so you'd be looking at 30 normal or 32 max, some with manual's especially 2.5's claim to get around 35, and you always get those who think their 2 ton brick does 40+ mpg driven hard.

I upgraded my tyre choice to the correct size (far too boring to go into here) so my speedo and odo was more accurate (2%) than most which seem to have 10% error which they, indeed most people, don't factor in when working out mpg.

It was very high geared, so motorway cruising was one of it's strong points, the 3 litre will happily cruise at a ton all day if you want.

New Invincible from 2010 now has uprated 5 speed auto box as well as many other improvements, including aforementioned tyres, so could well be better economy....if i needed a 4x4 again, i wouldn't hesitate.
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Bill Payer
>> I'm wondering myself Bobby! Buying a new car is never logical is it?

You seem to have looked at the same sort of cars I'm thinking of, but I, too, am unnerved by the possibility of getting a car which has way worse MPG than claimed. My current Merc C270CDi auto will reliably do 50MPG on a run and getting something which struggled to do 35 would kill me. I wouldn't want a manual now.

Wifey is on her 2nd Jazz and I thought the diesel auto CRV would be good but the reviews aren't brilliant and I've heard similar to you about MPG. We had diesel Accords at work and they varied in MPG dramatically.

I'm tempted by X3 although I've never had a BMW before, but the leadtime is at least 6mths and I can't get my head around the idea of ordering a car 6mths+ in advance.

Friend of mine stumbled across a dealer offering hefty discounts on the pre-facelift Freelander and picked up a 2.2 diesel auto for £23K. I was astonished that the normal price for the model he got is £35K! :yikes:

Last edited by: Bill Payer on Sat 30 Apr 11 at 14:33
 Mitsubishi Outlander II - Mitsubishi Outlander GX4 review - Manatee
>> Friend of mine stumbled across a dealer offering hefty discounts on the pre-facelift Freelander and
>> picked up a 2.2 diesel auto for £23K. I was astonished that the normal price
>> for the model he got is £35K! :yikes:

Motorpoint have the old model HSE diesel auto at £28k, they are (were) £35k list. £23k would be better though - at that price I'd have had one and subsidised the fuel consumption with the difference!

Maybe Motorpoint isn't so cheap these days.
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