Mitsubishi's compact ute

Feb 1 2010 Alistair Coull & Val Jessop

MITSUBISHI' S mid-sized SUV has to be one of the most underrated models in its class.

The compact Outlander manages to offer 4x4 mode, a generous-sized cabin and, in this particular model, a decent 2.0-litre turbodiesel with some impressive acceleration.

It doesn't take any top awards in the glamour stakes, yet it is quite handsome with lots of road presence.

It certainly looks the part of a sports ute - with lots of luxury touches - and the good thing is it has selectable 4x4 mode, so that fuel consumption is a huge improvement over full-time all-wheel-drive rivals.

The on-demand 4x4 mode, plus its ability to expand from a five-seater into a seven-seater (the extra seats are available on the top two Outlanders) gives the Japanese SUV a significant edge over competitors.

Admittedly, the 'third row', two-seater bench, which flips up from under the boot floor, is very limited but the extra seats do the job as emergency extra seating, at least on short trips.

The Fold2Hide bench seats are forward-facing and will be welcome by most families.

All this - and in a car which has a smaller footprint than most family cars, including the Ford Mondeo, VW Passat and BMW 5 Series.

The VW 138bhp power unit has plenty of torque and muscle. At low speeds it did seem a little lethargic, but once you cranked it up, the 138bhp unit responded well and is capable of a 0-62mph sprint in 10.8 seconds.

The six-speed manual transmission was smooth and straightforward and the steering was surprisingly precise, providing good feedback.

Overall, the Outlander is an extremely easy car to live with. It has simple, selectable 4x4 at the turn of a dial, an electric button in the boot which flips the middle seats forward to provide a generous flat load area and there's plenty of reassuring grip.

The Japanese 'sometimes 4x4' boasts an average fuel consumption of 40.9mpg and it is one of the greenest vehicles on the road per passenger CO2 figure of 26g/km (in 7-seater use).

Liveried in 'cool silver' and nicely upholstered and fitted out, with wide, comfortable seats, the Outlander's cabin - with its huge glass outlook - is a very pleasant place to be.

There is a generous amount of luxury items and safety features in the entry models, including Active Stability and Traction Control and electric windows and mirrors.

Move up the range to the 2.0-litre DI-D SE model, as on test, and it gains 18-inch alloys, Bluetooth, cruise control, privacy glass and curtain airbags.

- Val Jessop

IF you are looking for a guilt-free SUV that has all the looks, drama and interest of an off-roader, but without the thirst and weight then I might just have the answer.

The Mitsubishi Outlander has been geared more for on, than off-road, use and it's based on the Lancer platform - conceived while Mitsubishi was part-owned by DaimlerChrysler.

The Outlander is compact. It is a similar size to a D-segment hatchback with a footprint slightly smaller than a Ford Mondeo's. It's only 1.7m tall and weighs well under two tonnes. All good on the low-guilt front so far, then.

The main difference between the Outlander and rivals like the Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser which share its architecture is that the Mitsubishi comes with a 2.0-litre diesel engine sourced from VW.

This engine used to be one of the benchmark turbodiesels, but that was a few years ago. There's little wrong with the power and torque the 138bhp unit delivers - the 10.8 seconds 0-62mph time is entirely respectable - but there's a lot wrong with the volume at which it operates. At any revs this is a rattling, noisy engine.

It's crude but there's no arguing with an average 40mpg .

The Outlander has MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. Ground clearance is 178mm so it can venture on to the rough stuff but it's at its best on asphalt. The ride is generally composed: soft enough to maintain comfort, but sufficiently well damped to retain body control on more demanding roads. At low-speed the ride could be better.

The Outlander rolls in corners, but progressively, while the steering is nicely weighted and not without feel. At its limit the Outlander starts to understeer before ESP intervenes to rein it in.

Mitsubishi admits the extent of the Outlander's off-road abilities is limited to light tracks and towing things in poor conditions.

Typically for the class, there are no low-ratio gears, but the car can be locked in 50:50 four-wheel drive via a selector on the dashboard.

Other modes are 4WD - in which power is apportioned to the rear when the front wheels lose grip - and 2WD, an exclusively front-wheel-drive mode, which helps the Outlander return its creditable economy.

Inside, fit and finish is reasonable with a clean, modern appearance. On closer inspection, the silver-finished elements are too obviously plastic.

Nevertheless, it's an easy-to-use cabin; there are three simple heater dials and the stereo is an easily comprehensible unit

The front seats are big and wide and have enough lateral support. In fact, we'd have no complaints about the driving position, if it weren't for the steering wheel's lack of reach adjustment - you can only change the rake.

- Alistair Coull

FAST FACTS

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0 DI-D SE

Price: £19,999

Mechanical: 138bhp, 1,968cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 116mph

0-62mph: 10.8 seconds

Combined mpg: 40.9

Insurance group: 12

CO2 emissions: 183g/km

BIK rating: 23%

Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles