It is not easy to pigeonhole the Mitsubishi Outlander. With less luggage space than many estate cars and less off-road ability than more hardcore 4×4s, it could easily be accused of being short on ability. In fact, its very capable.
Introduced to the UK at the very end of 2003, the Outlander hoped to appeal to those buyers wanting a comfortable, well specced 4×4 that drove and handled like a saloon car but at the price of a mainstream MPV. This bullish approach paid off and the Outlander sees off most of its rivals in that respect, the nearest being the Nissan Murano and the Lexus RX 300.
And while a two-year-old version of the Lexus or Nissan will set you back around £20,000, a Mitsubishi Outlander of similar age will lighten your wallet by less than half that amount, making it an almost unbelievable bargain.
Critics will rightly point out that both the Murano and RX are more upmarket and cost a heap more money when new, but when you get down to specifications all are quite similar. The three vehicles came with automatic transmission as standard and none originally offered the option of diesel power, although the latest Outlander range, introduced this year, is all diesel.
The lack of a diesel engine in the original Outlanders now to be found on the secondhand market dents fuel economy and in mixed motoring the car will rarely better 28mpg, but with a chunk of cash left in your pocket that might not be such an important issue.
With 158bhp on tap from the 2.4 litre engine the Outlander will sprint from standstill to 60mph in just over 11sec, and despite the absence of a fifth ratio the gearbox is long-legged enough to provide a theoretical top speed of nearly 120mph. Because it has the same underpinnings as the high performance Mitsubishi Evo VIII the Outlander also feels reassuringly stiff and its relatively modest height helps its handling. There is less body roll than in a Land Rover Freelander or Nissan X-Trail. The standard 16in alloys may not fill the arches in the same way that some competitors do but on the upside there is less road noise and the tyres are cheaper.
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