The all new Mitsubishi Outlander continues that theme. In each generation of model variant, you look for and expect the car to feel like better version of the last. I felt that in my last article on the Hyundai i30. I felt it recently in the new Opel Astra. The thing about the Outlander is that it feels newer, like it has lots of technology and stuff for the salespeople to point at, but to the detriment of the car.
The CVT gearbox, which literally means Constant Variable Transmission (don't think about the name for too long), is just as shit as it's even been in any car, ever. Much like the transmission in the old Honda HRV my mother owned, it feels like a metal box filled with rubber bands that are controlled by the processor of an early Motorola Razr flip-phone. It's clunky, unintuitive, and absolutely fucking pointless when we have a century of R&D that makes conventional automatic transmissions infinitely superior.
The interior is a bizarre mix of excellent quality and very poor quality. The woodgrain in the Aspire model tested is actually quite good, but the centre dash uses an inconsistent piano black trim instead, surrounded by cheap plastic. The steering wheel is too thin and the leather too cheap, but the switches are great. The indicator stalk is not. I like the Rockford Fosgate stereo, but the super-bright screen for the grainy reverse camera almost blew my head off when I was in a dark car park at night.
Out on the road, the Outlander continued the theme of excelling in some areas and being really strangely bad in areas where it should be good. I like stiff suspension in my cars as it provides better feedback, and feedback means more information to the driver. The Outlander's front-end is stiffer than a teenage boy in a tittie bar, yet somehow provides absolutely no feedback through the incredibly odd steering. It felt like the steering box was made of cardboard. I've never felt anything like it and I absolutely hated it. The headlights are perfect. What truly surprised me, though, was how well this thing corners. The Electronic Stability Control is subtle and ensures the car is where-ever you want the front-end to point. The brakes and Electronic Brake Distribution work effectively. The engine is asthmatic and should be used in portable generators only. The ECO and 4WD buttons are laughable.
With Mitsubishi dropping their 10-year drivetrain warranty on their new cars, there's less incentive to buy one of their cars. Once you drive the all new Outlander, the incentive is almost nil. Bizarre is the word that keeps jumping in my head when I think of the latest Mitsubishi Outlander. It's like they've started with the old model, pop-riveted a bunch of new technological gadgets that they bought from eBay onto the car, and failed to drive it to see if any of it actually made the car better. If you're looking for a soft-roader, either get an ix35, or wait for the new Rav4 to arrive.
