The Outlander is a compact crossover that most people don’t think about when trade-in time comes around. It’s sales prove this

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point. Of the 13 models available amongst mainstream volume brands it’s dead last in both Canada and the U.S., with 2015 calendar year sales totaling 6,108 and 19,055 units respectively. It made up a sizable chunk of Mitsubishi’s 21,384- and 95,342-unit Canadian and U.S. overall brand-wide auto sales last year, however, so while the Outlander’s numbers might be small compared to direct competitors within the compact SUV segment it’s still big business for the Japanese automaker.

Attracting buyers has been an uphill struggle since Mitsubishi arrived on the Canadian market in 2004, and it hasn’t been much easier on the south side of the 49th where it’s been purveying its wares much longer, with U.S. sales of 345,111 units in 2002 sinking to a low of 53,986 in 2007 and then slowly rising, falling and rising

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again to the aforementioned sum arrived at when December 2015 closed. The story is different in Canada where Mitsubishi has doubled sales over its 11-year tenure with best-ever results in 2014. It came pretty close to matching that number in 2015, although if the brand experiences 12 months like January 2016 it’ll nosedive back to the startup numbers experienced a decade ago in Canada, and levels of only a couple of years ago in the U.S., although January is traditionally a bad month for the Japanese automaker so let’s keep our collective fingers crossed for stronger months ahead.

I’ve long had a soft spot for Mitsubishi. When they arrived in Canada they did something few other automakers do, count the actual readership of journalists in order to figure out how to classify them, and

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after doing so they judged me an A-lister and therefore sent me on every press junket they had coming (fortunately a number of other brands took notice and I quickly found myself trotting around the world testing new models every week after only three years in the business). Mitsubishi’s leg up gave me opportunity to test a number of their cars on a variety of superb Canadian and U.S. roads and racetracks, causing me to first fall in love with the Lancer Evo VIII MR in Vancouver and then the Evo IX at Portland’s PIR, after which I fell head over heals with the Evo X GSR through Malibu Canyon highway and surrounding roads, as well as the Evo X MR through the twists, turns and max vertical of Laguna Seca, plus later on the Mont Tremblant racecourse in Quebec, not to mention many times on regular roads here at home. That car, along with the less capable

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yet still impressive and similar looking Lancer was one of the reasons Mitsubishi experienced stronger North American sales over the past decade, but the Outlander that I first tested on the serpentine roads of California’s South Coast and newer RVR that pulled me across the country to Newfoundland and inadvertently gave opportunity for me to fall in love with that glorious bit of scenery and kind, hospitable citizenry are the key reasons why it’s still above water and breathing.

As you can see I’ve done a lot of falling in love over the years, and as anyone who’s experienced the mind numbing process knows, it can’t be planned and is never predictable (at least to the one doing the falling). So it was with the most recent Outlander. The first one I drove was actually in Vancouver (Southern Cal soon after), and while very competent I just couldn’t accept its styling. It had a nose

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only Eddie Shack’s mother could love, but like the big winger it was an “Entertainer” on curvy roadways and certainly lived up to family hauling duties so, when given reconstructive surgery for the 2007 model year, I was borderline ecstatic. Looking back, the first iteration of the second-gen model might have been the best looking Outlander of all, but really it’s a toss-up with the 2010 version that was really only a mid-cycle upgrade, albeit a visually dramatic one, pulling frontal design cues from the Lancer and Evo X just mentioned. Then, for 2013, while the interior quality improved, the Outlander’s styling went backward, at least in my opinion, although the model’s lowest-ever North American sales in 2012, when it was introduced, seemed to justify my point of view. Still, sales grew stronger in 2013 and 2014, as did the entire compact SUV industry, but this newest refresh introduced last year has resulted in the best North American sales since 2007.

Yes,

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Mitsubishi has given the Outlander a big boost in styling for 2016, with a much more appealing front fascia featuring a new chrome grille, unique chromed side elements, a brushed aluminum undertray, stylish multi-angled combination headlamps with integrated LEDs and circular fog lamps, all combining for a much richer looking appearance. Additional details on my tester included satin-silver roof rails, the same silver look for the sculpted lower body mouldings, and sharp looking machine-finished alloys with black painted pockets, whereas the back end design included a new chromed trim garnish across the liftgate, a new bumper cap finished off with rear fogs and reflectors, plus a metallic silver undertray, while restyled tail lamps give it a more premium presence. Overall this mid-cycle update improves on the outgoing version of this third-gen model greatly, adding much needed style if not completely eradicating its proportional awkwardness. Any questionable design elements disappear completely once inside, however.

The

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Outlander’s interior really surprises in its quality and refinement. The instrument panel design isn’t all that imaginative, but Mitsubishi has gone way above and beyond with a premium-grade soft touch synthetic covering the entire dash top, all the way around the left side of the primary gauge package and around the centre stack. Ditto for the front door uppers, and the extremely nice leather-like French-stitched door inserts and armrests. The centre armrest is covered in a hard rubberized material, but my loaner’s seats were wonderful, not only to look at, with sharply cut contrast-stitched leather bolsters and perforated inserts, but they were fabulously comfortable as well. The two-way seat heaters get toasty warm in their highest position too, making this an enjoyable car to drive on a cold winter’s day.

Additional

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niceties include fabric wrapped A-pillars, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, high gloss black plastic surfacing on the steering wheel spokes, centre stack surfacing, and shifter surround, while cool grey bamboo-like inlays highlight the instrument panel ahead of the front passenger and the door panel trim. What’s more, a great looking blue, red and white on black primary gauge package incorporates a high-resolution colour multi-information display at centre, while the digital gauges for temperature and fuel gauges were done out in a stylish aqua green-blue. The Outlander isn’t trying to attract premium buyers, but they’ve managed to give the mainstream volume crossover crowd an upper crust experience that makes this model especially appealing.

The

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switchgear is also very good, with tightly fitted, well-damped buttons throughout, although the rotating knobs on the infotainment system are quite tiny and therefore a bit difficult for even my smallish hands to twist. Fortunately the volume control on the left steering wheel spoke worked perfectly so I found myself using the redundant controls more often than I usually do. And that stereo sounded great with excellent bass response, ideal for dance music if that’s your thing. I hate to admit it, but Justin Bieber’s “What do you mean?” actually sounded pretty decent on this system.

To be clear, the model I drove was in base trim, but it wasn’t base. Mitsubishi offers three Outlander trim levels in Canada, starting with the as-tested ES that comes in front- or all-wheel drive, although the latter gets a fancy AWC acronym for

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All-Wheel Control that, while differentiating its advanced characteristics from mere mortal AWD systems might be doing more to confuse the crossover buying populace than adding value. The ES is the only four-cylinder powered model, and to Mitsubishi’s credit you can dress it up almost as fully as its higher end V6-powered SE AWC and GT-S AWC variants.

For instance, my tester came with leather upholstery and the high-contrast speedometer and tachometer already noted, while the $4,000 Premium package responsible for these ultra-luxe extras also powers the driver’s seat and adds proximity-sensing access and pushbutton ignition, power-folding side mirrors with integrated turn signals, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with a Homelink universal garage door opener, dual-zone auto climate control, an infotainment system

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with satellite radio and a rearview camera, a powered glass sunroof, fog lamps, plus the upgraded 18-inch alloys and silver-painted roof rails already mentioned. It’s like you get all the luxury without paying the V6’s fuel economy price, or the higher initial price of entry.

The leather-wrapped steering wheel, shift knob, piano black detailing, grey woodgrain trim and all the soft-touch surfacing mentioned earlier come standard, incidentally, as does a long list of features that surprisingly rivals luxury brands, the menu including heatable powered body-colour side mirrors, variable intermittent aero-type wipers with a de-icer, a tilt and telescoping multifunction steering wheel, a multi-information display, filtered single-zone auto HVAC, Bluetooth hands-free with streaming audio, USB input, voice activation, six-speaker

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140-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio, and heatable front seats, while the standard list goes on to include 16-inch alloys, auto-off halogen headlamps, LED daytime running lamps, LED taillights, a tailgate spoiler, an engine immobilizer and alarm system, hill start assist, tire pressure monitoring, ABS-enhanced four-wheel disc brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, a brake override system, stability and traction control, height-adjustable front seatbelts that also include pretensioners with force limiters, plus all the usual airbags including one for the driver’s knees.

An “ECO” mode indicator with drive assist is also standard, helping you get the most from a tank of fuel, the base 2.4-litre engine not only efficient with a five-cycle EnerGuide rating of 9.2 L/100km city, 7.5 highway and 8.4 combined in base FWD trim or 9.7 city, 8.1 highway and 9.0 combined with AWD, but also quite

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spirited at takeoff thanks to 166 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque and Mitsubishi’s impressive CVT-8 automatic, a continuously variable transmission with eight forward pseudo gears.

Honestly I’m not normally a fan of CVTs, but this one feels much better than average despite not having a manual mode, or maybe because its stepped gears are only mildly noticeable and therefore it doesn’t attempt to be sportier than it needs to. It applies the power progressively and smoothly while achieving 26 percent greater efficiency than last year’s CVT, resulting in a one-second improvement from standstill to 100km/h, from 11.5 seconds last year to 10.5 now, leaving the Outlander’s capable suspension for sporting duties.

Suspensions

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are a Mitsubishi strong point. I referred to the Evo earlier in this review for a reason, because it’s one of the best handling cars I’ve ever driven no matter the price (and I’ve driven some pretty amazing hardware). The Evo is now legend, although it’s currently on its way out of production with a Final Edition available, a thought that leaves a lump in the throat of any performance car aficionado including yours truly, and while the Outlander is nowhere near as capable on road or track, you can feel the engineering DNA at every turn. It starts with a simple MacPherson strut system up front and a sophisticated multi-link setup in back, plus stabilizer bars at both ends, a fully independent suspension design that’s more complex and much costlier to build albeit worth it, plus it’s the norm in this segment. Somehow Mitsubishi makes all the components work better than average, however, especially noticeable in the corners where it’s able to manage bumpy corners without

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unsettling its rear end one iota, keeping tires planted on the road where they’re able to fully grip the tarmac and therefore deliver the Outlander’s noted handling advantage while still providing excellent ride comfort.

When AWC is included road holding improves further. AWC was first offered in the 2001 Lancer Evolution VII, although for the Outlander its capability is not quite as all encompassing. Basically it combines Mitsu’s electronically controlled four-wheel drive system with active skid and traction control, allowing a torque vectoring effect that can really be felt in dry or slippery conditions. There’s a large circular button on the lower console that simply reads “4WD” yet doesn’t actually switch on the automatic system as its name might imply, but rather swaps between 4WD Eco and 4WD Lock positions, the latter useful when trudging through snow.

Along

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with its superior road manners it’s a fabulous people mover and above average load hauler. You won’t get complaints from front or rear passengers when it comes to space and comfort, and you certainly won’t feel shortchanged when it comes time to load it up with gear. The standard 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks aren’t the most convenient to stow away, being that you need to first flip the lower cushions upward and forward before dropping the seatbacks down, but the result is well worth the extra effort. The cargo compartment is accommodating to say the least, and the load floor is completely flat which is certainly not the case with most competitors, resulting in 1,792 litres (63.3 cubic feet) of maximum load space. With all seats in place the Outlander is already quite commodious at 968 litres (34.2 cubic feet), although the metal casing for the retractable cargo cover is a bit lighter duty than others, making me wonder how well it will hold up over time.

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On the positive, another large, deep, sectioned cargo compartment is hidden under the rear floor, adding capacity and protecting valuables.

So how much did I like the latest 2016 Outlander? Due to the sheer number of reviews I’m required to write each week I need to test multiple vehicles at a time, and therefore I didn’t expect to be spending much time in the Outlander. After all, it was up against a Lexus NX 200t F Sport, BMW 340i xDrive and Cadillac Escalade Platinum, so what chance did it have? Truth told I spent at least as much time with the Outlander as these others, which says a lot about this impressive compact crossover.

Added

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to its overall goodness is a Top Safety Pick + rating from the IIHS when its optional active safety equipment is included, these items being lane departure warning and forward collision mitigation, standard with the top-line GT S-AWC model. This means that lower models don’t fare as well, the NHTSA only giving them four stars out of five in crash tests. Still, this is average for the class, whereas Mitsubishi’s reliability rating is above average according to J.D. Power’s 2015 Vehicle Dependability Study.

On that note Mitsubishi’s warranty makes sure you’ll probably never need to worry about reliability at all, with the longest powertrain warranty in the industry at 10 years or 150,000 km, while its comprehensive “bumper-to-bumper” warranty is a full five years or 100,000 km, again considerably longer than average. Go ahead and

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ask the finance manager in any competitive dealership how much it’ll cost you to extend that brand’s basic warranty by two years and 40,000 kilometres as well as your powertrain warranty by five years and 50,000 km, and then amortize that number over the duration of your loan; you’ll be surprised at just how much Mitsubishi gives away for free.

Of course, Mitsubishi offers more warranty, more standard features and in many ways a better compact SUV because it desperately needs to find ways to lure you down to your local tri-diamond dealer. It knows that once you’ve spent a little time with an Outlander it’ll probably win you over, its $25,998 base price not a bad way to start the tempting process. Load up a competitor with the same features as the base Outlander ES FWD and you’ll be paying thousands more, warranty

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aside, while my luxuriously appointed ES AWC Touring tester’s price tag was only $31,998 plus freight and dealer fees, again thousands less than most competitors, many of which are nowhere near as nicely finished.

I’m not going to say I’m in love, but the 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander has won a deep appreciation. There’s no way it should be selling so slowly as this compact CUV is miles better than some much bigger players. Of course, the brand’s acute need for sales is to your benefit as you’ll no doubt be able to strike a good deal, Mitsubishi’s retail site shaving $2,000 right off the top, and that’s before even trying to negotiate a better deal.

My advice? Check out the Outlander before paying more for something else. I’m guessing it’ll impress you too.
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