Product review - Mitsubishi Outlander

If you have owned a Japanese product made in the eighties, chances are you have fond memories of that product. The other day, when packing for a road trip, I was rummaging through my cupboard for the digital camera, when my eyes fell upon the dry pack case where my Nikon F3 has been in storage for the better part of 3 decades. The F3 is not pretty in the new Scandinavian minimalism kind of way. To be honest, it looks dated, ungainly even. But as I coddled it in my hands, it brought a smile to my face.

Here’s the thing you see. Everything about the F3 is designed to do a job and do it well. The shape of the body where your right hand grabs the camera and your finger rests on the shutter trigger is just so, and the rubberized surface where your left hand grabs the focusing ring provides that perfect grip and feel. The bayonet lens mount is gleaming stainless steel and the purposeful ‘click’ you hear when the lens locks into place brings the kind of joy that only quality craftsmanship can bring. The removable viewfinder snaps into place with a precise tactile feel, and as you crank the winder mechanism, your fingertips can feel the precision engineering as the film is being advanced and the focal plane shutter is primed for the next shot.

I could go on about the F3. About the laser etched micro-pores on the mirror that let light through to the CCD array for exposure metering, and about the changeable focusing screens for different applications, and about the High-Point viewfinder designed to allow you to peer through while still wearing your Ray Bans, but this post is not about the F3. This piece is about another piece of Japanese engineering that is now parked outside my home.

The Mitsubishi Outlander is also not pretty in the modern sense either, not in the Alfa Romeo Brera or Jaguar F type kind of way. But everything about this car is just so well made. There is a precision-engineering feel to everything. The perfectly fitted-out leather upholstery and the french stitching on the black leatherette trim of the door pads and glove box provide that feel-good factor. The seats are generous and the electric motors whirr quietly as you adjust to that perfect driving position. Every single item on the interior of the Outlander has been put in place by the boffins in engineering. Not for Mitsubishi, the little plastic buttons that make do for paddle shifters. The paddles shifters on the Outlander are large; large enough to place four fingers behind them when you pull to shift. And they are made of real magnesium alloy, to let you enjoy the 'clink' when your fingernails touch the metal. And the paddles are mounted on the steering column as God intended they be, not on the steering wheel. The audio controls on the steering wheel have been placed so that you can find them there when you want them, but they are never in the way when you are driving. The sound system is discrete. It does not sport a large touch screen nor does it have a sat-nav built it. It sounds great. If you have been to a Bose store and listened to their demo, you will have some idea of what I am talking about.

And then there is the engine. A 2.4 litre MIVEC job with variable cam timing and lift on both the intake and exhaust valves, this unit purrs to the 7000 rpm red-line with a smoothness befitting an inline-six. Nobody makes inline fours like Mitsubishi does – not even the Germans. In this day and age of turbo-charged four cylinder units, it is commonplace for the engine to become gruffly audible at higher revs. Not this mill.

Motoring journos these days evaluate all cars on the track, on their ability to hold a power slide. This is fine when you are in boy-racer mood, but you also want a car that is fun to drive on your daily run to work in the morning and to the club in the evening. This is where the Outlander shines. I used it to drive from Pune to Mumbai on the expressway and I could not think of any other car on this side of 20 lakhs that I would rather be in.

The CVT handles regular driving unobtrusively and when you are in the mood for some spirited driving, a tap on the paddle shifters brings on the sport mode. Driving up the ghat on the return trip from Mumbai to Pune, I found myself smiling as I used the paddles. Keep the rpms between 3000 and 4000 and the Outlander rewards the driver with a glorious driving experience with its high torque and superb handling. The butter-smooth delivery of power from this unit as you shift from 2^nd to 6^th has to be experienced. The 168 bhp 2.4 delivers the goods without making any noise about it, without making any noise really. 

Glimpse the maw of the Outlander in your rear view mirror and you will find yourself struggling to keep your attention on the road ahead. There is not one line on the car that does not serve a purpose. Form follows function. There you have it then, a superb engine, perfect driving position, great road holding, perfect ergonomics and an aggressive stance with that huge grille.

If I have one grouse with the package, it is the noisy Yokohama rubber. The Geolandars might be great for off-road duty, but this car is going to be used mostly on the tarmac. I have had the Outlander fitted out with Yokohama ES501 decibels and these have solved the problem. No more tyre noise.

If you are a car buff, I urge you to take the Outlander for a drive. In a world where the Audi Q5 is Gold and the Honda CRV is Silver, this Mitsubishi is Rearden Metal.