It’s a fine line for any manufacturerbetween making a 4x4 that’s appealingon the eye and practical, or perhapsproducing a dumpy looking tractor that’sonly fit for heaving around gardenrubbish. And who apart from farmerswants to drive that?

Mitsubishi have managed to strike abrilliant balance with their Outlander;and at a price that won’t have you sellingyour children’s main organs to fund it.

The main criteria with any 4x4 is thatyou have enough clout to pull it along todo all the ‘4x4 thingys’ you want it to do.Mitsubishi have really addressed thiswith the jointly developed Peugeot andCitroen engine which produces animpressive 2.2 litres of diesel grunt.

The overall look of the Outlander isvery good. It’s far more stylish thanmany of its competitors and delivers aflatter, lower profile which in a sensemakes it sleeker than the other ‘topheavy mob’. The outlander doesn’t lookas if it’ll roll over in a corner. It’s notcursed with unnecessary height that canmake some other 4x4s look like circustents on wheels.

The interior finish is elegantly finishedwith great all round vision and theElegance model comes with a reversingcamera which is useful on the

supermarket run or if you’re useless atparking. The inner environment isextremely spacious and the drivingposition which is electronically adjustedis absolutely superb. I drove 1,200 milesand didn’t need to see an osteopath. Theseven seat arrangement allows for anumber of configurations; whethertravelling alone with heaps of luggage,or moving a whole family with only ahandbag. Either way it works well andyou won’t feel a ‘sardine moment’coming on.

The Outlander handles very sprightlyfor a 4x4 which is due a firm suspensionset-up which produces roll limiting inthe corners. Back to that old circus tentagain. The steering and gearshift are wellweighted and balanced, which creates aprecise almost tactile feel and althoughthe ride is solid, it’s not bumpy orawkward.

The ingenious AWC (All WheelControl) switch allows you to selectbetween front and four-wheel drive, oran automatic mode that directs power towherever it’s needed. I used the AWC togreat effect whilst motoring up snowyun-gritted Alpine roads. My OutlanderElegance simply gorged itself on thesesteep inclines. It was like a knife goingthrough snowy butter. Motorway driving

is a breeze. The Outlander surges the0-62mph in 9.9 seconds, not exactlygreased lightning but it’s the ‘in-gearscenario’ where you’ll feel the benefits. Itsimply gobbles up other traffic withouthaving to drop a gear. Brilliant. The fueleconomy is spot on with a combinedreturn in excess of 40 mpg. That’simpressive for an SUV of this size andpower and for those of you who feel likea tree hug or two; it’s got the lowestCO2 emissions of any 7 seat SportsUtility Vehicle on the market.

This is a 4x4 that looks stylish withoutbeing garish and delivers a drive thatwon’t have you moaning about being toofirm or too spongy in the corners.

And here’s the real rub... entry pricesare an unbelievable £20,549. That’s not amistake. Producing a car of this qualityat this price is staggering.

So if you want to have some musclewithout looking like some over-workedbodybuilder, then the MitsubishiOutlander might just be for you. And atthose prices you’re children won’t berunning for cover.

MARCH 2010 COTSWOLD STYLE � 123

motoring

Eric Barton puts the Mitsubishi Outlander Elegance under the microscope...

CCSS

elegant muscle

For more details and your nearestdealershipwww.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk

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