Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £19,449 to £26,999
Good-looking, a decent drive, a useful and user-friendly family vehicle.
Not a hardcore off-roader, nor a high-image status symbol.
A very viable, and even quite sensible, alternative to the traditional estate car that can also go off-road.
As a tall, high-riding vehicle, the Outlander is never going to handle quite like Mitsubishi's Evo sports saloon - but it gets closer than you'd think.
For an SUV, it's an enjoyable drive, with accurate steering, well-controlled body roll and an adept suspension system; it does not feel at all top-heavy. Active Stability Control (as used in the Evo IX) is standard-fit and in the 4WD 'auto' mode, when torque is automatically transferred between the axles, grip is excellent.
Swapping between 2WD (front-wheel-drive), 4WD Auto and 4WD Lock modes - the latter for coping with difficult conditions and more slippery surfaces - is via a button on the central console, but apart from this, it's all done for you.
That strong 140bhp VW diesel gives 0-60mph in 10.8 seconds, and the Outlander certainly feels quick off the mark. With 229lb-ft of torque, there's plenty of mid-range pull too, in all of the six gears. Towing up to the maximum 2,000kg should be no problem.
The engine isn't the quietest around, but Mitsubishi has done a good job with the sound insulation and the Outlander cruises very comfortably and effortlessly at motorway speeds (it'll do up to 116mph).
It's an excellent all-rounder.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Mitsubishi Outlander
wrote on 12 01 2008
wrote on 04 06 2007
wrote on 03 02 2007