Aidan here. As she rightly stated above, my mother has no interest in cars outside of A) does it drive alright, B) can all of her offspring fit inside in such a way that touching is minimized, and C) can her garage sale acquisitions fit inside without any weeping and gnashing of teeth. This set of standards becomes apparent when her shouts of glee for a 2015 Odyssey vastly outweigh those for whatever exotic car I'm excited for zooms past because "the new Odysseys have built in vacuums don't-you-know". The big question now is "does the Mitsubishi Outlander GT meet these standards". By and large, the answer is yes.
In terms of the boring mechanical stuff, the Outlander GT's engineers "have much to be proud of" {Car and Driver}. This is an especially good thing because it means you probably won't have to decide between your kid's tuition or your car's transmission.
The car, thanks to pleasant Japanese men in lab coats, is pretty quiet while driving and isn't completely drab. Don't get me wrong, the car isn't exactly sporty, but at least if you go for a pass {as we frequently had to do as Washington drivers are incredibly slow} you can be reasonably confident that you won't be testing out the five star front collision safety rating. The model my family had for the week was the model with the v6 engine {must have}. Not only does the v6 allow for you to be reasonably confident that the car will go when told, it is the only model that doesn't come with a wretched Continuous Variable Transmission, a "transmission" famous for never actually working. {one very good reason not to go near a car with a CVT}.
One of the best things about this car is its cost in relation to other cars in its class. The model we had {the Outlander GT with Touring package} was just over 34 grand, but the base model is only $23,000 {$28,000 if you get the v6 GT with all wheel drive}. This may be a lot if your income {like mine} is determined by how many of your neighbors you can convince to hire you to mow their lawns, but if you're serious about getting an SUV for your family {for your sake read this before you make that decision }, the Outlander GT is probably the cheapest option.
Sure, if you're feeling especially sybaritic you could buy a Range Rover Evoque with all of its insane off road capabilities {for all those wild treks across various grassy knolls to your child's soccer game} and an interior {much thanks to Victoria Beckham} that is comparable to that of a Maybach, but you'll set yourself back 100 grand easily. Even if you don't make the class jump from a family SUV to a luxury SUV, the Outlander is the only car of its 11 close competitors to not be in the $40-$50,000 range when fully furnished.
There are, however, some things that are honestly not as great about this car. The third row "seating" was deplorable and could not really be used unless you slid the middle seats far forward thus making it more uncomfortable for the middle seat passengers creating a loop of cramped leg room and likely misery for said passengers. Then there was the navigation system which {unless you really want to see a map while you're driving} could easily have its job taken by Apple Maps on your phone {which is saying something}.
These three relatively small problems though are vastly outweighed by the huge amount of good in this car. The technology inside is easy to figure out {though that's coming from the mouth of a youth so perhaps it should be taken with a grain of salt} and is super customizable so that you can get the car to work for you, and the aforementioned Japanese men in lab coats designed a car that you can buy with the knowledge that it will last mechanically as well.
The Mitsubishi Outlander GT is a good car. It's not just good because of its cost in comparison to other cars like it, it's good simply because it is a good car. The car is certainly not just any car that you can buy, it is a well thought out machine that will last a long time and be exciting the whole time. Should you happen to be in the market for a car, I would recommend that you make your way to a dealer to check one of these out.
Thanks Aidan! I think he did a great job wrapping up the essentials of this car don't you?! I told you we were going to put this car through the wringer and knowing that a new car purchase is one of the biggest ticket purchases you are going to make, we want to make sure we are helping you make an informed decision.
The Outlander is certainly a car to add to your list to consider if you are looking for an SUV. I think it would be the perfect car for the first time buyer in their early 20's {you heard about the great sound system} and would last them well into the first few years of parenthood. It would also be great for the older couple who only occasionally takes passengers but likes the room and presence on the road that an SUV provides. For our growing family of five though, it just didn't provide the interior room we needed to be comfortable. I loved driving it and would highly recommend it.
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