Motorweek is made possible by rock auto the biggest fish in the global car business can quickly get gobbled up a minnow like mitsubishi is definitely swimming against the current especially in the us market so when mitsubishi conceived the new outlander sport they decided then rather than copy competitors they try something different the result is a compact
Utility that may well allow this little fish to make a big splash motorweek praised the spunky compact mitsubishi outlander crossover utility when a debuted in 2003 and when it grew up to nearly mid-size in 2007 but it wasn’t until the arrival of the 2010 outlander gt that the line started to show a distinction by adding a bit of the performance attitude found
In mitsu’s potent lancer evolution sports sedans and the 2011 outlander sport borrows even more from the bad-boy evo it greets you with an aggressive glare that will send the average cute ute scurrying to the back of the garage the bold front fascia with its drop jaw grille and squinting headlamps is followed by tight lines along the flanks which round to a sleek
Rear hatch with a high mounted spoiler and sharp trapezoidal tail lamps and while the sports styling may sync up with that of its gt sibling sharp eye observers will immediately notice a significant size difference the sport is only one hundred sixty nine point one inches long almost fifteen inches shorter than other outlanders yet despite its reduced length the
Sport rides on the same 105.1 inch wheelbase so front and rear overhangs are exceedingly tight the sport borrows the proven 2 liter 4 from the lancer sedan so economy more than performance is the order of the day even with upgraded variable valve timing output is modest at 148 horsepower and 143 pound-feet of torque transmissions are 5-speed manual or our se test
Vehicle standard cvt automatic with manual mode magnesium steering wheel pedals they feed power to our sports front drive layout or the optional all-wheel drive and spend standard 18-inch alloy wheels with low-profile rubber with the front tires pulling the se sport hit sixty and nine point five seconds and runs the full quarter-mile in seventeen point five seconds
At 81 miles per hour with almost 3,200 pounds to shift the buzzy 2-liter is working hard with a raspy exhaust note the cvt is also on the sluggish side though the manual shift paddles speed things up nicely despite a snowy winter track test day we were able to put our se sport through its paces and found mild front push on turn in followed by a slightly loose rear
End on the very cold pavement the sports electric power steering a first for mitsubishi is quick and light overall the sport is nicely agile and far more fun to drive than the vast majority of its rivals brakes are all disc with abs we managed panic stops from sixty that average to find 125 feet with good stability and a firm pedal the sport also includes new brake
Override technology that delivers full stopping power if both the gas and brake pedals are pressed plus our regenerative brake system helps recharge the battery just like a hybrid technology is also packed into the nicely fitted interior safety features include seven airbags with a driver side knee airbag while the audio system boasts the standard fused voice
Command system that links to bluetooth phones and usb devices like ipods and memory sticks add the optional navigation system and you get ten gigs of space on the 40 gig hard drive for long distance music indeed with its tall seating positions and a six way driver’s seat the front cabin is well suited for long commutes the rear passenger space is a bit tighter but
Offers 60/40 split seat backs for flexibility cargo room is a healthy 20 1.7 cubic feet with the rear seats up and a big forty nine point five cubic feet seats down no matter what you haul our front drive se registers government fuel economy ratings of 25 city 31 highway we averaged a good 28 miles per gallon of regular the sports energy impact score is a modest
Twelve point seven barrels of oil per year with a carbon footprint of just six point nine tons of co2 pricing for the outlander sport starts at a mere nineteen thousand two hundred seventy five dollars in es trim our well-equipped se begins at a still reasonable twenty two thousand four hundred seventy five dollars indeed that’s the same as a base honda crv clearly
The 2011 mitsubishi outlander sport is more flash than go fast still it’s a creative attempt to downsize and upgrade an established design into a new fashion aimed at younger tech savvy buyers mitsubishi may be an automotive minnow but it’s still looking to eat someone else’s lunch you
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Road Test: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport By MotorWeek
