2003 Mitsubishi Outlander Article at Automotive.com

»Locate a Dealer»Find a Used Car»Get Financing

Most Popular: Hybrid Cars|Lexus IS350|Dodge Charger

HOME

Truckin's SUV: Mitsubishi Outlander XLS

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at Truckin'. A couple of years ago, Mitsubishi changed its American marketing strategy to focus more on younger buyers, mainly single people in their early- to mid-20s. With the Outlander, though, the philosophy changed somewhat. Mitsubishi built this vehicle to be a cross

2003 Mitsubishi Outlander Safety Features

2003 Mitsubishi Outlander Costs of Ownership

2003 Mitsubishi Outlander Lease Payments

QUICK PRICE QUOTE

DEALER LOCATOR

User Rating

N/A

Rating:

Value Rating

Above Average

LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

Change Submodel

CHANGE VEHICLE

Article From Truckin' Magazine

Mitsubishi Outlander XLS

Compact Crossover With Big Appeal / Article provided by: Truckin' Magazine

A couple of years ago, Mitsubishi changed its American marketing strategy to focus more on younger buyers, mainly single people in their early- to mid-20s. With the Outlander, though, the philosophy changed somewhat. Mitsubishi built this vehicle to be a crossover that had room for young families, without the soccer-mom feel of a minivan. The company wanted this vehicle to have the functionality of a minivan, the cool attitude of a sport compact car, and the all-weather versatility of a sport utility, all in one fun-sized package.

The Outlander was built on the Lancer platform, making it the smallest SUV Mitsubishi has ever built. It is powered by a 2.4L inline-four engine. Compared to the other SUVs in the competition, this is the smallest engine, which would seemingly make it unfair to compare it to the others. However, the small-displacement engine is in the lightest vehicle, making it fair to compare the power to weight in this vehicle to the performance feel of the others. We knew it wouldn't be the fastest 0 to 60, but it had the potential to feel fast and sporty without putting up the same numbers as some of the other vehicles we tested.

And, even though it did place dead last in our acceleration and quarter-mile testing, many judges enjoyed quick jaunts around town in the diminutive Mitsubishi. Some noted that even though the Outlander lacked top-end horsepower, it had great low-end acceleration. Backing the 2.4L I-4 is a four-speed Sportronic automatic transmission, which the judges felt was a good match for the engine. The steering was hypersensitive to driver input, which didn't help the Outlander's occasional tendency to wander. Many felt the ride was a little less cushy than other SUVs, but that did provide a better feel for the road than the cushier vehicles allowed. It has a lower center of gravity and lower ground clearance than many of the other competitors, which, while making it less capable of clearing rocks on the trail, did make the Mitsubishi handle curves and sudden changes in direction with ease. Not only that, but this Outlander was equipped with viscous-coupling all-wheel drive, making it more capable in inclement weather.

The exterior and interior styling served as both the high point of the Outlander and the point of most contention for some of the judges. The testers were split on the unique front-end styling of this vehicle (described by one as the reason this vehicle is better once you're inside), but most liked the body's overall appearance. On the inside, the judges like the ease of use of the controls, and liked the sporty look of the white-face gauges. Also scoring high was the interior's design, which used clean lines and brushed metal accents, contrasting nicely with the charcoal leather seating. The stereo also received high marks.

There is no question that this vehicle is aimed directly at young buyers. The design and ride do have a distinct sport compact feel, and all of the aftermarket that implies. The interior is functional, while looking like it came from a more expensive vehicle. Its ride is car-like, but the cargo area and all-wheel drive offer SUV-like function. With its fresh look and feel, and a price tag starting at around $20,000, this SUV gives buyers a lot for the money, at a very affordable price.

Base Price: $20,790
Price As Tested: $24,390 (est.)
Engine: 2.4L SOHC I-4
Horsepower: 140 hp at 5,000 rpm
Torque: 157 lb-ft at 2,500 rpm
Suspension: Fully independent, MacPherson-type struts (front); multi-link, coil springs (rear)
Brakes: ABS disc (front & rear)
4WD/Transmission: Full-time AWD with viscous coupling center differential/four-speed Sportronic automatic
Wheelbase: 103.3 in
Length: 179.1 in
Width: 68.9 in
Height: 66.3 in
Curb Weight: 3,461 lb
Towing Capacity: 1,500 lb
Fuel Economy (city/highway): 20/25 mpg