The Aspire variant of Mitsubishi’s new Outlander mid-size SUV might just be the pick of the range
The bold new-generation Mitsubishi Outlander should find favour with the Australian buying public, although our coverage thus far has centred on the higher-spec variants. Stepping down a rung to the Aspire brings few compromises in terms of style and equipment, but a handy cost saving. Offered in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, is one a standout pick?
Beauty on the inside
Sitting smack-bang in the middle of the range, the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire starts at $41,490 plus on-road costs for the front-wheel drive model, with all-wheel drive capability adding an extra $2500 at $43,990 plus ORCs.
Three option packs are available: the $3060 Style Set (body colour exterior garnishes, bonnet emblem, side decal); the $2402 Adventure Kit (nudge bar, bonnet protector, roof carrier, luggage soft tray, boot flap); and $1155 Protection Pack (bonnet protector, side wind deflectors, floor mats, luggage soft tray, cargo area scuff plate).
White is the only standard colour, with silver, titanium and blue attracting a $740 charge and the prestige white, black and red an extra $940.
Happily, plenty of equipment is included as standard, such as 20-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats (with the driver’s powered), a power tailgate, keyless entry and start, wireless charging, wired smartphone mirroring and wireless Apple CarPlay, auto headlights and wipers, rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors and plenty of safety gear that will be covered in the next section.
What the Aspire does miss out on compared to the higher Exceed variant is a panoramic sunroof, pull-up rear sun shades, full leather seat trim, memory front seats, triple-zone climate control and a Bose premium stereo, while the flagship Exceed Tourer adds a two-tone exterior and interior with high-grade leather and massaging front seats. Some welcome toys, but nothing essential.
In general, the cabin is the highlight of the Outlander. It’s a classy, easily understood environment, and the Aspire scores extra points over the higher-spec Exceed by removing the highly reflective silver material from the centre console and its associated glare issues.
Material quality is a particular high point, with softly padded, leather-wrapped surfaces abound.
The seats, a combination of microsuede and synthetic leather, are comfortable and the driving position is widely adjustable, so most people should feel quickly at home.
In the second row there’s a reasonable amount of space, though not as much as some rivals, and the bench slides fore-aft, reclines and can be folded 40/20/40 for extra flexibility. A fold-down centre arm rest contains a pair of cup holders and the back of the centre console houses two USB ports and rear air vents.
Moving even further aft you’ll discover a third row of seats, but what should be a competitive advantage for the Outlander over the majority of its competitors doesn’t fulfil its promise in reality.
The lack of fold-forward capability for the second row makes third-row access difficult, there’s neither space nor provision for child seats (ISOFIX or top tethers) and no chance of anyone approaching adult height fitting, limiting its possible use to the occasional carrying of older children.
Boot space is only impacted very slightly, but in order to offer 478L a space-saver spare tyre is fitted, whereas the base Outlander ES – the only variant to have just five seats – offers both 485L of cargo room and a full-size alloy spare.
Safe as houses
As with most of the other variants, the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire comes stacked with safety kit, including front and side airbags for the front passengers, curtain airbags for the first two rows, a driver’s knee airbag and a centre airbag to stop the driver and front passenger crashing together.
Add to this active safety equipment such as forward collision mitigation with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning/prevention, emergency lane assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, emergency brake assist, rear autonomous emergency braking (AEB), active cruise control, traffic sign recognition and trailer stability control.
ANCAP has awarded the Outlander a maximum five-star safety rating, performing well in all areas of assessment. There was a mark against the operation of the front centre airbag, but the fact that the curtain airbags do not extend to the third row was not penalised.
Behind the wheel, the technology is pleasantly unobtrusive, with few ‘phantom’ alarms and a lane departure system that provides subtle audible and physical feedback rather than aggressively attempting to steer the car back onto what it thinks its path should be.
In terms of entertainment the Outlander Aspire uses a 9.0-inch central touch-screen. Its native functions are easy enough to use, though most people will connect via Apple CarPlay (wireless and wired) or Android Auto (wired only). There is wireless charging for compatible phones, in addition to a USB-C and USB-A port up front and a 12V outlet.
Behind the steering wheel is a 12.3-inch digital instrument display that can show either regular dials or strange rotating wheels for the speedo and tachometer. With a little practice it’s quite simple to navigate, though one issue – and it might be personal taste – it that Mitsubishi’s simple, blocky font choice looks quite basic and cheap.
Just enough, no more
Under the bonnet of all 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander models is a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine producing 135kW at 6000rpm and 245Nm at 3600rpm.
A more economical (but also more expensive) plug-in hybrid version is on its way, but the diesel has been discontinued.
As mentioned, the Aspire comes with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, but the former is likely to be the best option for the vast majority of buyers.
Not only does it save you $2500 up front, but running costs are lower, too. Thanks to a 55kg weight saving and the need to only drive two wheels rather than four, combined claimed fuel consumption drops from 8.1L/100km for the AWD to 7.7L/100km, and in our experience the claimed number is pretty achievable in the real world.
Speaking of saving (or spending) money, Mitsubishi offers 10 years of warranty if you service with an official dealer and 10 years of capped-price servicing with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.
Across the 10-year period, prices are capped at $199 for all intervals except 72 months/90,000km and 96 months/120,000km (both $499). The 10-year marker (120 months/150,000km) also brings a $799 service.
The 2.5-litre engine is adequate rather than inspirational. There’s decent response and enough power to keep up with traffic, but the accelerator feels to be mapped to give most of the available power in the first half of its travel.
Floor the throttle and there’s little appreciable improvement in the rate of acceleration, which could be an issue when fully loaded.
The continuously variable transmission (CVT) doesn’t feel too unnatural in day-to-day use and in the Tarmac drive mode – one of five available in the 2WD Outlander (Eco, Normal, Tarmac, Gravel, Snow) and six in the AWD (+Mud) – does a fine impersonation of a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic, even selecting its own gears with confidence and negating the need to use the steering wheel paddles.
Get a grip
An unexpected strength of the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is its finely polished dynamics; not a sentence you could ever write about its predecessor.
The steering is well-weighted and accurate, there’s impressive grip and even some adjustability when driven with enthusiasm. At a more sensible pace this makes for confidence-inspiring behaviour, even at 100km/h on country roads.
The AWD is the pick here, particularly on loose surfaces, but there isn’t much in it as the engine only really troubles the traction of the front wheels pulling away from junctions too quickly or exiting very slow corners. It bodes well for a potential production Ralliart model.
Unfortunately, the price to be paid for this handling is a fussy, reactive ride. The Outlander cushions its occupants relatively well on the highway, but on typical broken urban roads it tends to thump road information back through the seats.
How much of this is an inherent characteristic and how much is down to the large 20-inch wheels won’t be apparent until we drive a lower-spec Outlander on 18s.
So close, but not quite
In many ways the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire deserves plenty of kudos. In exterior and interior presentation, dynamic ability and technology it’s a massive leap forward over its popular but underwhelming predecessor.
It looks great – half of you will agree with this, half of you will not – and has a great interior, enough space, heaps of equipment and is enjoyable to drive, which makes it worth a look if you’re in the market for a mid-size SUV.
The frustration is that Mitsubishi came so close to excellence only to fall at the final hurdle.
While it’s not necessarily priority one, for a car like this to be uncomfortable on day-to-day streets is a shortcoming that can’t be ignored.
Combine this with the strangely compromised third-row seating and you have a car that while a quality contender, doesn’t rise to the heights of class benchmark.
How much does the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire cost?Price: $41,490 – 2WD; $43,990 – AWD (plus on-road costs)Available: NowEngine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrolOutput: 135kW/245NmTransmission: Continuously variable automaticFuel: 7.7L/100km – 2WD; 8.1L/100km – AWD (ADR Combined)CO2: 174g/km – 2WD; 185g/km – AWD (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)
Keyword: Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire 2022 Review