2016 Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed DiD Review – Seven Seats And Filled With Features
UPDATED WITH A FRESH NEW FACE, MORE EQUIPMENT AND A NUMBER OF MECHANICAL REFINEMENTS, MITSUBISHI'S OUTLANDER REMAINS ONE OF THE FEW SEVEN-SEAT OPTIONS IN THE MID-SIZE SUV SEGMENT.
That alone should be enough to give it an edge against similarly-priced five-seat rivals. However, sales so far this year have been lacklustre.
Is that the car’s fault though? We spent a week behind the wheel of the top-spec diesel Outlander Exceed, and while there are a few flaws, it is packed with features and has a lot to offer family buyers.
In fact, though it is sitting in a market segment that is now getting costly, on a value-for-money basis it’s still near the head of the pack.
There's just one other high-spec diesel AWD seven-seat SUV retailing for under $50k, the ancient Holden Captiva 7.
Vehicle Style: Medium SUV
Price: $46,490 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 110kW/360Nm 2.2 turbo diesel 4cyl | 6sp automatic
Fuel Economy claimed: 6.2 l/100km | tested: 7.1 l/100km
OVERVIEW
More than 131,000 buyers have jumped into a brand new medium off-road wagon so far this year. Out of a total market expected to tally around 1.15 million sales by the end of this year, that’s a significant slice of the pie.
What’s more, those buyers aren’t exactly scrimping on the purchases. Even among the non-luxury brands, sales are skewed towards the high-spec variants - just look at Hyundai, whose top-tier Santa Fe Highlander presently accounts for a little under half of all Santa Fes sold.
So while the Outlander diesel Exceed might be nudging the $50k barrier (or sitting atop it once on-road costs are added in), it’s still the model that more people are going to gravitate towards. So, is it worth the coin?