Mitsubishi outlander gt awd?

Hey guys,

My wife's 06 Toyota sienna has been a superb vehicle in the 9+ years we have owned it. However I know it won't last forever even though it only has 120k on the clock or thereabouts. I've just started to think about its replacement. I asked my wife if she wanted something different or newer and she said she was happy with the van still. I'm in no way really looking, but I noticed a neighbor of my brother has both an outlander sport that looks to be maybe 3-4 years old and a 2015 outlander gt-awd. The Gt-awd is very cool.

I've done some investigation and it seems the newer outlander gets decent reviews, but nothing super glowing. I see it as a good bargain in the segment, but I've never driven one. I like that the awd v6 gets a traditional automatic instead of the cvt, as I've never really warmed to the cvt in any of the Nissan's my sister-in-law has owned.

What say you old wise grm brothers and sisters? Worth a look? Oh yeah I'm not against another sienna by the way and neither is my wife, but with the boys being almost 10 and 14 I'm not sure we still (or ever) need a mini (read mega) van.

Chris

Mitsubishi's interiors and powertrains are about 10 years behind everyone else's. Also they severely depreciate like no other brand in their price bracket, and there are some big question marks about the brand's future in the US.

If none of those things bother you, I do hear that they're pretty acceptable vehicles and Mitsubishi is all about incentives to get product out the door. They're just a hard sell relative to the similarly-priced and much nicer competition.

I'll admit that I have limited exposure to newer vehicles and their interiors and powertrains, but looking briefly at the gt-awd one and comparing it to my sister-in-laws new Nissan Rouge it didn't look all that different to me. I can't imagine the engines are vastly different either. Now the transmissions are definitely different, and most may prefer the cvt, but again I've never liked them. Probably just something in my old school head.

Again I've never driven one, but it seems like a decent car on the surface.

The Mitsubishi 2.4 I4 and 3.0 V6 have been around in some form or another for over a decade and are still using old-school port injection; they are way behind the rest of the pack in refinement and fuel economy. Ironically the Rogue is also considered pretty behind-the-times and also uses an even older carryover engine from the early 2000's (QR25DE).

They are not a bad vehicle (given, a truly bad vehicle is hard to find in 2016) but they are pretty much the bottom of the barrel in the segment. A Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V or Ford Escape is a significantly more modern vehicle for not much more money. Most of Mitsubishi's volume seems to be coming from their bargain basement pricing and willingness to finance anything with a pulse; if you like them, you like them, but it really is worth trying the competition on for size since the crossover segment is fiercely competitive right now and Mitsu isn't bringing anything special to the table.

All that said, Mitsu's shaky future is what makes them a questionable buy more than anything else. They already depreciate more than anything else in the segment, so it sure would suck even worse if Mitsu called it quits in the US like Suzuki.

That all being said I imagine even the old technology of the Outlander or Rouge is still nicer than our 10 year old well used low spec(LE) Sienna in comparison. I'm not a big features guy, and neither is my wife. Port fuel injection is fine with me, and so is an old fashioned automatic. I'm pretty sure Mazda still uses an old fashioned automatic with different gears instead of the cvt, correct?

The spectre of Mitsu leaving the country is a real concern though. I guess it would be worse if they went out of business(SAAB,Pontiac), but still not good if they left these shores. I'm pretty sure Mitsubishi isn't going out of business, but maybe leaving here, and getting out of cars eventually, but they will be around as a company for a long time in my opinion.

Nissan, Subaru and Honda seem to be the only ones really committing to the CVT. Ford uses a dual-clutch automated manual while everyone else (Mazda, Toyota, Hyundai, ChryCo) have traditional automatics in their crossovers.

It's also worth noting that an Outlander GT V6 retails at a breathtaking $32k before any options (!!!!) whereas the Mazda CX-5 2.5 AWD is only $25k before piling up the add-ons; the Mazda is also quicker despite having a smaller engine, much better on gas, more resistant to depreciation and has a larger cargo capacity. And Mazda isn't at risk of going anywhere anytime soon, fingers crossed!

All good points, and I'm a Mazda guy. Just thought the Outlander looked nice (maybe nicer than the CX-5 even), and looks to be pretty cheap in the used market around here. I would look very hard at the Mazda offering before anything else, but the Mitsu surprised me in the looks department, and cheaper buy in.

One of my friends has a newer Outlander and really likes it. He was looking at a new Forester and couldn't find an optioned one like he wanted so he went with the Outlander. He got a really good deal on a middle equipped one with awd (under $20k I think brand new). I'm actually considering a used one since I can't find a Subaru that doesn't have insane mileage on it. The Outlander's up to about 2012 or 13 had the neat two part rear hatch like Honda used to have on the Civic hatches..

I think it's tragic how little attention Mitsubishi gets for their design efforts. They knocked the Outlander Sport out of the park on style which is part of why they sold so many in spite of how mediocre it was mechanically or on paper. The big brother Outlander started out a little boring but with a handful of minor refreshes has moved into the 'seriously attractive' bracket in its class.

I don't contest that they are behind the times on powertrain stuff. To many SUV buyers, however, that wouldn't matter. See: Every Outlander Sport on the road.

Considering we already spend most of our GRM forum time speaking well about cars we have no real intention of buying, i just think it would be nice if more people would admit out loud that Mitsubishi is doing a good job styling their SUVs.

Dude... Mazda CX-5. Better on gas, easier and cheaper to run and maintain, and Mazda will still be around in 5 years so parts availability will be, well, available. The Mazda also has an excellent 6-speed automatic. I agree that the Outlander Sport looks nice, at least on the outside, but the Mazda looks nice BOTH inside and outside. And the Mazda won't turn your loan upside down instantly. Are there even any Mitsubishi dealers around southern MA anymore?

I'd take a CPO 2013 CX-5 Grand Touring over a new Outlander GT-AWD.