A non Delica but nevertheless Mitsubishi-Question

[impalator]

Hey everybody,

It looks like the company fleet car program my employer has with Chrysler is coming to an end - which in turn may offer employees to opt for their choice of vehicles. Our Delica is the family car and unfortunately not practical for office commuting etc. due to its height (it doesn't even fit into our office parkade).

So I'm looking around to gather some intelligence about what kind of car one should be looking for. The Mitsubishi Outlander caught my eye - the one with 4cyl, 2.4l configuration as it appears to be reasonably fuel efficient and - despite being considered an SUV it is more in the league of Subaru station wagons rather than Pathfinders, Explorers, Trailblazers, Tahoes etc.

I was wondering if anybody has any experience with the Outlander (driven one, own one, happy with it, not happy with it, heard good stuff about it, heard bad stuff about it, knows somebody who's got one.... etc.)

Anything to make an informed decision would be great.

Thanks for any feedback....

Cheers,
Chris

[Jaz]

I used to drive one for work (it was even a RHD!) quite regularly, and quite enjoyed it - I had a certain test course I would take work vehicles through, and this and the Subaru Forester were my favourites (over various toyotas, mitsubishi's, GM's etc), but it's also quite nice through more broken road stuff (I used to visit farms quite regularly). From memory the trunk space wasn't huge, but it's decent size vehicle for what you get.

The CVT auto box on the one I had was interesting too - put the foot to the floor and the revs climb and stay there, allowing you to keep it in the sweet spot. Almost got myself into trouble a few times playing with that. I think you could also switch it into 6 speed mode too, which was excellent through the twisties.

I miss having work cars ;)

My other choice would be a Subaru Outback, love those cars and my old one was fantastic. Might be in a higher price bracket though.

[marsgal42]

The Outlander is very closely related to the current D:5 Delica. A different body, but everything under the skin is the same.

...laura