2020 Mitsubishi Outlander: Good starting price, good gas mileage
I will say this for the 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander: you can get into it for less than $25K US (still a bargain in these uncertain times) and gas mileage comes in at 25 city and 30 highway.
Beyond that, I will admit, it’s a bit of a struggle. And maybe I am being a bit too harsh.
The ride is okay. I mean, yeah, well…. You get a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine which performs admirably. If you get the top-of-the-line trim, you can get a 3.0-L V6 and available AWD but that will bump up the price. At that point, the appeal might be lost. Kinda. Sorta.
This is the flagship car for Mitsubishi Motors, a brand that continues to struggle worldwide, probably because it is difficult for consumers to find dealers. The cars are decent, and I did find the Outlander to be a decent drive. It was smooth and non-eventful, and when you are going about your business, that’s a good thing. Plenty of room, assuming you don’t have more than the usual amount of stuff you need to load into your vehicle.
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Inside, everything was just fine. Just fine. As you go up the trim levels, you can get more items like a sunroof, power liftgate, leather upholstery – all the creature comforts that can make a car and its ride more enjoyable.
At the base ES trim, you will get heated front seats (always a good thing for us big girls on a cold winter morning) as standard as well as a seven-inch touchscreen interface (who doesn’t like seven inches?). I will say this, Mitsubishi has one of the easier tech systems to navigate for those us who barely know how to make a call or send a text on a phone that cost us more than our first semester’s college tuition last century.
Effectively (IMHO) there’s not a whole different between the 2020 offering and the 2019 offering. There is a new trim level (SP) and some features that weren’t there last year. It’s basically the same car that you researched last year – if you did.
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The 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander falls squarely into the Compact SUV category. What does that mean? This is basically a small car trapped (?) in the more voluptuous body of a sport utility vehicle, which should mean that you have more room inside. Technically, this year’s Outlander has a third row of seats, but I wouldn’t consider for anything other than the smallest of children or pets. And keep in mind that should use that final row of seats, it will hamper your indoor storage space – considerably.
But don’t just take my word for it. Lots of places are opening up, and that means that test driving a car may be roaring back to life soon. If possible, I would definitely test drive a 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander before a decision to buy one is made.
And I would also consider two of my personal favs in the same category: the Honda CR-V or the Mazda CX-5.
Happy Trails!