Mitsubishi Outlander Aspire Premium 2013 Review

* Includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Mitigation, Power tailgate, nine-speaker Rockford Fosgate audio, MMCS with seven-inch display and satellite navigation

Mitsubishi latest ZJ series Outlander has pulled the plug on the V6-petrol VRX flagship model. In its place, there is a new diesel rangetopper – badged the Outlander Aspire Premium.

Powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, coupled with a six-speed automatic, the Aspire with the Premium option pack is a touch cheaper than the old VRX, but price is the only point where the two cars come close.

Where the V6-engined Outlander was more about on-road performance – with all that says for wheel articulation and body roll – the new flagship is much better prepped for offroad work.

Like variants in the ZJ range, the Outlander Aspire's styling lacks the aggressive details of its predecessor. Inside, faux woodgrain trim does little to lift the ambience. However, overall the new generation's build quality seems significantly improved. The body is tight and, for example, there were no rattles or thumps from the third-row seat, such as we had experienced previously in the earlier model Outlander.

In common with the Outlander ES this writer has also reviewed, the Aspire variant is well packaged and roomy inside.

Access to the third row is difficult unless the occupants are quite small. Indeed, the third row seats are really for kids though smaller adults could probably survive a journey of short duration without going postal.

It's worth noting also the single-seat section of the middle row (designed to fold forward for access to the very rear) is on the road side rather than the (safer) kerb side of the car. At least the Outlander's well chosen H-point eases access to the front and middle-row seating.

The front seats are quite comfortable and hold you in place properly while off-roading. In contrast, the second row seats feel hard and not especially supportive.

Even with all three rows of seats occupied, there was still some useful boot space behind the very last row. Think room for three or four bags of groceries. There is also an additional storage tray under a folding, false floor which is plastic lined to hold wet stuff.

Mounted under the floor at the rear, the spare tyre is on a full-size wheel – an alloy rim, just like the other four fitted. If there's one problem with it located there, it's likely to accumulate a lot of grime and muck from the road and you'll end up with grotty hands — and mucky dinner suit/evening gown too.

Where safety was concerned the news was generally good. The Outlander's thick D pillars hampered the view obliquely to the rear, but the flagship came fitted with Forward Collision Mitigation and Adaptive Cruise Control – both features combined in the Premium pack option.

Additionally, the Outlander Aspire's reversing camera (which is available as standard with the mid-range Outlander LS as well as Aspire), fed the image to a display very well located in the centre fascia. The wide-angle camera was located low enough to pick up small kids readily, and provide the driver with enough advance warning to be on the brakes as soon as a child rounded a blind corner.

Over the course of the week the Outlander Aspire was achieving fuel consumption figures as low as 6.4L/100km on the freeway, but fuel use around town, according to the trip computer, could vary from a low figure of 9.1 to as high as 11.1L/100km.

During the week the vehicle was in our possession the maximum temperature rose beyond 30 degrees most days, and we found Eco mode had little apparent effect on the Outlander's open-road economy, but certainly did reduce the cooling efficiency of the air conditioning. Worse, there were no air conditioning vents in the rear, and the system struggled to keep the whole cabin cool from just the vents in the dash.

While the diesel engine was quiet at idle, it was noticeably noisy once on the move; certainly not befitting an engine powering a vehicle the wrong side of $50,000. And the rattling and turbo whine were quite marked from a cold start.

At least the engine is hard-working and there isn't much turbo lag from a standing start. It can be depended on to get you across an intersection at short notice.

The diesel's extra torque was also evident on off-road grades. With the 4x4 system locked, the Outlander ascended one test slope with some wheel spin, but it did make the top. Even with one wheel off the deck the Outlander would proceed on the remaining three.

Better suited tyres would make the Outlander a more capable off-roader. We note the wheel articulation, for an SUV independently sprung all round, is better than many in the same segment.

Approach and departure angles are also up to the task. Breakover angle and the apparent lack of underbody protection might dissuade some owners from travelling too far into the bush but the Outlander is more capable off the beaten track than you would expect.

It doesn't take a lot of mucking around pulling levers and pushing buttons to set it up for actual bush-bashing either. One '4WD' button does it all; repeatedly pushing will scroll through Auto, Eco and Lock modes. (NB: there's no hill descent control in the Outlander, which was also a problem we encountered in Ford's Kuga and the Ssanyong Korando!)

The six-speed automatic transmission proved to be a capable box, but would drop into a higher gear at very low speeds, prompting a serious case of drumming vibration and labouring of the engine at speeds below 1500rpm.

An oddity of design was the 'L' setting in the transmission shift quadrant, combined with sequential-shift paddles at the steering wheel. Kind of a case of having cake and eating it too, but 'L' did provide a quasi low range option for off-road work.

Ride comfort was fine over smaller bumps and around town, but the Outlander was highly damped and the springs were firm until there was a little load on them (braking, cornering, high impact speeds). The Outlander would absorb some hard hits, and – some bodyroll aside – the Outlander's handling and roadholding were above average for the segment.

Before long the driver felt right at home pushing the Outlander a little harder through corners. Steering response was slow by passenger car standards, but quite acceptable against other SUVs.

Based on the two weeks we drove this car and its entry-level counterpart, the Outlander ES, we arrived at the conclusion that the variant we recommend is neither of the cars driven!

Positioned in the middle of the range, the diesel Outlander LS is nearly $10,000 cheaper than the Outlander Aspire Premium tested, but has the seven seats, the diesel/4WD system, dual-zone climate control, 16-inch alloys and reversing camera lacking in the Outlander ES.

At $40,990 it offers an extra two years of warranty over its obvious rivals as well – and it will tow up to 2000kg.

And that makes it the sort of product that should be on any buyer's shopping list.

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