2004 Mitsubishi Outlander GLS review from South Africa

Nothing, although the car is still quite new.

This car offers excellent value for the money. It is a lot cheaper than the competition (RAV4, Forrester, X-Trail). I test-drove all major competing brand before buying the Outlander and I'm happy with the choice. The most common criticism one reads in the Internet reviews is that the engine is underpowered. I disagree with this, and I am actually surprised about this issue. The only explanation for so many negative reviews must the fact that most reviewers are based in Northern America where large number of cylinders and obscene cubic capacity seems to be the norm. I drive pretty fast myself, and have not had any problems at low speed, or at the highway. Overtaking is easy, and the automatic transmission is the smoothest I've driven, save for the Audi Multitronic. The timing of the shifting is so perfect and predictible that it's easy to effect it with minor changes of the pressure on the accelerator pedal. Of course this car is quite heavy, and that should be kept in mind while driving and accelerating. The GLS version has every possible convenience feature (real leather, cruise control, climate control, full-size spare, etc) except for the headlight wipers. The fuel economy is good for a car of this weight and comes to about 12l/100km mixed enthusiastic driving. The dealer service has been excellent and the new car had a full tank of petrol. Future services are free for the next 2 years. The only criticism I have is that the one-touch window winder feature only works when winding the window down.