2007 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS review from Australia and New Zealand

No defects whatsoever.

For a four-cylinder, the car is remarkably refined and gutsy.

Fuel economy is good as long as you drive defensively (I get as low as 8.3 L/ 100km in daily driving), but tends to go fuzzy at highway speeds (full of people through the mountains with luggage and A/C on can see things like 10.5 to 12.5 L/ 100km).

The car looks stunning, much more expensive than it is. It has a lot of presence.

The ride is surprisingly smooth on good roads, and still good on bumpy ones, but you notice the car's short wheelbase and small overall dimensions then. It does get a slight Wild West Bronco thing going, but only when compared to normal cars. For an SUV, it's really composed.

The interior looks as good as the exterior. Fit and finish sometimes seem a bit borderline, but for the money, who cares.

All the electronic gimmicks are very cool and spoil you rotten. I just love how it finds wiper speed, switches on the lights, or locks and unlocks, all automatically, cleverly, and without glitches.

It's also one Japanese small SUV I as a guy find cool, and like being seen with. It sure has macho-appeal enough, even though women seem to fall for it on the spot, too. Good job, designers...