Though the Outlander Sport is selling well, Cars.com has never been a fan of Mitsubishi's compact SUV. Its loud, slow engine really annoys. Tweaks to its powertrain for 2012 improved things, according to Cars.com Managing Editor Dave Thomas, but only slightly and not enough to bring it up to the level of its class competitors.
Though the 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is an ultra-small crossover, it handled our child-safety seats surprisingly well. This five-seater is nimble on the open road and in tight parking lots, and its higher ride height offers a good view of the road.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.
An environmental group has released the findings of its annual study on automotive toxic materials, and the news isn't good for 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport owners.
Mitsubishi's compact SUV was rated the worst for toxic materials in the cabin, according to tests by the Ecology Center, a non-profit group based in Ann Arbor, Mich. The center found higher levels of contaminants such as bromine, chromium and lead in the Outlander Sport's seats, plastic parts and center console. Other offenders on the list include the 2011 Chrysler 200 and the 2011 Kia Soul.
Mitsubishi is recalling 21 model-year 2012 Outlander Sport compact SUVs for faulty turn-signal levers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The affected vehicles were built from Nov. 9 through Dec. 16. In some vehicles, the turn-signal lever’s auto-cancel function may not work. If this happens, the turn signal may indicate a direction the car no longer intends to travel, increasing the risk of a crash.
Mitsubishi has not yet provided an owner notification schedule, but dealers will inspect and replace faulty turn-signal levers for free. Owners can call Mitsubishi at 800-222-0037 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.
Editors Kelsey Mays and David Thomas discuss the three distinct models listed above in the first official podcast of 2011. Start the new year off right by learning what these vehicles do well and what they don’t do so well. And yes, even the Accord has its flaws.
Download via iTunes
Download MP3
Mitsubishi’s 2011 Outlander Sport is yet another entry into the booming small-crossover segment that includes the Nissan Rogue and Hyundai Tucson. The Outlander Sport has distinctive-enough styling, is reasonably equipped and pretty sporty, too, according to Cars.com senior editor David Thomas. But it has one major Achilles' heel: an atrociously loud and sluggish powertrain. Is that a deal breaker? Continue reading to find out.
Mitsubishi’s new compact crossover is joining an ultra-competitive segment with nearly every automaker — from Kia to Mini — having players. It's been months since the Outlander Sport debuted at the New York auto show, and the company just recently released more photos of the little crossover in the wild to coincide with the pricing, which was announced earlier. Check out a gallery of these images below, including a shot of two Outlander Sports next to big brother Outlander. It really illustrates how much smaller the Sport really is.
As the all-new 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport prepares for its launch this fall, the automaker has released pricing and trim specifications for the compact crossover along with a bevy of new photographs that we will post later. The base Outlander Sport will start at $18,495, which excludes a $710 destination fee.
Mitsubishi is marketing the Outlander Sport as a part of the Outlander family, with the larger Outlander still in the lineup. The Outlander Sport’s dimensions would make it one of the smallest crossovers on the market, competing with other affordable CUVs like the 2011 Hyundai Tucson ($18,745) and 2010 Jeep Patriot ($15,365). It'd also take on tiny utility vehicles like the 2011 Kia Soul ($13,300) and upcoming 2011 Mini Countryman.
On Ask.cars.com, a reader is looking for an all-wheel-drive-vehicle that costs under $20,000; unfortunately, only a few choices meet the criteria. At MotherProof.com, we get a preview of Mitsubishi’s 2011 Outlander Sport. Finally, at PickupTrucks.com, Nissan held its first truck rally — go there to check out how the three-day event in Texas went.
Several introductions at this year's New York International Auto Show certified that the class of compact crossovers is getting larger — with models that are getting smaller. Powered as much by increasingly stringent fuel-economy regulations as by customer demand, automakers are rolling out models that further blur the lines between crossovers and cars.
Models such as the top-selling Ford Escape, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, which J.D. Power and Associates classifies as compact crossover utility vehicles, combine the height, hatchback versatility and optional four-wheel drive of SUVs with the greater fuel and space efficiency of cars; this explains why their popularity has grown. According to J.D. Power, the compact "CUV" category made up 2.3 percent of the market in 2000. In 2005, it had grown to 6 percent, and despite declines in overall market volume in 2009, compact crossovers have reached a 10.5 percent market share.
Ironically, one of the auto show's highest-profile crossovers came from Mini, purveyor of one of the smallest cars on the market. The 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman crossover, which will hit U.S. dealerships in February 2011, is 15.7 inches longer than Mini's base car, called the Cooper, and 6.3 inches longer than its extended model, the Cooper Clubman. It's a few inches taller than its siblings and has the raised look of a crossover, as well as optional all-wheel drive. Though it's large for a Mini, the Cooper Countryman is relatively small as crossovers go, with roughly 12 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the backseat and a total of 41 cubic feet once the backseat is folded flat. This puts it in league with cars such as the Mazda3 four-door hatchback, as well as two other downsized crossovers introduced in New York, the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Nissan Juke Sport Cross.
Previous
Subscribe to our feed
Email us your tips!