Mitsubishi Outlander 3rd Gen ZJ/ZK XLS AWD (2013-2018)

Great value for money. Boot is the best! – This is great value for money car. Part of reason I bought it was the decent boot size. So many other cars in this category have small boots which would not fit a pram, scooters , beach gear, groceries and more in it. I also love that you can see the front of the car from the driver seat- so many cars have average vision. I love my outlander- it does the right thing by me!  Show details

Mitsubishi cheap and nasty – I purchased an 07 4x4 Outlander to give Mitsubishi ago and found it to be a car full of nasty plastic creaking throughout the car the cvt hesitates , it just felt cheap , I then traded it on a second hand 2015 xls 4x4 , I liked the look of it and give Mitsubishi another go , I kept the car for a week and sold it , the cvt hesitates , some fuel… Read more

pump noise , it was definitely an improvement on the olde one but I give up and got a trusty 2012 Camry instead Mitsubishi never again .

2016 zk Mitsubishi outlander heap of rubbish – This is the worst car I have ever owned. Car has unbearable flat spot. Taken car back to dealer three times. They cannot fix it. I have got to the stage that I need to sell it. When I asked Knox Mitsubishi how much they would give me for the car, they did not get back to me. Fuel consumption getting worse. My first SUV purchase has been a… Read more

disaster. I am sick and tired of being told car is within specifications. Your specifications need to be updated. Do not buy Mitsubishi there are much better cars out there.

Perfect family car – Needed to upgrade from a Mazda 3 when we had our first and the car seat was no longer fitting in the Mazda. I had my eye on a ASX but after comparing the boot space the outlander was a stand out! HEAPS of boot space with extra storage underneath. It is sooo roomy with plenty of space for the car seat and passenger leg room. It does seem to guzzle… Read more

a bit of fuel but I think that’s because I was used to my cheap little Mazda. Highly recommend for a great family car, I can really see it lasting many years to come

Amazing car – My husband and I deliberated over the decision of 'which car?' for over 6 months. Eventually we settled on the Outlander and have never looked back. What an amazing car! I use it as a work vehicle so I spend quite a lot of time behind the wheel. Never have I been uncomfortable, the car sits nice and high on the road allowing excellent visual awareness. No issues with mechanics or electrical. Just a great car all round.  Show details

Not a bad vehicle – Overall happy with vehicle. We brought for 7 seats. Back 2 seats have limited legroom, can fit adults but not comfortable for long drives. Middle row can be a bit wider to fit 3 car seats more comfortably. Happy with fuel consumption and reversing camera and parking sensors have come in handy. GPS is updated at every service but still… Read more

missing roads and doesn't always take the best route. Sometimes adds significant time to travel.

Happy with vehicle but not with Mitsubishi. Issues with local dealer and escalated to head office - but head office not interested saying they couldn't do anything as dealerships are independent.

We have had no issues with vehicle.

The best car I have ever owned, perfect for our busy lifestyle – It is comfortable to drive and great for loading and unloading all the things we have to cart around with kids from activity to activity. It is reliable and great on fuel, much lower running costs than our last car and a pleasure to park. Sound system is great. Would be perfect if it had GPS but we got the base model.  Show details

Very Capable SUV for city and off-road driving – The Outlander MY16 XLS 4WD is a very capable beast both for city and off-road driving. We drove this vehicle from Melbourne to SA to WA and back and did extensive off-roading during our 12000km road trip. I was particularly impressed with the handling in muddy ,slushy and offroad conditions and negotiating dirt tracks. The 4WD differential lock… Read more

and low gearing is really useful and works like a charm. The ground clearance is decent (~190 mil)and the approach angle makes it go where other SUVs get stuck. Driving close to 1000 km - 1200 kms in a day, the cabin conditions (tyre noise,temperature,engine noise) are reasonable and comparable with more expensive vehicles. Its bitumen road handling is commendable also and enough legroom for 5 standard adults. The only complaint I have is its sluggish response during acceleration from stop while negotiating up hill conditions. The car feels under powered and needs the pedal to be pressed fully or drive it manually in lower gears. The mileage I get is typically 8-9 km/lit in city and 11-12 km/lit on highway in Auto AWD mode and 8-9 km/lit in full 4WD mode.

Surprise Package – We were upgraded to a Mitsi Outlander GLS (equivalent to GLX?) from Europcar, thru whom we had booked a Holden Commodore rental for an almost 2,000 km NZ driving holiday tour. We would never even have considered this model otherwise. What a surprise! Despite it's bland appearance, this is one sophisticated, capable & and underated motoring… Read more

package. (Thank you Europcar).

For starters, you would think a 2.4 litre 4 cylinder petrol motor (91 RON) would be somewhat undernourished, hauling a 7 seater body - wrong. Due to a clever CVT (auto), this motor promptly finds its 'sweet spot' while infinitely variable ratios then adjust to the required speed. Whether it's accelerating to overtake, highway cruising or just trickling thru town at 30kph, wet and slippery winding forest roads, this amazing engine/transmission combination takes it all in it's stride.

CVT's enable engine to operate at optimum efficiency settings, in all conditions. You look at the rev counter in disbelief: Accelerating - engine revs straight up to 4,000 rpm (only), while speed builds up in a surge. Effortless highway cruising - 2,000 rpm (in 6th). Passing thru town - diesel-like 1,000 rpm. Amazing! Don't worry about the engine note, which sometimes sounds like a slipping clutch. It's doing what it's designed to do. Mitsi has matched this engine/tranny combination perfectly.

If that's not enough, steering wheel (which is also adjustable) mounted paddle-shifters enable manual gear ration selection/changes, such as for slowing, under engine braking. On coming to a complete halt, tranny automatically reverts from manual mode to 'D' (auto). To return to Auto mode while on the move, simply flick floor-mounted gear lever into adjacent Neutral and back to D. Then remember to 'Resume' cruise-control. Perhaps there's a better way to do this, to be found in the supplied manual. (A mechanic at one of Mitsi's dealerships said that this was how he did this, in his own Outlander).

Auto wipers (& lights) are pure voodoo magic. Set wipers to auto & they work perfectly on their own, in all conditions - how do they do this? Just watch them when you are cleaning the windscreen manually from the outside, with wipers on auto, as their unexpected operation when you wet glass, may surprise (& wet) you.

Another thing about 'drive' combo, leave tranny set to Eco mode for all highway applications. The magic of electronic vectoring (& stability control?) takes care of everything, so you get both economy but also performance when needed, such as for overtaking, when you will notice the green Eco light goes out briefly. Particularly with NZ fuel prices of > $2/litre, try 6.34 litres/100 kms - that's over 40 mpg in ye olde money, tho' this was almost exclusively highway cycle.

Would like to know how long CVT drive belts last, as this particular vehicle had only travelled 12, 000 kms.

Reversing camera, bluetooth jack, superb sound system, with both panel display screen & steering wheel mounted controls, effective a/c (seperate temp controls for driver & front passenger) & screen demisters (seperate front & rear), mag wheels, ample & ideally 'suited to purpose' storage areas/containers/configurations - what's not to like?

Any complaints? Really nit-picking, cruise control would be less fumble-free to operate on the move, if positions of On and Set switches were reversed. (This may become less of an issue with familiarity, but still counter-intuitive). Also, how to re-engage D mode after engaging manual operation, while on the move...and that bland, bland design. Come on Mitsi stylists. You're letting your Team down.

There's now apparently an electric hybrid version available, as well. Now that would be worth trying.

Disclosure: Reviewer has mechanical engineering degree qualifications and is a long-term car (but never Mitsubishi) afficiando, with no interest whatsoever in any type of product or service promotion.