2009 Mitsubishi Outlander

Talkers I would like some advice and user experience on this car as I have always been eyeing it for quite sometime but saw one during easter that really dissapointed me. Here is my story:
I am a great fan of mitsubishi cars and this is after owning one for about three years now and having driven a couple of different ones and I really liked their performances. To begin with, I own an old jalopy in the name of a mitsubishi lancer ck2 (YOM 1997). It has always been my plan to upgrade to a Mitsubishi Outlander in the near future and ultimately to the Pajero because I am Mitsu blood and bone.
My lancer serves me very well considering that I have no family of my own and I take trips upcountry(In the land where the deputy president was born) at least once in every two months. Now, recently during the easter holiday I headed up to unite with my kin.
So come Monday early morning I set my journey back to Nrb and just after burnt forest I notice some car with bright fog lamps (I fail to understand why some people have the fog lights during the day yet those are not Daytime running Lights) coming pretty fast and I subtly indicated for it to pass. On overtaking I notice its a 2009 Outlander and from the look of things it had like four occupants (two adults and two children), and it soon disappears. Soon I get to Ainabkoi junction (ile junction ya kwenda kapsabet) and those who have used this road know that it’s like 3kms of climbing when heading to Nrb. There are a couple of trailers on the climbing lane and so I take the middle lane and steadly cruise at a 100kph up the hill. However, midway through the climbing I find the outlander labouring to climb and I quickly close the gap. Soon am behind the outlander and on the climbing lane their is a matatu going at par with this outlander and the guy cant seem to overtake the matatu. I honk and flash lights but the fool is not budging and so I take the third lane and try to overtake but by this time my momentum is gone and the car seems to be labouring and now we are all at par, and there is an oncoming trailer. Well, I shift down from 5th to 3rd gear and I quickly overtake the two cars and get back to the climbing lane.
This seemed to have not sat well with the Outlander guy and soon after the climbing was over he flew by, guessing he was at 120+. Came the next climbing phase and again the outlander is there labouring to climb and I easily overtake.
To cut the long story short, this kept on happening all through to Kinugi where I overtook and didn’t see the Outlander behind me again. So my concerns are:

  1. Was it that the car had mechanical faults or outlanders are generally lazy when it comes to climbing considering that other cars of the same class such as the RAV4 are serious hill climbers and genuinely you can’t compete with them with a 1500cc engine.
  2. Is this car powerful enough to offer good performance for long distances
  3. How is its fuel consumption vis a vis road performance?

Labda ilikuwa the 2000cc version, might struggle considering the curb weight.This scenario is very common with 1500cc Subaru Impreza .Most people equate Subaru to speed.

My experience with mitsubishi climbing and take off is excellent as I own Galant fortis 2007 model. The the issue is with the driver…Though hii 6 speed CVT gearbox when on auto shift is lazy(ecomony)…Weka manual shift u fly

The Outlander has a CVT transmission which requires technique and experience on how to shift gears in manual mode,the reason it was struggling in an incline

IF THIS IS ANYTHING TO GO BY. PERSONALY I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH MITS.

Hi JM,
I am a Mitsubishi fan, period. Having said that, you’ll have to forgive me if I am a little biased towards cars Mits. I love the Evos, and I can’t help ogling at the Outlander, especially, the Roadest.
Anyway, I want to acquire an Outlander, so I have to try and be realistic regarding whether I can live with one or not. So,would you please tell me what you know about the Outlanders, 2000cc and 2400cc? Their evolution since 2006 in terms of performance, fuel efficiency and safety/reliability?
I know they are beautiful, so you can skip that. Can you also try to demystify the much-touted MIVEC?
Nyawa Mwangulu.

Hello Nyawa,
The problem with Mitsubishis is if they are good,they are very good. Take a gander at the Lancer Evolution and the Fuso line of trucks: paragons of excellence in their respective fields. However, when Mitsubishis are bad, they are damn near pathetic. Steal a glance at the ordinary Lancer saloon. Boring car, further marred by constant unreliability. The Pajero would be an awesome off-roader if it wasn’t so soft – literally. The thing bends and splits along the B pillar if you are always going down the untrodden path. Then there is the Outlander.
The performance is so-so, nothing spectacular for its field despite the extra cubic inches from the 2.4 litre engine (most of its rivals hover around the 2.0 litre mark). Fuel efficiency is very good if you drive like a coward; put your foot down and all that MIVEC-GDI sorcery focuses on not getting left behind and forgets that fuel economy is a real thing. Turn on the taps and the thirst becomes apparent. Safety ratings look impressive: five stars each for drivers and passengers (as well as their seats), with the not-quite-fly-in-the-ointment four stars going to general rollover rating.
A deeper look reveals that while most parameters receive the maximum “good” mark, the safety cage, roof strength and passenger foot wells can only manage as second best score of “average” at best. Not bad at all. As far as reliability goes, the Outlander does not wield a strong club when it comes to street cred. Many are the lamentations against it, its electrical systems and its automatic transmission. I’d give it a pass and steer towards a Honda CRV should the need to buy one of these vehicles arise.
MIVEC stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control. It is analogous to Toyota’s VVT-i and Honda’s famous VTEC in that valve timing is controlled electronically to optimise power and torque outputs. In essence, the camshafts have two profiles: a low performance, high-efficiency setup for low rev operations such as when going to the shops or to church, and a high-performance (and thirsty), high rev gig for when you notice a Subaru Forester in your mirrors and it has a hood scoop.

Saying the mitsubishi lancer saloon is unreliable is very inaccurate. I have used both toyota ae100 nd a lancer saloon(with more mileage in the odometer) and I would say thr lancer is much more reliable. You just have to adhere to service schedules and you would be good to go

Gari yenye ilipea mitsubishi jina mbaya ni pajero io.That car is just junk from electrical system to engine n gearbox

that car was utter trash. Na bado naionanga around, was thinking itakuwa extinct by now.

what about it was bad? i think they’re ok. in fact i was encouraging madam to buy one like that.

Ata mimi nilikuwa nakamezea mate due to its 4wd option, lakini kalipararishwa hapa nikafunga hio chapter yake…

Badala ya io nunua toyota rush

Hio iliku ignorance ya gear shift by dere

Take semiauto option with shift… Won’t disappoint! can’t disappoint! I recently added an ASX 2.0 (outlander sports version) to my lot and when it comes to high rev handling I find it amazing… you just have to shift especially when on an incline and you have the zoom. No Suby can catch you… Recently used it to Mombasa and the performance was great. Fuel efficiency was at 10.1Km/l with average of 98kph…

Wondering the same alafu bado wale wanaziuza second hand bei ni mbaya considering its results make a mistake of buying it without knowing utakipata

my rela had this car a while back. ilikuwa na a lot of engine problems, was a guzzler na ilikuwa underpowered sana. Haiwezani na milima at all.
He sold it 7months after kuimport. Hiyo io wachana nayo.

tena alitaka hiyo rush sana. but it’s a bit off the budget…

i fixed this story for you.
but if you’re of the belief that huwesshikwa, i challenge you.
ngoja nimalize fozzy. i bought tires jana a cool 48k. oh the pain…

Nipatie merctortoise benz ni gift some grumpy old man

One thing I noticed with Mitsubishi owners is that they are out to prove their cars are superior. One guy was chasing down my alfa. All he received was ultimate shock. With an anti-roll kit that comes as standard on my alfa the bastard almost died as he tried to keep up. A shorter gear ratio and a twin turbo combined with Italian racing DNA is something no Japanese maker can match… Not the subs or yotas or nissans come close. I am working to import a guilleta and it will be chapter closed even for Mercedes, BMW zseries and M3s. Raw naturally aspirated power.