Mitsubishi Outlander (07 on) - Review

There's good passenger space in the Outlander - if you're in the front or the second row. Most models come with seven seats which fold out of the boot floor. While this is useful, the seats have severely limited leg room and the backs are very upright so they're not comfortable. They're also thinly padded. If you're just using the standard back seats the news is much better, they're comfortable and give good support while there's plenty of head and leg room. Electric windows and air conditioning are both standard on all models and although the ride is a little firm in town, it's better on the motorway. The diesel engine can be a little noisy though and there's noticeable wind noise.

Boot space in the Outlander is competitive with cars like the Toyota RAV4 with 541 litres behind the second row of seats, although this can be increased to 589 litres with the rear seats slid forwards. The extra seats in seven-seat models don't impact on boot space when not in use as they fold into the floor. Annoyingly though, they're incredibly fiddly to put up and fold down again – the system is far from intuitive and even with instructions it’s a long-winded affair, with three straps and an awkward folding mechanism. When in place they cut boot capacity to a meagre 220 litres. The boot area itself is also narrow and although it feature a useful split tailgate (which makes loading heavy objects easier) it isn't as large as you'd expect on a offroader of this size. On the plus side, the glove compartment is a two-tier system and there is a storage compartment between the front seats. There are also four 500ml bottle holders in the door pockets.

The Outlander has some neat design touches inside as well as outside. The cowled dials are meant to echo the instrument design on a motorcycle, while the centre console is a similar shape to a motorcycle fuel tank. The decor is plain and purposeful, but well finished. Visibility is good although the windscreen pillars can obscure the view at junctions.