Mitsubishi Outlander Estate (2007 - 2013) boot space, practicality and safety

The Outlander was awarded four stars for adult occupant safety in Euro NCAP crash tests which is respectable and on par with other offroaders such as the Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail and Chevrolet Captiva. Mitsubishi Outlander safety kit includes electronic stability control (which helps correct the car’s line during a skid and potentially avoid accidents) and front airbags, although you have to upgrade to Warrior specification for side and curtain airbags.

Warrior models also come with Bluetooth hands-free phone compatibility.

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.