Thread: What do we know about Mitsi Outlanders? Asking for....

..... my daughter.

She's decided she 'needs' a SUV, and is considering one of these, probably 2016-2020 model.

I understand they are available in 2.0 litre and 2.4litre petrol, and a 2.3 litre deisel, and 2 or 4WD?

As you'd expect, this thing will never go off sealed roads. Any of those to 'avoid like the plague' (to quote the "Dog and Lemon" guide)?

Interested in people experiences, please....

TIA.

Got a current one (well the last version as the latest one is just out). Got it on runout, as a 3-yr/100,000Km version was about $3K cheaper than the runout price, and no warranty on the second hand - no real question really.

You also get a 3.0L petrol V6 which goes quite well, but you need to feed it somehow. The pick for me would be the 2.4L petrol, timing chain so if it's not sounding like a machine gun it's good to go. If it's not going off road, don't bother with looking for 4WD but on the other hand if the car you like has it and the price is right it wouldn't put me off. There is a bit of a weight penalty for it, and it pays to engage it every few weeks which can be a problem for the ladies who don't have the interest and understand how it works. Not uncommon to find them where it takes a few goes to get the servo's to engage.

The diesels are comparatively rare, and you can get a hybrid in that age bracket although the batteries are not serviceable in NZ (no spare hybrid batteries in NZ at all). I would avoid both of those options (hybrid is about 450Kg heavier to boot). The V6 petrol is timing belt driven - as I said goes OK and if it was cheap I would consider it but expensive on gas in comparison to the 2.4L petrol and changing the timing belt every 100K's gets a little old.

You get two options in interior fitout, 7-seat with fold up 'dickie' seats in the boot (really only good for a small adult or older kids) and 5-seat. We've got the 7 version and it has actually had more use than I would have thought to be fair - usually due to extra kids and hangers on turning up. The interiors are a little basic and dated compared to the likes of a Ford/Mazda or a Toyota but they do the job, some import versions might be lacking cruise control in that age section but most have the expected stuff. I think that age has a normal key, not the bloody hated keyless bullshit that is great for women who loose the bloody key in their handbags or general pile of crap they cart with them but then take 8 freaking hours to find the damn thing to hand it over (or worse forget and piss off out of the thing with fob in pocket leaving you imobilised with the engine running).

I would try and stick with NZ new, but if you find one in good nick, looks like honest Km's (check brake disc wear) and the price is right again I'd consider an import. Also, CVT trans so pays to look for one that doesn't and hasn't had a towbar fitted. Could save a lot of transmission heartache!

i wouldnt touch any car or ute with a CVT. they are POS

We have a 2009 one as wifes family car.
2.4 petrol.
As mentioned interiors are a little basic compared to others but it does the job.
CVT takes a bit of getting used to, fuel usage around town can be a little heavy but open road mileage is pretty decent for a SUV.
Ours is a 5 seat 4wd, sees a bit of gravel road usage.
Also a 5 star safety rating I believe.
I'd recommend one and would own a other no worries.

Sent from my SM-A505GN using Tapatalk

My sister has a 2015 phev model, battery is stuffed, and a replacement costs more than the car.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have had a 2006 model for 4-5 yrs now. 4WD version. I have had an excellent run from mine , brought at 106 km and now done 255km . Other than oil, filters and tires all it's cost me in parts is $73
They are reasonably comfortable and are a bit of a jack of all trades and a master of none.
I commute 600 km per week ( that's a tank of gas ) and get on the odd farm track and rolling paddocks for shooting. The 4WD works but it's not a hard core off road machine but any stretch of the imagination.
Suspension is on the softer side which makes for pleasant road travel.
Power is ok and it will sit all day at 100 km to 120 km and has enough for overtaking.
The CVT is not great , I never tow with mine or thrash the gas peddle . It feels very soft and I wouldn't trust it for towing . In fact I wouldn't even look at one if it's got a tow bar fitted.
With the 4WD option they aren't they cheapest car at the gas station.
Over all I really like mine and would own another one tomorrow, maybe I got lucky and I make sure I run good oil and change on the dot if not before.
The Transmission is probably my biggest negative but if your aware of it and drive / use the car accordingly then hopefully it will cause no problems.

Have had 3, never had a problem, all been 2.4 petrol. Mate has 2l petrol, said he wished it was the 2.4l

The latest iteration of the CVT with the all steel band is a different beast to the earlier ones - pretty much all vehicles are going this way now unless a semi-commercial or a full size 4wd. Pretty much they are here to stay, and despite the rep a lot give as good service as anything that's come before.

Mitsi give a 10-year original owner warranty on them with towing - they would not do that if they all returned at the 4 year mark.

my missus is looking at one too so this is all good info, she is leaning towards the 2wd suzi vitara as a winner but till that happens the mitsi is the only other one on the list

We have a 2013 model (2nd NZ owner). Bought at 34km, now at 100km. Does what we want which is road trips and the 4WD is a handy back up on the mountain for skiing. I like the space in the back. Comfortable open road cruiser and pretty economical at it.
Put a claim in with insurance after one too many potholes saw the rear left suspension 5hit itself. The local Mitsi dealer here in Taranaki said no to the insurance company claim. Explanation is it's expected that you would replace the suspension every 6-7 years (WTF). Arguing back and forth that our last SUV being driven on the same roads in the same manner had got through to 300km no problems fell on deaf ears. Didn't realise suspension was treated as a consumable part. Couldn't find any mention of it in the service schedule in the manual. Still stone walled me on it.

Like the car well enough, but won't be buying another Mitsi when we decide to trade on that basis and told them so. There's other options around.

I hear that - that is an actual insurance viewpoint though. I had a Nissan Pulsar sedan as the wife's car which I replaced the shocks in, about a month later a Landcruiser towing a boat couldn't stop going down a hill and shunted the three cars behind her into the missus. Her car got pushed into the one in front, and took the entire squash for the lot. Should have been written off, but they repaired it at a grand over write off - I still can't work out why to this day as it failed the next WOF (I took it in the week after getting it back) and then we had the fight to repair the rest of the accident damage they ignored. I couldn't get them to wear the leaky rooted (but near brand new) shocks, as they were so over insured amount they just said take us to court, we can't afford to spend any more on it! So yes, shocks are considered a consumable item, and the service manual will give guidance that they are usually required to be replaced between 80 and 120,000Km or something like that.

It's not actually a Mitsi thing - although it probably feels like it when you get the news. Also, Mitsi won't turn it down themselves - there would have been a conversation with an assessor in there somewhere.

The Outlander I actually would not class as a SUV as well, it's more a station wagon crossover - we had a compact or light SUV as the car prior to the Outlander and the roofline on the Sassenach is about 80mm lower (SUV was a Hyundai Tuscon 08 model - 4wd and we never used it).

Originally Posted by No.3

The latest iteration of the CVT with the all steel band is a different beast to the earlier ones - pretty much all vehicles are going this way now unless a semi-commercial or a full size 4wd. Pretty much they are here to stay, and despite the rep a lot give as good service as anything that's come before.

Mitsi give a 10-year original owner warranty on them with towing - they would not do that if they all returned at the 4 year mark.

Thanks......
@No.3 any idea what model years are 'the latest iteration' with that different CVT?

That comment wasn't in reference to just Mitsi's - it was basically everything after say 2010 or so?

As far as the Outlanders, pretty much everything after the 2005/6 year uses the current series 2.4L petrol with a few tweaks in terms of sensors and fuel handling as the years progressed, I'm reasonably happy to say the trans are the same basic family with a few tweaks as well (or at least to the best of my knowledge and the limited amount I've had to do with replacing trans filters and fluid). They seem to quote the similar range of model codes for them and they look similar anyway, even if there are internal differences that aren't obvious!

I know of a couple of Outlanders that have been company or leased vehicles and towed every other day for over three years before going into private ownership and haven't died yet.

Originally Posted by Bill999

my missus is looking at one too so this is all good info, she is leaning towards the 2wd suzi vitara as a winner but till that happens the mitsi is the only other one on the list

I had a 2017 2.4 Grand Vitara. Went any place the sons Prado tried and then some. Obviously 4wd. The fuel consumption was shocking, being AWD. Btw I have a snorkel kit here for a 2.4 petrol if anyones looking for a cheap bit of kit.

We just did head gasket on one, third in 2 months, we have 8 or 10 in our customer list I reckon