When people forget something, it doesn’t mean what is forgotten is completely erased out of memory for good, it just needs something to jolt the neurons that have those memories stored in but don’t take my word for it.
Just like I forgot that there is a brilliant brand called Mitsubishi that’s still active in the market. Not because the brand doesn’t mean much, but we petrol heads don’t seem to speak about them as much as we used to.
So, when the Outlander Sport was dropped off at our offices, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really nice Mitsu! When last did I say that name?’ It was just then that I remembered what the brand stood for and what it was all about.
I’m not about to tell you why you should consider getting an Outlander Sport over its competitors (which include other compact and sub-compact crossover SUVs like the Renault Duster, Chery Tiggo Cross, Haval Jolion Pro, and VW T-Cross). But we are going to look at what makes this a worthy companion for the daily grind.
What about driving?
I need to start with the thing I usually hate most: the dreaded CVT transmission. Yes, the Outlander Sport has one. And I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but it’s probably one of the best CVTs I’ve had accompany me on a drive.
For a moment I actually thought I was driving an automatic though there were a few giveaways which I won’t spoil here. Just know that for once, I saw low numbers on my fuel consumption as I averaged 6.6 litres/100km which is not so far off from the claimed 6.2 litres/100km.
Along with the transmission comes a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre DOHC (Dual Overhead Cam) power plant that delivers 141 Nm of torque at 4000rpm and 77 kW of power at 6000rpm.
Now you might be thinking, ‘but it’s a sports car, why would it have only 77 kW to utilise?’ Well, the Mitsubishi Eclipse, which you might remember as the late Paul Walkers green car in The Fast and the Furious, is now an SUV, so go figure.
The Outlander Sport has a ground clearance of 193mm, which gives it a useful amount of height without making getting in and out unnecessarily difficult. Our model rode on 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels wrapped in 225/50 tyres. Despite the relatively large wheels, the ride remained impressively comfortable over rougher surfaces. With Normal, Wet, Gravel and Mud driving modes available, Mitsubishi clearly expects the Outlander Sport to deal with more than perfectly paved city roads.
What about practicality?
This compact SUV offers a well-rounded luggage area. I can’t tell you what the boot space is in official figures, but I do know the math: 439 mm high × 1,060 mm wide × 720 mm deep. And to translate that into simple terms, without folding the back seats, you could fit approximately 3 850 unboxed iPhone 17s into the Outlander Sport!
For those who travel with luggage rather than several thousand smartphones, that translates more usefully to around two medium suitcases with room left for a softer bag or smaller carry-on. Yes, we did the maths, so you don’t have to.
With a 2650 mm wheelbase it provides a generous amount of rear legroom for adults and just enough space for a child to sit in their child seat without kicking against the passenger seat.
Each door has a good amount of space for your pocket goods and a small bottle. The centre console has two cupholders and a pretty deep armrest bin with a cooling function. and if that was not enough, there is a storage tray right under the passenger seat that can easily fit four small water bottles.
There are dedicated smartphone sections around the cabin, one in the front next to the gear lever and the rear has pockets behind the driver and passenger seats for phones and tablets, and larger pockets at the bottom of said seats. The centre seat has a pull down which also can be used as cup holders for rear passengers.
What about the cabin?
Since Mitsubishi has been around since yesteryear, it comes as little surprise that the cabin feels reassuringly robust. There’s a mixture of soft-touch, fabric and harder plastic finishes, but everything feels solidly put together. The leather-trimmed seats are manually adjustable and, while heating and ventilation aren’t part of the package, they offer good bolstering and a suitably sporty feel.
There is a nice fabric touch on some accents of the Outlander Sport mainly on the dashboard, air vents and adorning the door handle. Speaking of, the door panels are plastic, which doesn’t really bother the eye much as they do have a good design and feel pretty solid.
There’s an ‘extended’ looking display that connects the 8-inch cluster and infotainment system which blends itself down to a floating console. The 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system is fairly easy to navigate and has minimal features to it and does feature both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
What I’m glad to see is an approach to using physical buttons for the air-conditioning rather than throwing everything into a huge tablet. This makes it easy to access and configure the climate control, which comes in handy, reducing distractions and keeping your hands on the wheel longer.
And since I love the wireless life, I was happy to find a charging pad just below the floating consol, with USB Type-C and USB-A ports featured both in front and the back of the Outlander.
Other features include a reverse camera with a clear, useful video feed to work along the parking sensors and the Outlander’s safety features like the rear cross traffic alert.
What about the exterior?
Mitsubishi went bold with the design. The Outlander Sport doesn’t simply look sporty; it carries itself with more presence than you might expect from a compact crossover.
I received it in this striking Energetic Yellow Metallic paintwork, which would stick out like a sore thumb in traffic if it weren’t for how the design works so perfectly with it. There’s what I call, ‘Thor’s hammer styled’ like front headlights and taillights which are bevelled in so it looks as if the lights have been moulded from within the body work.
The front bumper has an aggressive styling with the grille touched up with gloss black accents and some black cladding across the lower parts of the bumper. The same cladding is spread across the body on the wheel arches all the way to the back bumper where it again seems to integrate into the body itself.
The ‘Costa’ reality check
How I dread having to look for the good, bad and the ugly. Unfortunately, the Outlander Sport does have fairly good competition that falls within its price range. As mentioned earlier the competition includes the likes of the Chery Tiggo Cross which comes with faster Turbocharged Variants and traditional automatics which hypes me.
It may not be the fastest or flashiest option in this increasingly crowded segment, but the Outlander Sport reminded me of something I’d almost forgotten: Mitsubishi knows how to build an honest, solid car. And surprisingly, even the CVT couldn’t ruin that for me.
Specs:
Outlander Sport GLS
1.5L CVT
- 1.5L 16-Valve DOHC
- 17” Alloy Wheels
- Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist
- 8” Smartphone-link display audio (SDA)
Starts from: R449 990
Outlander Sport Exceed
1.5L CVT
- Synthetic Leather Seat with Anti-temp Rise
- 12.3” Smartphone-link display audio (SDA)
- Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist
- YAMAHA Premium Dynamic Sound with 8 Speakers
Starting from: R499 990
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