Interactive Review: 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

July 11, 2012

As the Kia Optima drives off into the horizon, the Cheers & Gears Detroit garage welcomes not one, but two vehicles this week. The first vehicle is the 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC. A bit of mouthful, but let me break it down.

Outlander: Mitsubishi's largest crossover on sale, can seat up to seven people

GT: Top of the line model: comes with a 3.0L MIVEC V6 producing 230 HP and 215 lb-ft of torque and a six-speed automatic transmission

S-AWC: Mitsubishi's advance AWD system which uses an dynamic front differential and Mitsubishi's AWC to provide added safety and performance.

First impressions so far are mixed:

• Outlander's front end is directly related to Lancer Evolution; I like
  
• For $33,605 (as tested price), how come there isn't a USB or Aux jack? Only jacks for video.
  
• Not sure if the Outlander has Bluetooth or not. Has been prewired..
  
• Ride is a bit firm, but actually kind of fun
  

I'll be updating throughout the week with more thoughts and fuel economy numbers. In the meantime, post your questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

As for vehicle number #2, see the next post.

Update #1: I've been driving around in the Outlander GT for past couple of days, and I've found some things I like and some I don't.

I'll start with the the items I don't like: First, I figured out this Outlander hasn't been fully wired for Bluetooth. It does comes prewired with it, but considering its 2012, don't you think it would be fully wired? Also, I'm finding the ride to a bit too firm. While it does keep the Outlander steady while going through turns or off the beaten path, the Outlander will communicate every bump while in the city or on the highway.

The good items about the Outlander: Like the steering on the Outlander, very firm and gives you a very good feel of the road. The six-speed automatic does a very good job of smooth shifts and keeping you in the right gear.

Average fuel economy so far is about 24.1 MPG.

I'll have another update over the weekend with highway numbers and some more thoughts. Keep those questions coming in the meantime.

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.