when a family crossover knows how to “tasty” ride

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It so happened that I managed to ride two Outlander at once. They were almost the same, but different hearts under the hood beat. And if the first – a two-liter – seemed to me a typical family crossover, the second “experimental”, with a three-liter V6 engine, dared to say that you can enjoy riding a crossover

We will talk about pleasure on the go a little later, but for now we will focus on the aesthetic delight that the car design gives. A funny story turns out when the first Outlander appeared on our market, many noted its rapid appearance, with some touch of sport. The second generation reinforced this impression, especially when there was a restyling and the car got some features from the legendary “Lancer”, which, although we rested in the Bose, it has remained loved by the people to this day. Then came 2013, and the majority of Outlander fans almost had a heart attack, because the third generation Outlander entered the market, which turned out to be somewhat specific. Maybe I’m dramatic, but then the design of the car “did not go” only lazy. Yes, the car was original, but somehow did not please …. Restyling in 2014 did not change the picture especially, but in 2015 some Samurai approached Outlander, took his sword and delivered several serious blows and radically altered the appearance of the car. I’m talking about the Dynamic Shield concept, which has seriously changed the front of the car. Firstly, it became somewhat longer, which gave the general silhouette of swiftness. Secondly, it began to be crowned with a beautiful chrome “X”, which returned to the car the very aggression that the crossovers of the first two generations were famous for. Yes, of course, they joked about this “X” and still joke that the car looked like a military cheburashka or Darth Vader. Individuals made opaque hints that Mitsubishi designers borrowed this idea from Lada Vesta, and there was even a rumor that Steve Mattin himself sharpened his teeth on plagiarism of Japanese artists. Whether it is true or not is absolutely not important. It is important that 2019 is in the yard, and the car, even if it went through a couple of small restylings, looks fresh and pleases the eye.

What, unfortunately, can not be said about the cabin. No, I will not say that he is bad, but some old “Americanism” blows from him. Perhaps the front panel bothers me so much, which causes associations with some Tahoe of the nineties – it is quite massive and decently sticks out into the cabin, visually eating up the space, which, in fact, is abundant here. However, there are practically no complaints about ergonomics. Armchairs with a long pillow deserve a separate plus – legs will say thanks. I’ll add a few words about the inner space, it is abundant here. I am a man of a fairly large size, about a meter in height, perfectly sat down “by himself”, and my twin brother and a smaller man sit quietly next to me – this is facilitated by a decent width of the cabin and the absence of a central tunnel. As for the options, there are enough of them: there are keyless access, dual-zone climate control, and a whole multimedia system about six speakers with a rear-view camera and support for smartphone integration. He, by the way, sounds good, and, suddenly, adequately managed. Believe me, a good multimedia sensor is a rarity in the middle class. True, there is a small claim that relates to the quality of the image from the camera – I would like to see a higher resolution. The last words that I will say in relation to the interior are intended for the trunk. In fact, I really have nothing to say. He is corny good. When the rear seats are folded, a flat floor is formed, which, coupled with a low loading height, will provide loaders with joy, because, thanks to the previously mentioned interior space, a lot of useful things can fit into a car. Speaking in the language of numbers, then in the standard state we have 477 liters, and with the seats folded we get 1608 liters of usable volume. In practice, in my case, this resulted in the possibility of transporting eight large boxes of delicious apples from the cottage.

As for the technical characteristics, here, as I said at the very beginning, there was a small revelation. However, this applies to the model with a three-liter V6 engine and before speaking about it, I will allow myself to say a few words about the basic two-liter modification. In the asset, we have 140 horsepower and a variator. And I must say that such a car does not feel flawed at all. To a hundred, the crossover accelerates in about eleven to twelve seconds. Of course, we can say that the car of stars from the sky is not enough, but in the city, for example, the dynamics are enough for the eyes, and on the highway you can safely overtake on the highway. Curious, but there is a definite merit of the variator. By the way, keep quiet those who say with foam at the mouth that the car is equipped with the well-known Jatco JF011E variator, because it is not. Since 2015, the Jatco CVT8 CVT has been installed on the Outlander, and these units are two big differences. I will explain, firstly, CVT8, thanks to the new electronic unit, is able to simulate the behavior of a conventional machine. Secondly, the new variator has a different construct, for example, its cones have a greater difference in extreme points, which increases the range of gear ratios, which means that the motor will be able to stay longer within effective revs during acceleration. In order not to embarrass you with technical terminology, I’ll say easier – it’s as if to ordinary mechanics or automatic machine add one more step. In any case, at the level of sensations, the car is driving with dignity, but one is definitely not enough for it – a spark.

Here a three-liter Outlander with a V6 engine is already entering the scene, and after replacing it, I realized that I was driving a different car. It’s just provocative, and if the younger versions of the crossover drive on the principle of “accelerate and move thoughtfully,” then we apply the “click and go” principle to the three-liter “Out”. Nearly 230 horsepower accelerates a one and a half ton carcass in less than 9 seconds. For a crossover it’s damn fast. For comparison, a Volkswagen Polo with a 1.4 turbo engine accelerates in a similar amount of time, but where is a small city lighter and where is a large family crossover …. In short, a large volume decides. By the way, in tandem with the V6 engine, it’s not a CVT that works, but a six-speed automatic that shifts gears quite quickly. Unfortunately, you have to pay for any pleasure and dynamic driving turns into immodest fuel consumption. If you prefer to crush the sneaker on the floor, then get ready that Outlander calmly eat 15 or more liters per hundred. It’s funny, but the minimum consumption that I managed to achieve on a crossover with a V6 was 12 liters in the “severe nausea” mode. By the way, it is recommended to refuel it with 95th gasoline, while a two-liter car can be fed with 92nd. In addition, from the above indicators, you can safely subtract three liters, that is, on average, we get 9-10 liters per hundred.

Some questions cause me suspension. The fact is that on a good road the car drives nicely, somewhat falling over in corners. By the way, the swath contrasts with decent brakes. Small bumps, hatches, tram tracks and other obstacles the crossover swallows with a bang, but large bumps already become, at times, a test for Outlander. To overcome them, it is worthwhile to approach it deliberately, slowing down the pace, otherwise you can get a breakdown, as it happened to me a couple of times. Rumor has it that previous generations of “Outlander” had a stiffer and more energy-intensive suspension, which allowed “tanning”. I do not presume to approve, because I have not tried it, but now it’s clearly visible that the creators put comfort of movement on roads and highways at the forefront and this is normal, since a crossover and an SUV are two different things. True, our compatriots most often perceive crossovers as full-fledged jeeps, reasoning as follows: “Well, why, there is a high clearance, four-wheel drive – that means I’ll go everywhere.” By the way, about all-wheel drive. Unfortunately, I was not able to realize all its charm, unlike my colleagues who tested this car earlier, however, I will allow myself to express a few words about all-wheel drive. You know, in Subaru there is an all-wheel drive system X-Mode, which is intelligent and implements special algorithms for the transmission and electronics when driving in difficult conditions. In the case of Outlander, we can say that four-wheel drive is also smart here, although its genius is alternative. We are talking about the S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) system, which is designed not for “climbing mud and pampas,” but for a rally on primers and gravel roads. Describing the mechanism of work, you can spend a lot of paper, but it comes down to the following squeeze: depending on driving conditions, in turns, the electronics can brake the inner wheels to adjust the trajectory and distribute a large fraction of the moment from the motor to the rear axle and the outer front wheel in order to preserve the set trajectory.

What can be summed up? Initially, I was supposed to write about the three-liter Outlander with the V6, but I could not help but mention his younger brother, as in the global sense we just have a wonderful representative of the crossover world. It is large, it is well equipped and it will take you, your wife, children, dogs and will be an excellent means of transportation in the surrounding space. However, if the usual Outlander is designed specifically for movement, the “Out” with V6 is already designed for riding “with pepper”, for long runs at high speed, for the ability to overtake without hesitation, for all the moments from which you will get high. You know, it’s like a situation with two vases of vanilla ice cream. It seems that both there and there is a good vanilla ice cream, only one of the vases was decorated with a sweet cocktail cherry. It would seem that it’s just cherry, just an accent, but how it changes the whole process of consumption – you leave it for later, and after that you simply savor it and understand that it’s tastier with a cherry ….

Author

Ovchinnikov Georgy, columnist for MotorPage

Edition

MotorPage.Ru

A photo

photo of the author and manufacturer