Mitsubishi Outlander 2014: the future direction for Mitsubishi

THE 2014 Outlander serves as an illustration of the direction Mitsubishi is headed—away from niche performance appeal and a bold personality, and toward efficient, comfortable, and ubiquitous. The Mitsubishi Outlander is all of that, as the automaker tries to push for the middle of one of the fastest-growing areas of the market.

And it only takes seeing the new model—or seeing it next to the 2013—to get that message. While the outgoing Mitsubishi Outlander, with its blunt, shark-nose front end, wedgelike silhouette, and performance-tinged interior, channeled some of the spirit of the Evolution sport sedan in appearance, Mitsubishi is showing simplicity and practicality in this more restrained look.

Without the bulbous front-end styling and unfocused exterior look, we’d call it elegant (it is, in profile), but it’s not a sporty look, with its smooth sheetmetal and single beltline crease. Inside, ‘simple’ is also the way to describe the look of the rather low-set instrument panel. There aren’t a lot of buttons, and the layout and trims are modest but tasteful.

Now Mitsubishi may aspire to reach more value-minded families with the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander, but it’ll need to be those who aren’t all that interested in fashion-forward design. Driving enjoyment, too, is no longer as much of a priority.

The former Outlander was also, we dare say, a better drive. Although heavy, especially in top GT form, this former version was tuned (deceptively) for the back roads.

The 2014 Outlander may be more nimble, thanks to an aggressive weight-loss plan in the structure that includes more high-tensile steel; and it might be a bit faster, by the numbers. But with a softer suspension and other changes aimed at refinement, it’s not more fun to drive. If you know the likes of the Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4, the driving experience for the Outlander is fully competitive, if not a bit more refined.