After six months on sale in Europe – where it made its debut (with a mild restyle) long after Japan and the US, Mitsubishi’s Outlander crossover has notched up a targeted 13,000 sales and is soon to get more engines.
At the Frankfurt motor show next September, Mitsubishi will add the 156PS PSA Peugeot-Citroen-made 2.2-litre engine to the range, badged 2.2 Di-D in line with its other diesel models sold in Europe. This engine is shared with the restyled-nose Peugeot- and Citroen-badged Outlander variants Mitsubishi builds for PSA.
The new diesel, with four-wheel drive and six-speed manual gearbox, will be available from the fourth quarter of this year, along with a new 2.4-litre ‘MIVEC’ petrol engine developing 170 PS – this Mitsubishi-made motor is a product of the Chrysler-Mitsubishi-Hyundai engine alliance.
This will come with either two- or four-wheel drive (Mitsubishi brands the latter ‘All Wheel Control’) depending on market, with a choice of five-speed manual or stepped sport mode six-speed CVT automatic with optional paddle shift controls.
These two new ‘high power’ engines will complement the existing ‘mild power’ 140PS Volkswagen-supplied two-litre Di-D diesel pump-jet engine, a variant of the popular 140hp TDi-branded motor used in many VW Group vehicles.
Other 2008 model year Outlander improvements include new milled finish 18” alloy wheels, rain and rear parking sensors, soft touch paint finish on the dashboard and a rear view camera available with the so-called Mitsubishi Multi Communication System (full-map, touch screen, hard disk drive (HDD) navigation with music server).
