t’s not very often that I make big, bold statements about the vehicles I drive.
Oh sure, I liked this one a lot and that one was really cool and the other one was a proper driver’s car, etcetera, but I don’t think I’ve ever said this vehicle is the best this manufacturer has ever produced.
Until now.
I am speaking now of the new generation Outlander from Mitsubishi, and yes, this IS the best package ever from the Triple Diamond brand.
You can try to convince me otherwise, but you’ll fail I’m afraid because it was – and still is – nigh on impossible to shut me up about this particular SUV.
But the best Mitsi product ever? What about the Evo? What about the Lancer? What about the GTO or – stepping into SUV territory now – the evergreen Pajero?
Good vehicles all – though I could still find something to moan about by channelling my inner Clarkson – but I’m afraid that the Outlander for 2022 is as close to bulletproof when it comes to being picky as any vehicle bearing the Mitsubishi name is ever likely to get.
Not only that, but the Outlander is as far removed from its predecessor as it is possible to get and stay in the same century.
In fact, I would suggest one would struggle to see a previous model Outlander against the 2022 version and think of them as coming from the same manufacturer. We’re not talking really good facelift here, we’re talking DC10 to Concorde changes.
Those changes are not just in the body or the interior. The entire SUV and its inherent driving characteristics have changed, the engine improved; heck it is Outlander reborn, not just reimagined.
I’m picking the new generation Outlander will be carrying Mitsubishi well into 2023 and be considered the benchmark for SUVs in the market segment to boot.
Are you getting the idea that I liked it? Good, because I really did. Now, here’s what you need to know:
The 2022 Outlander looks nothing like what you have seen before from Mitsubishi. Photographs of this vehicle don’t do it justice. Go see one in the metal and you’ll understand what I mean.
There are no flighty curves or upsweeps here, this Outlander has been mined from metal ore and gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘badass’ in its standard showroom configuration – at least in black VRX AWD form seen here.
And this one is loaded with just a few of the accessories you can personalise your Outlander with, keeping it individual as well as practical. Even the OUTLANDER name on the bonnet has three options!
Externally, the ‘22 Outlander is longer, wider, bigger in wheelbase, and with greater ground clearance (now at 205 to 210mm) but it has shorter front and rear overhangs, useful for not-too challenging adventuring.
The new dimensions have also translated into the interior, which is now much roomier and more accommodating for passengers and cargo.
There’s an increase of 28mm between front and second row seats and a 40mm increase between passengers in the second row and by 30mm in the third. Cargo space goes from 655 litres to 1473 litres in the seven-seat and from 694 to 1500 litres in the five-seat models.  
The interior will surprise and delight Outlander customers. You won’t have seen an interior from Mitsubishi like the VRX Outlander, unless you’ve been looking into vehicles with close to $100,000 prices.
Ordinarily, I’d run a mile from a light-coloured leather interior, but for this, I’d crawl a mile on broken glass to get it.
It is so classy, refined, comfortable and stunningly good looking it could easily be dropped into an SUV that’s double the price of the Outlander.
And well appointed? A nine-inch touchscreen for the new generation Smartphone Link Display Audio (SDA) system, that’s Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, sat nav, infotainment and reversing camera screen to you, takes pride of place over a beautifully crafted dashboard, executed with just the right amount of finesse and premium tactile surfaces.
The highlight for me though, was the steering wheel. Multifunctional of course, but the thickness of the leather wheel is what did it.
It is unlike any other Mitsubishi. This wheel is a joy to hold with your hands in the approved safety manner and really connects the driver with the vehicle and its wheels, physically and viscerally.
Literally topping off the ultra-luxury cabin is the sunroof, not something I usually comment on, on account of being a little short of grass on the top 40 paddock. I did however spend a week with that bad boy letting in a cabin full of sky; and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  
There has been a considerable rationalisation in the new generation Outlander line-up, with more common components than not.  
Across the range is an eight-speed, shift-by-wire CVT with sports mode paddle shifters to take the – also common to all models – new, 2.5-litre engine’s 135kW of power and 245Nm of torque, to the front or all four wheels.
The new engine features five new-for-Mitsubishi technologies to deliver greater efficiencies and performance levels, including direct port injection, cooled external exhaust gas recirculation and mirror bore coating for the combustion chamber, to mention but a few.
From a driving perspective, the new engine has a sense of urgency – bordering on abrupt to begin with, but easy to adapt to – which the lazier 2.4 did not have.
The new engine is also better matched to the transmission than it has been in the past, accentuating the urgency to the point where the – again, all model – paddle shifters are almost redundant.
Fuel figures (factory and achieved) sit at 8.1 litres per 100km for 185gm/km CO2 in the VRX. 2WD entry level models return 7.5 litres per 100km and 170gm/km.
Safety? Oh my gosh, this Outlander has the works and happily, 98 percent of the safety features are common throughout the range. I particularly like the Caribbean steel rope band chime that is the seatbelt reminder.
I’m afraid all I can do is list the safety features along with the complete model range and prices. But I will end off by reiterating the point: as SUV’s go, this is automotive art on a scale with the Mona Lisa.