SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

THE HITS KEEP COMING BUT SOME MISSES EMERGE

- ALEX INWOOD

MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER EXCEED

Price as tested $48,629 [+ORC)

This month 542km @ 9.9L/100km

Overall 1071km @ 9.9L/100km

WELCOMES TO the Wheels garage don't get much warmer than the one I gave this Mitsubishi Outlander last update. Perhaps it was the lingering memory of the underwhelming old model that saw this fourth-gen version make such a positive impression but in virtually every metric it exceeded my expectations. Eye-catching looks, a high-quality interior, comfortable seats, loads of equipment, refined road manners... I'll admit I was suitably impressed.

But there's an elephant in the room that needs addressing. When we compared this new Outlander with the Kia Sportage and ageing Subaru Forester in a recent issue, the Mitsu came stone cold last. It wasn't a browbeating by any means - the Outlander scored high marks - but it was more a case of this new model gaining kudos as the segment's 'most improved' contender rather than swooping from obscurity to be the new benchmark.

And now, eight weeks into our longterm loan, some of those shortcomings are floating to the surface. Mostly they're little things, the kind of niggles that only begin to grate after extended use, but that's exactly why we run these longer loans of course.