New vs used Mitsubishi Outlander: What are the top 3 differences?
Mitsubishi’s Outlander has acquired a small but satisfied following in South Africa, with the current generation offering a strong package as a high-value AWD 7-seater SUV. And, while there’s a new model due to arrive here soon-ish, the outgoing car was nonetheless treated to a fairly comprehensive update in 2020. We track the changes between this updated model and its predecessor.
It must be remembered that, while the updated Outlander looks a bit different from before, it’s still essentially the same as the car that appeared locally in 2014 – it’s just been refreshed a number of times, as Mitsubishi is known to do. That means that it still features 7 seats, is powered by a 2.4-litre non-turbo petrol 4-cylinder engine with 125 kW and 233 Nm, sending its power to all four wheels via a CVT and Mitsubishi’s Super All-Wheel Control system. Those frequent updates have kept it reasonably fresh in other respects, however, and the same applies to the latest (early-2020) facelift.
1. It looks quite a lot nicer, inside and out
The Outlander has never been drop-dead gorgeous in any of its iterations – there’s only so much that any stylist could do with the mid-sized 7-seater SUV form factor, after all. However, the final facelift incorporates Mitsubishi’s latest “Dynamic Shield” styling theme, giving it sharper creases, a much more-assertive front-end design, and a modernised rear end.
New alloy wheels round off a neat exterior update for this Outlander’s final years. The interior sees an incremental improvement along a similar formula: the old skeleton is still apparent, but it’s dressed a bit better now, thanks to nicer materials all round, redesigned seats, and a new infotainment system.
Related: Shop for new and used Mitsubishi Outlander cars for sale here.
2. Some tech- and equipment changes
As expected, the interior technology receives a boost as well. The dash centre colour display screen is larger than ever (now up to 9 inches), and comes with higher-resolution graphics and smartphone mirroring to go with its USB/Bluetooth capability and steering wheel-mounted controls. The front seats, already electrically-adjustable before the facelift, gained heaters and electrically-adjustable lumbar support as well.
Of greater significance for family users is the addition of three extra USB charging ports, taking the total up to four, but losing the older model’s roof-mounted rear entertainment system in the process. Some consolation for second-row passengers is the addition of adjustable air vents in the redesigned centre console.
3. It actually costs less than before
The Outlander’s previous facelift was introduced here early in 2017, with a recommended retail price of R 549 000. For the facelifted model, Mitsubishi managed to go against all the trends, and actually reduced the Outlander’s pricetag to R 499 995 in 2020.
This was no doubt aided by the deletion of that rear-seat entertainment system from the spec sheet, and some low-low launch pricing obviously also played its role in getting the Outlander noticed again. Even today, it’s still less expensive than its predecessor was, and a better value proposition than ever.
At the time of writing, a new one is listed at R 539 999 – that’s still ten grand cheaper than the old one cost four years ago! And, if you don’t need a brand-new car, you could get a very lightly-used 2021-model Outlander for half a million or less. It will still have almost all of its 3 year/100 000 km warranty left over, along with most of the standard 5 year/90 000 km service plan.
