TAKE A LOOK AT THE FUTURE

THE NEW MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 4x4 SUV

The Mitsubishi Outlander is a good-looking, fun-driving, flexible-seating, load-lugging, big-towing, 4x4 SUV. Yet it returns, on average, more than 40 mpg and can seat up to seven in a vehicle with a smaller footprint than a Ford Mondeo. It's green on emissions, too, being in the lowest VED band of any SUV with this seating capacity and so escaping the proposed £25 London congestion charge. And, whilst it will give you and your passengers all of the usual big-car protection and more (it's engineered to achieve the absolute maximum Euro-NCAP 5-stars), it's been designed to do it in such a way as to minimize injury to pedestrians or damage to smaller vehicles. But, being a Mitsubishi, it's still a real 4x4, with integrated All Wheel Control which gives handling, traction and stability suited to the harshest conditions known to motoring man.

ALL OF THE PLEASURES, NONE OF THE GUILT

THE FIRST SPORTS UTILITY VEHICLE TO LIVE UP TO ITS NAME

It's driven by a punchy 2.0 litre, 16v, turbocharged, direct injection diesel engine with six-speed manual transmission. It has a chassis designed for sporty handling. Its brakes, suspension and aluminium roof (for a low centre of gravity) are all borrowed from Mitsubishi's iconic Lancer Evolution. It even boasts Active Stability and Traction Control throughout the range. In fact, this Outlander is an athlete worthy of the 'sports' description of its genre - a truly accomplished mileage machine - quiet, confident and rock-solid, with impressive composure through the bends and tons of feedback through steering and seat. But it's also a Sports Utility Vehicle with proper pedigree, so its drivetrain provides a choice of two-wheel drive for normal roads, on-demand torque transfer for less than perfect conditions and a locked four-wheel drive setting for more challenging terrain.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT AND THINGS YOU NEVER IMAGINED

In 5- or 7-seater guise the Outlander is as practical, versatile, clever and capacious as if you'd conjured it from your very own wish list! Seats split, tumble, slide, recline and hide themselves away in optimum fashion at the touch of a button; they're easy to get into and provide a panoramic view. The cargo space is enormous - enough to swallow a couple of mountain bikes whole - and easy to load via a split tailgate. And there are some truly inspired touches like a controlled-temperature glovebox, solar-trapping glass and an odour-eating roof! Of course there's also air conditioning, electric door mirrors and windows, cruise control, Bluetooth hands-free, 30-gigabyte hard drive satellite navigation and a 650w, 9-speaker, immerse-yourself-in-sound audio system*.

Imagine that!

*See specifications page for features by model