Driving is my preferred method of travel. This means I need a car that is easy to handle and fits our traveling style. Traveling on planes these days usually means an anxious, cramped journey but I feel we have more flexibility when it comes to traveling by car. Living on the west coast lets us create some amazing road trips.
This summer, we were so happy to drive the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander GT, a fun crossover SUV, for a whole week. My family is small, but with the mileage we put on cars, we need a car that is comfortable and spacious. We tend to overpack so that means we travel with a lot of stuff (another luxury when you drive vs fly). And we have to take in consideration that my husband is 6′ 3″ so that means extra leg space in the cabin. But no matter the length of your legs, who wants to be cramped in a car for hours?
The Outlander definitely delivered as far as space and comfort is concerned. The seats were nicely padded. The spacious front cabin gave my husband the leg room he needs. My daughter commandeers the backseat, wether she’s traveling with her best stuffed animals or neighborhood friends the Outlander fit them all! I was excited to see that the Outlander offers a 3rd row bench, however it was a bit of a disappointment. The car seats 7 but that row is definitely too small to fit an adult of any size. Smaller kids, out of car seats, could fit back there. We ended up folding down the bench which definitely gives you impressive cargo storage space. My daughter sat in the second row and reclined her seat for extra comfort.
Mitsubishi’s aren’t as quiet as some of the other vehicles I’ve driven. They’re a little nosey to drive and the drive isn’t as smooth over bumps. It had a rugged feel on surface streets and the car handled well on the highway. The noise seemed to be reduced when we drove at higher speeds. The Outlander is available in 4 different trims. Our test drive was the GT 3.0S-AWC which includes awesome safety features including lane assist, blind spot warning and multiview camera system. I drive an older vehicle and it doesn’t come with any of these features. Test-driving this vehicle spoiled me and it was hard to go back to a cameraless car. All of the Outlander’s features come in handy and I took advantage of them all. The GT package also has the Forward Collision Mitigation along which detects objects in the road and will hopefully help avoid any accidents.
The Outlander we tested had leather seats, a sunroof, a jamming sound system, power remote liftgate (another feature I wish my car had — it’s hard to close the hatch with a handful of groceries!). It is equipped with a smartphone Link Display Audio System. The system uses your phone’s apps which helps keep me hands free. Also, keyless entry is one of the best inventions! I haven’t locked myself out of a vehicle in years! The mirrors fold when you park which should be a standard option on all vehicles. I live in the city and sometimes passing cars get a little too close to parked cars on the sidewalk.
Our recent Joshua Tree road trip was made comfortable by the Outlander. We did take the Outlander off road to check out the Rhythms of Life. It wasn’t anything extreme, but I wanted to see how the car handled a dirt road and it handled the road with ease. It looks so good and the entertainment and safety features are easy to figure out. I enjoyed driving the Mitsubishi Outlander and testing out it’s features.
