The
Mitsubishi Outlander is a
compactCompact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length roughly between . This class should not be confused with mini SUV, which refers to smaller vehicles....
crossover SUVCrossover describes a vehicle that derives from a car platform while borrowing features from a traditional Sport Utility Vehicle .While body on frame construction and light truck platforms are used to build traditional SUVs, crossovers use a car's monocoque/unibody platform construction...
manufactured by Japanese automaker
Mitsubishi Motorsis the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.Throughout its history it...
. It was originally known as the
Mitsubishi Airtrek when it was introduced in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2001, and was based on the
Mitsubishi ASX concept vehicle exhibited at the 2001
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show , is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
. The ASX (Active Sports Crossover) represented Mitsubishi's approach to the industry wide
XUVXUV may refer to:*GMC Envoy XUV*Extreme ultraviolet radiation...
trend for retaining the all-season and off-road abilities offered by a high ground clearance and
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
, while still offering car-like levels of emissions, economy and size.
The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle’s ability to transport its passengers on adventure-packed journeys in a 'free-as-a-bird' manner", and was "coined from
Air and
Trek to express the idea of footloose, adventure-filled motoring pleasure." The Outlander nameplate which replaced it evoked a "feeling of journeying to distant, unexplored lands in search of adventure."
The second generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2005 and all markets including
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
adopted the Outlander name, although production of the older version continued in parallel.
The
Mitsubishi Outlander is a
compactCompact SUV is a class of small sport utility vehicles with a length roughly between . This class should not be confused with mini SUV, which refers to smaller vehicles....
crossover SUVCrossover describes a vehicle that derives from a car platform while borrowing features from a traditional Sport Utility Vehicle .While body on frame construction and light truck platforms are used to build traditional SUVs, crossovers use a car's monocoque/unibody platform construction...
manufactured by Japanese automaker
Mitsubishi Motorsis the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.Throughout its history it...
. It was originally known as the
Mitsubishi Airtrek when it was introduced in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2001, and was based on the
Mitsubishi ASX concept vehicle exhibited at the 2001
North American International Auto ShowThe North American International Auto Show , is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...
. The ASX (Active Sports Crossover) represented Mitsubishi's approach to the industry wide
XUVXUV may refer to:*GMC Envoy XUV*Extreme ultraviolet radiation...
trend for retaining the all-season and off-road abilities offered by a high ground clearance and
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
, while still offering car-like levels of emissions, economy and size.
The original Airtrek name was chosen to "describe the vehicle’s ability to transport its passengers on adventure-packed journeys in a 'free-as-a-bird' manner", and was "coined from
Air and
Trek to express the idea of footloose, adventure-filled motoring pleasure." The Outlander nameplate which replaced it evoked a "feeling of journeying to distant, unexplored lands in search of adventure."
The second generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2005 and all markets including
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
adopted the Outlander name, although production of the older version continued in parallel. It was built on the company's
GS platformThe GS platform is a compact car platform co-developed by Mitsubishi Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which underpins the companies' compact cars. After DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi went their separate ways in 2004, DaimlerChrysler made substantial changes to the platform...
, and used various engines developed by Mitsubishi,
VolkswagenThe Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft , also known as Volkswagen Group or as VW, is an automobile manufacturer and mobility organisation based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and is the pioneer brand within the Volkswagen Group, which contains the car brands Audi AG, Bentley Motors Ltd.,...
and
PSA Peugeot CitroënPSA Peugeot Citroën is a French manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot and Citroën marques. PSA is the second largest automaker based in Europe.-History:...
. PSA's Citroën C-Crosser and
Peugeot 4007The Peugeot 4007 is a compact crossover SUV that was introduced by the French automaker Peugeot in July 2007.The equivalent Citroën badge-engineered version will be the C-Crosser, both of which will be produced by Mitsubishi in its Okazaki plant on the basis of the new Outlander. Both the 4007 and...
, which are manufactured by Mitsubishi in Japan, are
badge engineeredBadge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times.The term derives from the trademark...
versions of the Outlander.. Outlander's precedessors are
Mitsubishi ChariotThe Mitsubishi Chariot, is a five door, five/seven seat compact MPV produced by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan from 1983 to 2002. It was based on the SSW concept car first exhibited at the 23rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1979, and named for the battle chariots used during the times of the ancient Greek and...
and Mitsubishi Montero/Pajero
First generation
The Airtrek was first introduced to the Japanese market on June 20 2001, priced from ¥1.7–2.3 million. It offered a choice of either a
4G63The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline 4 automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.-4G61:...
2.0
LThe litre or liter is a unit of volume. There are two official symbols: the Latin letter L in lower and upper case . The lower case L is also often written as a cursive ℓ, though this symbol has no official approval by any international bureau...
or a
4G64The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline 4 automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.-4G61:...
2.4 L
GDIIn internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection is a latest variant of fuel injection employed in modern two- and four- stroke petrol engines...
, mated to a standard
INVECS-II 4-speed
semi-automatic transmissionA semi-automatic transmission is a system which uses electronic sensors, processors and actuators to execute gear shifts on the command of the driver...
. Both front- and
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
were available. The four-wheel drive version uses normal ("open")
differentialsA differential is a device, usually but not necessarily employing gears, capable of transmitting torque and rotation through three shafts, almost always used in one of two ways. In one way, it receives one input and provides two outputs; this is found in most automobiles...
for the front and rear
axleAn axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. In some cases the axle may be fixed in position with a bearing or bushing sitting inside the hole in the wheel or gear to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. In other cases the wheel or gear may be fixed to the axle, with...
s, with a
viscous coupling unitA viscous coupling is a mechanical device which transfers torque and rotation by the medium of a viscous fluid. It is made of a number of circular plates with tabs or perforations, fitted very close to each other in a sealed drum. Alternate plates are connected to a driving shaft at one end of the...
for the center differential. A high performance model, using a detuned version of the
Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionThe Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, colloquially known as the Lancer Evo or Evo ,is a car manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a roman numeral. All of them share a two litre, turbocharged engine and...
's
4G63TThe Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline 4 automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.-4G61:...
2.0 L turbo, was introduced in 2002. The
engineThe internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, which are produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable...
produced and , although in export markets the Outlander version's output was reduced to and .
The Outlander arrived in 2003, with a modified front grille and headlights which increased the overall length by approximately , and the two models were manufactured in parallel thereafter. A version of the
4G64The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline 4 automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.-4G61:...
powerplant was offered first, while a
4G69The Mitsubishi Sirius or 4G6 engine is the name of one of Mitsubishi Motors' four series of inline 4 automobile engines, along with Astron, Orion, and Saturn.-4G61:...
2.4
L
SOHC
MIVECMIVEC is the brand name of a variable valve timing engine technology developed by Mitsubishi Motors. MIVEC, as with other similar systems, varies the timing, lift and duration of the valves by using two different camshaft profiles...
I4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a...
producing and , and the turbocharged
4G63T appeared in 2004. All had the option of front- or
four-wheel driveFour-wheel drive, 4WD, 4x4 , or AWD is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
.
In several
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
n markets it was known as the
Montero Outlander, to benefit from an association with the strong-selling Mitsubishi Montero Sport.
Second generation
On October 17, 2005,
Mitsubishiis the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.Throughout its history it...
launched the second generation model, dropping the
Airtrek in Japan in favour of adopting the global name. It features a new DOHC 2.4 L 16-valve
MIVECMIVEC is the brand name of a variable valve timing engine technology developed by Mitsubishi Motors. MIVEC, as with other similar systems, varies the timing, lift and duration of the valves by using two different camshaft profiles...
engine;
INVECS-III continuously variable transmissionA continuously variable transmission is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected...
(CVT), Mitsubishi's
AWCAll Wheel Control is the brand name of a four-wheel drive system developed by Mitsubishi Motors. The system was first incorporated in the 2001 Lancer Evolution VII. Subsequent developments have led to S-AWC , developed specifically for the new 2007 Lancer Evolution...
system which features electronically controlled four wheel drive and stability control, on a stretched
Mitsubishi GS platformThe GS platform is a compact car platform co-developed by Mitsubishi Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which underpins the companies' compact cars. After DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi went their separate ways in 2004, DaimlerChrysler made substantial changes to the platform...
. The
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n version, powered by a newly designed
6B31 3.0 L V6 SOHC
MIVECMIVEC is the brand name of a variable valve timing engine technology developed by Mitsubishi Motors. MIVEC, as with other similar systems, varies the timing, lift and duration of the valves by using two different camshaft profiles...
was shown in April 2006 at the New York Auto Show prior to its release in October the same year.
The Outlander, which features Mitsubishi's
RISEReinforced Impact Safety Evolution or Realized Impact Safety Evolution is the brand name of Mitsubishi's patented safety body construction system. It was first introduced in the 1996 Mitsubishi Galant...
safety body, received a four star rating from the Euro NCAP
car safetyAutomobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimise the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents....
performance assessment programme.
In Chile, where both generations were on sale simultaneously, the new model was badged
Outlander K2.
In its home market of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
it was the best-selling SUV from October 2005 to March 2006, while in the U.S. market it achieved 1,694 and 2,108 sales in November and December 2006, the first two full months it was available; Mitsubishi ultimately hopes for at least 4,000 sales per month in the United States.
Increased demand for the new
Mitsubishi LancerThe Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hindustan Lancer, Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times,...
, and the consequent effects on the capacity of the company's Mizushima production facility, have obliged Mitsubishi to reassess production of the Outlander. In September 2007, they announced that from 2008, production of European market Outlanders would be transferred from Nagoya to its
NedCarNedCar, officially Netherlands Car B.V. and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Motors, is the only large-scale automaker in the Netherlands. Based in Born on a 927,000 m
2 site, it has a capacity of approximately 200,000 vehicles, and produced its millionth vehicle, a Mitsubishi Space Star,...
plant in the Netherlands, while the Citroën C-Crosser and
Peugeot 4007The Peugeot 4007 is a compact crossover SUV that was introduced by the French automaker Peugeot in July 2007.The equivalent Citroën badge-engineered version will be the C-Crosser, both of which will be produced by Mitsubishi in its Okazaki plant on the basis of the new Outlander. Both the 4007 and...
would have their production transferred from Mizushima to Nagoya.
At the 2007 SEMA Show in
Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
, the company displayed a
Mitsubishi Evolander concept, powered by a supercharged version of the vehicle's
6B31 V6 engineA V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...
and equipped with suitably uprated
suspensionSuspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose – contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
,
brakeA brake is a device for applying a force against the friction of the road, slowing or stopping the motion of a machine or vehicle, or alternatively a device to restrain it from starting to move again. The kinetic energy lost by the moving part is usually translated to heat by friction...
s, wheels/tires,
body kitA bodykit or body kit is a collection of exterior modifications to a car, typically composed of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoilers and sometimes front and rear side guards and roof scoops. There are many companies that offer alternatives to the original factory appearance of the vehicle...
and interior. A second show car, an
Outlander GT Prototype with a front grille based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, was exhibited at the 2009
New York International Auto ShowThe New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in late March or early April. It is usually held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center...
.
Annual production and sales
| Year |
Production |
Sales |
| Airtrek |
Outlander |
Airtrek (Japan) |
Airtrek (export) |
Outlander (Japan) |
Outlander (export) |
| 2001 |
21,245 |
- |
19,160 |
601 |
- |
- |
| 2002 |
68,431 |
- |
14,132 |
45,845 |
- |
7,060 |
| 2003 |
77,331 |
- |
7,427 |
7,917 |
- |
60,512 |
| 2004 |
60,817 |
- |
3,198 |
320 |
- |
56,997 |
| 2005 |
49,596 |
21,173 |
1,030 |
302 |
18,919 |
48,822 |
| 2006 |
31,326 |
81,883 |
10 |
248 |
16,734 |
91,693 |
| 2007 |
10,857 |
170,084 |
- |
- |
11,194 |
157,292 |
External links