Hello all,

Just back from my first road trip in my Outlander and wanted to share some experiences/findings. We drove round trip from Chicago, IL to Baton Rouge, LA, with a couple of jaunts back and forth to New Orleans.

Before I get into the details of my driving impressions, prior to me leaving, I changed the oil in the Outlander to Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic (at just under 1,500 miles), and did the normal "pre-flight checks", which were minimal.

We left just after midnight (3 people in the car with luggage and a medium cooler for snacks and such, all inside the vehicle) and one of the first things that everyone commented on was the impressive illumination from the factory HIDs and fog lights, especially as we traveled into more rural areas. Another thing that was noticed was how quiet and insulated the passenger compartment was (lack of wind and road noise). We found the seats to be comfortable enough as not to require frequent "stretch stops"

The Outlander had more than enough power for passing on the highway and from the times when I was paying attention, I'd say at "cruising speed", we were in the 23-26 MPG range on the highway (using 93 octane gas). The steering was not too overly boosted and had a good sporty feel without being "darty". The suspension was firm, but not punishing, I prefer a more responsive ride, and the Outlander more than delivered.

I finally got a chance to utilize more of the functions of the MMCS and we found it to be impressive as well. Particularly the navigation, as we were the lead vehicle out of the two traveling. In fact, on several occaisions, the navigation in the car was more accurate than some mobile phone applications that people were using in both vehicles. Loved the RF stereo (big sound without loss of cargo space) w/ Sirius performance, and the big MMCS display looked wonderful in the dash as opposed to navi units mounted on dashes or windshields (just my opinion there). Never used the RSE system, though.

Just a couple of things that were noticed by both myself and passengers in the Outlander during the trip. The ride was as pleasant as the time spent in Louisiana. One last thing, I didn't see very many Outlanders the further South we were, and I had a few people inquire about my vehicle at grocery stores, gas stations, and car washes.

In summary, the more I drive my Outlander, the more I learn about it and the more I like it.

Thanks for reading. Be safe.

 

Glad to hear that your Outie passed its first major test. As far as Mitsubishi as a whole in USA is concerned, I know their current sales in USA are pretty much crap but if you would ever come to NJ (especially the north-eastern part) you would think that Mitsu is one of the major auto manufacturers here, there is a lot of new Outlanders/Lancers here, even a lot of current Galants although the 99-03 generation was a lot more popular, there is also an abundance of Eclipses from different generations as well as Montero/Monter Sport. As a whole, north-eastern NJ is probably one of the best selling Mitsu regions in USA but then again there is also a substantial number of dealerships so service for the most part is not an issue.

 

In "light" of my previous statements of how impressed I, as well as other passengers were with the HID and fog lights, I am thinking about converting the factory fog lights (H11) into HID's. I'm torn between 3000K (yellow) and 4300-4500K (factory match). Has anyone done this on an Outlander? I did do a half-hearted search, so I figured I wouldn't start a new thread on the topic, but if anyone has pics, I'd like to see them.

 

Same boat, want to change my fogs to match the HIDs.
I have some 4300k bulbs from my old car, but haven't tested them yet to compare the colours. Hopefully I'll have some free time this or next week. I will post some pics for you.