Thought today I would take the outie off the pavement, and see how it did.
Impressions, well, here are a few.
1st, not enough ground clearance for anything serious.
2nd. tight turning radius helps ALOT
3rd. that suspension that alot of people say is too firm, really works well in the field
4th. This thing really needs a limited slip. BAD. get on any kind of incline at an angle, and it just wont go. Dont even think for a second that the traction control will help at all in the dirt, or brush, it just wont. at all
5th, Tires more suited for off road (ones not so clearly biased to tarmac would help tremendously, these just wont bite at all)
6th, excellent articulation. The suspension really goes out of its way to do its job, keep the truck as close to level as possible, and keep all four wheels on the ground. even on really, really off camber, or deep ditches and holes
7th. thank god for the paddle shifters. going off road with first gear provides instant wheel spin, and thats about all. being able to click it down a gear into second helps tremendously.
8th, good view out helps alot
9th, the lower front plastic brush guard help push stuff over without scratchin your paint, or letting anything into the grill.
10. climbs pretty well, as long as both tires are on the same incline
11th, climbs fallen trees pretty well, (as long as they arent too big)
12, all that underbody protection helps alot, you can hear stuff sliding, but not bashing which isa good thing
13, excellent on rocks. went up a really steep incline with huge (ok, not huge, but huge for this truck) boulders, and it never faultered once. just kept on chuggin away without a problem
14, great motor, really torquey, and very flexible
15. great at negotiating tight trails, and steep downhill sections, its almost like this thing has a hill decent feature on it, though I know it doesnt.
16, wonderfull brakes, just great, couldnt ask for more power, and easier modulation.

I was fairly impressed, bout the only things I could ask for would be more ground clearance, better tires, and that much needed limited slip. Then again, more ground clearance, and more off-road tires would kill this things demeanor on the street. so, i guess Ill just take the limited slip, please mitsu

 

Out of curiosity, did you have the ASC disabled and 4WD Lock mode enabled when off-roading?

 

Very cool. Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to know that the Outlander hasn't completely sacrificed off-road prowess. For the minor off-roading I do it should work just fine.

 

No, ASC waas on, I was dumb, and let my wife talk me out of 4wd, as my truck has it, and just about everyone else in my family has a new 4wd vehicle too. So, to hear her tell it, it was pointless. Oh well, live and learn I guess. I honestly feel like that if it had better tires, and that limited slip, it would be almost pointless to even have 4wd, it really is that good of road. You can tell where aim was with mitsu, and what is holding it back, which is a great thing. Alot of times, you have no idea where to start to get your vehicle up to par.

 

The reason I asked about ASC and 4WD setup during your off road adventure is that, from what I read, the ASC should be OFF and 4WD set on "4WD Lock" for deep snow, sand, mud, gravel conditions and I thought the same should apply for off-roading.
If you don't have 4WD, I guess the ASC should be OFFstillwhile off-roading. Perhaps 4WD would have been of some help too.
In any case, great review. Thanks.

 

do NOT shut off the ASC in snow conditions. it will probably save your life someday.

 

Where did you read this about shuting off the ASC, I mean, if thats the case then what would be the point of ASC. "Active skid control" meaning when you skid, the vehicle's braking system and traction system talk to each other to eliminate the skid... right? and wouldn't snow be one of the most prone conditions for a car to skid? then why would you shut it off? I'm not trying to be a smart ***, its an ohnest question, and I would like to educate my self on the matter.

 

I paid way too much to go off road with a brand new car. If you hit one patch of sand that your car doesnt like you could slid off the road and smash a tree. Maybe after a few years I will take it off roading alittle bit, but that isnt why I bought it.

 

when I talk about off roading, I'm not talking about flying through some backwoods field at a million miles per hour. I am talking about slowly, and methodically choosing the best way to get through a random location, without causing any damage to the car, or yourself. Mudding I leave to the good ol boys, and high school kids. Besides, I am a general contractor by trade, and never know where I am going to have to get to from day to day. Since my pops has been driving my F-150 while his 350 was in the shop, the outie has been my sole mode of transportation. I sure do like knowing what I can expect from it if I ever need it.
But I get what you are saying, its alot of money to slide into a damn tree.
Thats exactly how I broke my last f-150. lol . "ahhh, bull-crap guys, I can easily pull that 80 foot tall tree up that huge *** hill with, through that narrow path, and over those four huge boulders...." yeah, that worked out well for me.
you would have thought I would have learned something,

 

I live in NJ by alot of state forest so when I hear trail riding I think of some major mud holes. I go out with my friend that has a lifted jeep on 35 inch mud swamppers. I know what your talking about though. ButI still wont be taking mine down any dirt roads unless I have no other choice.