Hi all!

I am waiting for delivery of Mitsu Outlander, should get it in late April. Black on Black, exact model being 2.2 HDi Instyle Navi TC-SS. Includes all the necessary options, just added the hitch. No need for rear-seat entertainment though. Sunroof not available for FIN deliveries, but I would've opted it out anyways.

The dealer was smart enough to bring up the 2nd car for the family and got me looking at Lancer Sportsback RalliArt.. Let's see how that deal turns out.

 

Is HDi a diesel???? I'm so jealous that we don't have those options in the States!

 

Yup, diesel. Since the diesel price is lower than petrol's, it's a no brainer. Especially when I am not paying the yearly tax which includes "diesel tax".

It's 156PS engine with 380NM torque, I think it's originally PSA engine? Something Mitsu got when they gave Peugeot and Citroen a great car. I've hear lot of good comments about the engine and test drive confirmed it feels nice. I like the "sport" switch of the TC-SS transmission. It does not change the over all feel too much, but shifts on higher rpm. I can think it might be useful while towing: higher shift points. Ok, there are the paddles as well for shifting myself. :P

It's interesting how US is petrol/gasoline riven when in Europe diesel is bigger thing. I have to say that for example VW Passat Variant with the 125kW TDI and DSG trans is close enough to 3,2L V6 when talking about every day performance. Diesel doesn't really shine on 0-60mph/0-100kmh or quarter mile, but when you're hitting the pedal at 20mph, you will feel the torque do it's thing.

Due to the "diesel tax", we're looking at small petrol cars as second family car. The Lancer is really tempting, but VW has interesting offerings as well. The small TSI engines are REALLY tempting as well.

 

Agreed, my other ride is an '02 VW Golf TDI that I've had for about 6 years now. I love the car and would never give it up. I have it tuned to get over 200 ft-lbs of torque so it's pretty darned quick, and I still get 50mpg no problem. Even flooring it everywhere I drove, I doubt that I would go much under 35-40 mpg. Its a shame that the rest of the country hasn't realized how great diesels are. Hopefully they will wake up soon since the price of oil keeps going up.

 

Sure if someone else would pay when ever I pull in for refill, I would've probably gone for something petrol driven with a turbo. Possibly large displacement.. But as I tend to ponder weither I send extra money on the pump or buy new bicycle, maybe gadgets and/or even take family for a holiday. It's a no brainer for me.. Plus I hate visiting the pump too often anyways..

Ok, daily drivers and fun-mobiles are different. I used to have '72 El Camino with supercharged big-block and that was fun even though I had to refill on the way to the city from the 'burbs.. lol After finishing the build, I spent 3 sets of rear tires in one summer.. Something 800+ HP will do...

I have been thinking about Evo X, FQ400 especially, but for now everything but the basic MR has been too expensive for my taste for a summer ride clocking only around 3000-5000km per summer.

Back to the diesel talk:
Many manufacturers, mostly europeans, have come out with really interesting and high performance diesels. I just love the E60 BMW 535d! 286PS from factory, easily programmed to around 350PS with tons and tons of torque. A friend of mine had one, quite heavily modified, that had around 380PS and the torque made dust out of the original transmission... I heard M5 trans would hold the torque, but I am afraid local regulations will make the swap impossible. Still, the 535d smoked (litrally.....) all E60 except the M5. And could keep up like Evo (8 FQ400) in the tail of a Murcielago. Top Gear UK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ees2aZcDUn8

 

Ya, we do have the BMW 335d here in the states. They have as much torque as a corvette and still get 36 highway mpg. I'd love to have one but they're a bit out of my budget right now. My main concern with using the 335d as a daily driver would be the fact that they have no spare tire!
I'm also pretty sure that we don't have such tight restrictions on changing out the transmission either. I changed my Golf from an automatic to a manual when the transmission went last year. Your buddy could have easily swapped out his 535d tranny with one from a M5 and still passed emissions tests, provided he had the cash for the swap Here in Florida we actually don't have any annual emissions testing and I know that quite a few people run their cars without the catalytic convertors altogether.

 

The regulations and laws are different. I have heard lot of gripe from US Offroad people about the new (?) lift-laws. Around here it's really strict.. I mean, there aren't too many cars riding on 44" or even 38" tires..

Anyheew, the 535d E60 would rock. But still, I rather drive new than used. The new 5-series Beemer with the "biggest" diesel is way out of my range. And I don't see a point in paying over 100k Euros for a car. I might be boring, but the just under 50k Euros for the Outlander is almost excessive.. :P Yup, the taxes and all add up around here..

EDIT: darn those typos...

 

AFAIK those (anti-) lift laws have been around a while, but just loosely enforced. I know that where I live, all I see are trucks riding that high and higher. Its a real safety hazard IMO. If I was to get into a head-on collision with a truck that has 40" or 50" tires, it would run right over my lowered VDub like a speed bump. God forbid.

Damn, that's a lot of money. I never buy new cause you loose 20%+ of the value as soon as you drive it off the lot, plus you have to pay things like destination charge, what a crock of BS. I just paid $18k US out the door for my 09 Outtie with only 14,500 miles on it.