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The Outlander is available in two versions..... the LS and the XLS. We're looking at the base model, the LS. The test car is coloured Medium Grey Mica, which is one of six available colour choices. Upon first glance, one aspect is quite striking about the Outlader's appearance...... it's not the most attractive car on the market! On the road it's comfortable and smooth. Although the test area was all city, suburban and freeway driving (in Newcastle and Sydney)..... it was well-suited to this environment and, as we all know, most 4WD's don't go off-road anyway! One aspect which was really enjoyable, was the cruise control..... it was just so easy to operate and seemed to be more in control than the system used by even more expensive cars. I normally don't like cruise control, but finally, after two days with the Outlander I have succumb to the temptation of life on easy street. After a southbound trip on the F3 using cruise control, I looked forward to using it again for the F3's northbound trip. And I'll be using it again, when I'm next in an Outlander. Whilst not outstanding, the seating was certainly comfortable. The driving position is high and mighty, just as you would expect from a "car" in this category. As such, vision is quite good. Perhaps this is the real enefit of a compact all-wheel drive. The interior is roomy..... the car is 4.5 metres long, so it should be roomy too! There's plenty of hiding space in the interior, too. The centre console is huge! And there's the now obligatory cup holders, of course. Silly me, I didn't road test the cup holders, though! The equipment list is good...... there's air bags on both sides for front seat occupants, there's remote central locking, there's air conditioning, there's a CD player, there's 4 speakers, there's map reading lights up front, there's power windows (front and rear), there's power mirrors, there's wheel covers and much more..... and this is the base model! |
 The only thing missing was a cargo blind, but this is available on the LS as an accessory. It's standard on the higher spec XLS. There's a cargo liner available, too. An automatic gearbox with overdrive is standard. It's your sequential style auto, just for those who like an occasional manual operation. An important aspect of this particular sequential changer, is that the change operates in the correct manner..... forward for up a gear, back for down a gear. I don't know why anyone would have their sequential gearbox going the other way..... hello Ford, are you listening? The Outlander's all-wheel drive is constant. The power is from a 2.4 litre 16-valve 4 cylinder engine, which produces 100 kW at 5000 rpm. The steering is power assisted rack and pinion. The suspension is independent all-round. As time went by and as my admiration for the Outlander built, a strange feeling came over me....... I became used to the Outlander's frontal appearance. Yes, it seems you do get used to the car's appearance after awhile. The strength of character displayed by the Outlander obviously helped and it seems you just cannot judge a book by it's cover, as the Outlander is much, much more than just another compact all-wheel drive. This car is a very enjoyable experience, with such a pleasant manner. It's one all-wheel drive compact well worthy of very serious consideration. No negatives to be concerned with, just positives after positives. Stephen Walker | |
