By CHRIS RILEY, MARQUE MOTORING

You can understand why Japanese and Korean car makers continue to roll out petrol-only models.

Not all buyers want or can afford the cost of an electric vehicle, although that is the way the market is ultimately heading.

With a barrage of competition from cheaper Chinese rivals, anything they can do to pick up a few extra sales is fast becoming essential.

And so, we have the top of the range Outlander Exceed Tourer, powered by a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, with all the bells and whistles to match.

Prices for Outlander start from $39,990 for the five-seat, front-wheel drive petrol Outlander ES.

It's followed by LS, Aspire, Exceed and Exceed Tourer, the last topping out at $57,990 plus on-road costs, with two or all-wheel drive and five or seven seats an option with some grades.

If you're feeling a little guilty about pumping unnecessary hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, the Exceed Tourer in plug-in hybrid form takes the price to a lofty $74,490 plus on roads.

STYLING

The latest Outlander features local steering and suspension tuning, reportedly adopted for markets around the world because it's so good.

Minor styling changes have been made to freshen up the car.

The lights have been upgraded with the rear combination units featuring a ‘smoked’ clear outer lens and a ‘black tone’ inner.

Rear turn indicators and reversing lights are now LED.

The profile benefits from updated wheel designs, with 18s for the ES and LS, and a more complex 20-inch design for Aspire, Exceed and Exceed Tourer.

Exceed adds goodies such as as cooled and heated front seats, aluminium pedals, frame-less rear-view mirror (with digital monitor), memory and auto tilt in reverse for exterior mirrors, along with front door puddle lights and a rear cargo floor box with lid.

The icing on the cake for Tourer includes two-tone exterior paintwork, full-size alloy spare, quilted brown semi-aniline leather trim, massage front seats, heated second-row seats and the Dynamic Sound Yamaha Ultimate audio system.

Outlander is covered by a five-year/100,000km warranty or 10 years/200,000km provided you get it serviced by Mitsubishi – plus 10-year capped price servicing and up to four years of complimentary roadside assistance.

INFOTAINMENT

The new 12.3-inch infotainment system features higher resolution and an enhanced response rate, with another 12.3-inch screen for the instrument cluster.

There's Bluetooth with voice control, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, built-in navigation, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto and in the case of the Tourer -- Yamaha premium audio.

This includes 12 speakers and is designed to deliver a rich, cinematic experience, with a subwoofer, dual amps and Yamaha’s Digital Signal Processor (DSP) with Finite Impulse Response, delivering 1650 watts of power for an immersive sound experience.

SAFETY

Five-star safety includes refinements to the haptic brake warning, blind spot intervention and lane departure prevention systems.

Autonomous emergency braking (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User, Junction and Backover) as well as a lane support system with lane keep assist, lane departure warning and emergency lane keeping are standard.

There's also driver monitoring, camera-linked rear automatic braking, 360-degree monitor, traffic sign recognition with active cruise control and speed limit link.

A centre airbag provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes, but the third row misses out on side airbag protection.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS

Apart from the PHEV, all grades get the same proven 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine.

Paired with a CVT style transmission, it generates 135kW of power at 6000 rpm and 244Nm from 3600 rpm.

DRIVING

The new model is 4720mm long, 1862mm wide and 1745mm high, with a 2706mm wheelbase and 11.2 metre turning circle.

For the first time, cooled front seats are offered up front for Exceed and Exceed Tourer.

All interior lighting is now touch-sensitive LED.

Australian and overseas research and development staff worked closely to refine the updated Outlander’s ride and handling balance.

Updates include recalibrated front and rear shock absorbers with changes to both bump and rebound tuning, and a smaller-diameter front anti-roll bar.

The electric power steering has been remapped to provide improved on-centre feel and a more linear response when turning.

Finally, the whole package was calibrated to work in conjunction with a new Bridgestone summer tyre.

With a 55-litre tank it takes standard 91 unleaded with fuel consumption a claimed 8.1L/100km for this model.

The cabin is a nice, relaxing place to wile away the hours.

The non-turbo, non-hybrid 2.5-litre engine feels more than adequate around town, with gear change paddles and eight steps or simulated gears to play with.

At the same time, it could do with some more grunt, especially when it comes to merging or overtaking out on the open road.

This is where the gear change paddles come into play, allowing you to quickly drop back a step or two.

But, with a full complement of passengers and their gear for a trip away, it could struggle.

The experience on our favourite rural drive route, which features plenty of rise and fall and sneaky potholes to dodge, wasn't bad - but it's not what we'd call life-changing.

Furthermore, 20-inch wheels with low profile 255/45 series rubber reduce roll in corners, but they are just not that absorbent when it comes to bumps.

The wagon crashes through potholes and even becomes a tad bouncy at speed, but fortunately doesn't get out of shape.

For anyone seriously considering heading off road in the Outlander, it's an SUV not a 4WD, and ground clearance is a moderate 210mm.

But it will happily take you down a rough dirt road without too many dramas.

Keep away from sand - it's hard on transmissions.

If the Japanese helped with ride and handling, the Chinese seem to have infiltrated the driver assistance systems, with a constant and unexpected barrage of irritating warnings.

Braked towing capacity by the way is 1600kg and it comes with a full-size alloy spare (tick).

Rated at 8.1L/100km, we were getting 8.6L after close to 400km of driving.

The long-term average, for more than 5000km, was 9.0L/100km.

These figures are not outrageous, but by the same token are not really up to expectations in this day and age.

SUMMING UP

Outlander Exceed Tourer is a classy, accomplished motor car.

It will appeal to a wide cross-section of buyers, but the main problem is cheaper, arguably better competitors.

For the price of this car, you can get into a full-blown, plug-in hybrid Chinese SUV, that in at least one case has also been tuned for local roads.

They offer stronger performance, better fuel economy and an equally impressive equipment list and buyers are starting to take notice.

The Yamaha sound system is a keeper though and adds a welcome point of difference.

RATINGS:

Looks: 8

Performance: 7

Safety: 7.5

Thirst: 7

Practicality: 7.5

Comfort: 7.5

Tech: 7.5

Value: 7.5

Overall: 7.4

AT A GLANCE

MODEL LINE-UP

Outlander ES FWD 5-seat, $39,990

Outlander ES AWD 5-seat, $42,490

Outlander LS FWD 5+2-seat, $43,290

Outlander LS AWD 5+2-seat, $45,790

Outlander LS Black Edition AWD 5+2-seat, $49,990

Outlander Aspire FWD 5+2-seat, $47,790

Outlander Aspire AWD 5+2-seat, $50,290

Outlander Exceed AWD 5-seat, $55,140

Outlander Exceed Tourer AWD 5-seat, $55,140

Outlander Exceed Tourer AWD 5-seat, $57,990

Outlander PHEV ES AWD 5-seat, $57,290

Outlander PHEV Aspire AWD 5-seat, $63,790

Outlander PHEV Exceed AWD 7-seat, $69,290

Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer AWD 7-seat, $71,790

Outlander PHEV GSR AWD 7-seat, POA

Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges.

Contact your Mitsubishi local dealer for drive-away prices.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed Tourer, 2.5-litre 4-cyl petrol, 8spd auto, AWD

STANDARD WARRANTY:

Five years / 100,000km

10 years / 200,000km (if serviced by Mitsubishi)