2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport ES from North America
Summary:
Reliable, but terrible ride characteristics (bought used so maybe tires or shocks)
Faults:
The car has been reliable, in fact perfect, in that it has done exactly what I bought it for. It's comfortable, gets the advertised mileage, was in perfect shape and priced right. It starts right up and runs fine even in the recent -27 degrees here in Minnesota. It is noisy on the road, but that may be the tires and it is the base model so I expect that.
HOWEVER -- I test drove two of these on very smooth roads (mistake). They were rough riding, but so is our Civic, so I didn't think much of it. On rougher roads at pretty much any speeds it bounces and jitters to the side every now and then. If you hit a 2" deep pothole or manhole cover it will dart left or right, then straighten out. It feels like too small of a body on too big of a frame. I have spoken with other Sport owners and they don't see this. I've had the suspension checked out and it's OK. Perhaps, again, it's the tires. If I can't get it to ride better, I will have to sell it for a loss because my wife is scared to death of the thing.
General Comments:
Interior a bit cheap.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 31st January, 2019
1st Feb 2019, 17:01
My neighbor loves those Outlanders and has had two of them. Drives it everywhere with all those kids she has and does it non-stop.
Also car makers cut corners and make up for it in other places. Suspension... seats... radio and speakers... paint... plastics... etc... and make it just good enough where you don't notice it when you buy it.
You might want to do an inspection of all the struts and make sure there is no leaking or maybe one is causing the problem for the car. Also you can buy some new KYB struts/shocks off of eBay if needed and have them installed. But before doing that, have a local shop test that suspension and get it on a lift to check for any damage... abuse or maintenance issues.
3rd Feb 2019, 17:09
We've had ongoing shock absorber problems on our ASX, had to replace one front shock which broke and then 3 years later had to replace both front ones as an MOT failure. Now the front end is starting to feel spongy again after a couple of years. The car has done 135000km, so not hugely excessive for a 2011 car. Might indicate that there is a Mitsubishi problem, or simply that we are both just unlucky with our current cars! (I've posted a long-term review of my ASX on this site - the shocks are the only real worry in an otherwise very competent car.)
6th Feb 2019, 15:57
Did you check the tyre pressure?
1st Feb 2019, 13:29
"too small a body on too big of a frame"? LOL
More likely, original shocks that have worn out after 60K miles.