First pictures of facelifted Mitsubishi Outlander; specs, hi-res images, price and features explained

Wheelosphere is the first blog to present you with the pictures of the facelifted Mitsubishi Outlander that HM silently launched ten days ago (Feb11, 2009). The facelifted Outlander has very poor reach, so much that HM’s website doesnt hold any information on the existence of the model, leave alone Mitsubishi’s site which says ‘Site Under Construction’. So nothing is available to us apart from these details and pictures available at the Chennai mini-auto exhibition.

Like all manufacturers these days, Mitsubishi has jumped into the bandwagon of maintaining the same family look in all its models. The Evolution and the Lancer X pioneered the look and the nose which the Outlander also borrows. Along with the new grille, the bumpers and headlamps are also redesigned to go with the family look. Indicators now move to the Outer rear view mirrors. The Outlander’s trademark rear styling is retained. The excellent transparent LED rear lights cluster remains and on closer examination, there are 2 badges near the rear lamps – one that says AWD and another one that says BS-4. Yup, you heard it right, along with the facelift Mitsubishi also upgraded the Outlander to Bharat Stage-4 emission norms.

The same sweet 2.4L 170bhp petrol engine remains the lone powerplant which is coupled to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Performance is very strong with Mitsubishi claiming a standing 100km/h in under 11 seconds and a top speed of over 190km/h. Interiors get upgraded trim in the doors and the centre console. New additions include Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) which adjusts itself to suit the requirements of driver. USB port and AUX-IN jack port in the armrest.

The Outlander is sold in a single trim level and costs Rs 20,69,000 Ex-Chennai. Add taxes, registration and insurance (Mitsubishi also adds Extended warranty and something called ‘Bumper to Bumper Platinum’) and you end up with Rs 23,50,892 OTR-Chennai.Find the break-up below

Outlander Ex-Chennai – Rs 20,69,000

Insurance – Rs 77,476

Bumper to Bumper Platinum – Rs 36,497

Registration and Tax – Rs 3,55,040

Extended Warranty – Rs 20,000

On the road price – Rs 23,50,892

We find just one reason for the Outlander’s poor sales and that is the poor brand value that Mitsubishi carries in India. Most of it could be the fault of its alliance with HM which has not done anything substantial since the launch of the Lancer more than a decade back. With poor marketing and an even poor dealership network, Mitsubishi’s chances of racking up even a few numbers of the Outlander will be difficult. The long delayed Lancer and the brilliant EVO X are not here yet and even they cannot bump up Mitsubishi’s name. The only way is to announce new investment and increase the faith in India customers before launching new models. The RVR could be locally assembled and the Colt could be made in India but where are they? Only Mitsubishi can tell.