The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
An SUV in truest of the essence, the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport carries equal amount of sportiness along with the “utility” part that is usually available in a lot of crossovers. There are a handful of SUVs that actually look sporty and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport does just that, rightfully justifying its name. The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is the Mitsubishi Outlander from the previous year and it remains mostly unchanged for the model year 2014. While the Outlander 2014 is a bit bulky, the 2014 Outlander Sport is a compact, agile and lighter crossover. Also, the SUV screams “sport” from its exteriors. The grille, the hood and the headlamps, all combine to create this amazingly muscular front façade of the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, adding to the implied sportiness from the vehicles name.
However when we say, there are a handful of crossovers that actually look sporty, it must be kept in mind that there are a fewer that actually drive sporty as well. Sadly, the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport doesn’t qualify to be among those “fewer” SUVs. Apart from its absolutely sporty frame cruising on the absolutely sporty 18 inch alloy wheels, the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport fails to impress as a “sports” utility vehicle. Just an above average performance along with some fine handling just doesn’t make this crossover a hard core racing car, which usually people would dream about when they hear the name Outlander “Sport”.
The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is powered by a 2.0 liter inline four-cylinder engine. The grunt manages to produce 148 ponies, and about 145 pound feet of twist. The two trim levels, namely, the ES (base) and the cream-on-the-top SE, come with an option of front-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive model. The front wheel drive featuring ES trim comes standard with a five speed manual transmission. The Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is optional on the ES Outlander Sport. While it comes as standard on the all wheel driven ES and all SE models.
2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport with a front wheel drive and five-speed manual is capable of accelerating from rest to 60 mph in a sprint time of 8.8 seconds. An impressive making of time for a vehicle in such segment! However, as talked about earlier, the driving dynamics of the vehicle are not as sporty as one might expect. The acceleration and power that the vehicle offers is fine for everyday city cruising but if highway drives would need more agility and better acceleration which the 2014 Outlander Sport lacks. The handling, also, is fine and not amazing for that matter. But the soft suspension that comes as signature from the brand is quite of a savior for the vehicle giving it a plus one for a smooth ride.
The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport stands in tough competition with models like the Kia Sportage, the 2014 Mazda CX5 and the 2014 Ford Escape; latter two being a little expensive but amazingly enjoyable rides. But the reasonable pricing and impressive fuel economy makes the 2014 Outlander Sport a fine crossover.