2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS – Flatland Mountain Goat
Following the demise of my short-lived (and mostly awful) Ford Taurus LX station wagon (which you can read about at the link), it was time to head out into the muddy waters of the used car market and acquire transportation. Completely burned out on searching for a cash-price vehicle that was actually reliable, I admitted defeat and came to the crushing realization that this time I’d have to have a car payment. No matter how small it would be, getting locked into a car payment is the worst. But there was no choice.
And, because this is me we’re talking about here, the search for another car would have to happen in January.
In one of the coldest winters ON RECORD.
But what can ya do? With a rough trajectory mapped out and a few cars found online to at least get us to dealers that looked like they’d have options, I threw on 7 sweatshirts and 3 or 4 coats and away we went (with mom doing the chauffeur duty) to hit as many lots as we could before freezing to death or admitting defeat.
We struck out at the first few, and were on our way to check out a used Forester in the ‘burbs when we swung into a Mitsubishi dealer with quite a selection of not-new rides. And right there on the showcase stand was a clean(ish) 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS. All I could tell from the outside was that it looked decent, it was a hatchback (required), and it had all-wheel drive (desired).
It’s amazing what a little sunshine (and three coats of wax) will do.
Upon closer inspection, it started to look even better. It lined up spec-wise with the Subaru I was on my way to look at – hatch, fold-down seats, power everything, cruise control, power moonroof, working heat (which the last car did not have), and all-wheel drive. Better still, it was the same price as the Subaru listed online, but had half the mileage (coming in right around 80K on the odometer).
“Well hot damn – might’ve gotten lucky and found a good one after all!” I thought. Quick test drive, another 2.5 hours haggling and waiting on financing to get worked out (what the fzck takes so long in that back room? do they not have computers?), and off I drove with a new-to-me Mitsubishi product.
It would be a few months before I could give it a proper detailing and cleaning, but that all-wheel drive came in handy IMMEDIATELY and frequently. The winter in question was a couple of years ago, and the Midwest got absolutely dumped on with snow. And while other drivers were spinning their wheels or slow to get off the line because they didn’t have the traction, my little Mitsubishi ambled over bumps, ice, snow pack, and everything else with ease, including getting into and out of the gravel mud pit that served as my parking lot. Given the weather and the road conditions, this car was worth the price of admission within just a couple of months of owning it.
Of course, this is Mitsubishi we’re talking about here, and that means “interference valvetrain” – a.k.a. replace the damn timing belt regularly or you’re shit out of luck and the engine might eat itself. Since the car didn’t come with a record of when the last belt service had been done, I was only 2 months into ownership when my paranoia and worry got the best of me and I went ahead and dumped the $600 to get it done for safety’s sake. Better to spend the money up front than to be screwed on the side of the road later on, I guess.
It was refreshing to have, for the most part, a few months of maintenance-free automobile ownership. The dealer had put new tires on it before putting it up for sale, and aside from the timing belt replacement and a battery change, it was relatively easy going. After that “holy crap it does great in the snow” feeling wore off, though, I began to notice a couple of things. First, when the ground is dry and everyone else can accelerate as normal, this is NOT a quick vehicle. The 140hp, 4-cylinder wheezer they put in this thing (since it was based/built on the Lancer’s architecture) might be fine for a lightweight, compact sedan, but tack on a few hundred pounds and an AWD system and you’re not going anywhere quickly.
“Fine,” you might say, “at least it’s sipping fuel with such a low power output.” And there you’d be wrong as well. While the fuel economy estimates aren’t good to begin with, they’re also not at all related to what you see in real life. Mitsubishi even initially listed this car as 20 mpg city and up to 26 mpg highway.
Come on, Mitsubishi – you could fit a bit more engine in there.
They were clearly higher than fzckin’ kites. With proper maintenance, good fuel, new spark plugs, and the wind at your back, you’re lucky to see 15-18 mpg in town and 21 mpg highway – tops. Oh, and if you’re towing anything behind the vehicle, like a small trailer, drop that highway number down to about 14.
But okay – the Subaru I was interested in probably didn’t have great power or fuel economy numbers either. You can’t have it all, I guess, and the hatchback/all-wheel drive combo was important when I was shopping. As was not spending more than $5000 on a car. So it goes.
Unfortunately (for me), dealers don’t really advertise any of their vehicles as being “cars that were traded in by smart owners right before a long list of maintenance items were going to need to be fixed, one after another, and several of them expensively.”
Enter a sucker like yours truly.
What the dealer did replace (tires) was quickly rendered useless and shot by the items they didn’t replace. Specifically, ball joints, tie rod ends, control arms, sway bar links – you know, basically everything that controls the ride quality and the ability of the car to hold an alignment.
Say “good bye” to a couple of weekends, a couple of days at the shop (for the shit I couldn’t get done), and about $1500 all told, and the car is tracking straight and true (mostly). Although I’m sure these tired-ass struts need to be replaced as well. Oh, and I still have a CV axle that needs to be put in.
Pro tip – Golf course maintenance roads make a great backdrop for photos of your car. Don’t get caught.
In the end, it’s unfortunate that real life has set in and tarnished the image of the little Mitsubishi. Those first few months spent with the heat cranked up, bouncing over snowy roads and slushy highways, had me really loving the Outlander XLS. I felt like I’d hit the jackpot finding a good car at a good price. But you always end up paying for it one way or another, and the maintenance bills are certainly coming due on this 12-year old crossover (or whatever the hell you want to call it).
On an interesting (and bitterness-inducing) sidenote, the Outlander (referred to as the Airtek upon introduction in other markets) was at one point in time available with Mitsubishi’s 4G63T engine – the same turbo-equipped engine used to power the Lancer Evolution. Detuned slightly for the Outlander, it still produced 240hp and likely would make this car a small rocket on the highway.
Of course, the U.S. market never did see that version. But if anyone wants to spot me some cash for a quick eBay purchase, maybe I can make this car worth keeping after all. Hit me up if you have a spare $4000 laying around, k?
2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD 0-60 Times, Top Speed, Specs, Quarter Mile, and Wallpapers
The 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD is a All-wheel drive Sport Utility. It can accommodate up to 5 passengers. It has 4 Doors and is powered by a 2.4L L4 SOHC 16 valves engine which outputs 140 hp @ 5000 rpm and is paired with 4 speed automatic gearbox. The 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD has cargo capacity of 1708 Liters and the vehicle weighs 1570 kg. In terms of ride assists, the 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD has stability control and traction control in addition to anti-lock brake system (ABS). The vehicle has an optional engine as well It offers and. Safety features also include None and None. The front suspension is Front independent suspension while the rear suspension is Rear independent suspension. The car also features a It has Alloy wheels as standard. Electronic features include Cruise Control. For convenience, the car has Power windows and Power door locks. There is also a remote keyless entry feature. Moreover, the car has. The steering wheel has audio control buttons. In terms of performance, the car has 153 N.m of torque and a top speed of 191 km/h. The 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 10.4 seconds and hits quarter mile at 16.1 seconds. Fuel consumption is 11.8 L/100km in the city and 9.4 L/100km in the highway. The car price starts at $ 28,697