Review: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC

Mitsubishi has a problem with its current lineup. Unless you're looking for a Lancer, your options are limited to the Galant mid-size sedan and the Endeavor and Outlander crossovers. Right now, the Galant is contemplating seppuku and the Endeavor hasn't been fully redesigned since it first went on sale back in 2003. The Outlander, however, has something positive to offer. It seats up to seven passengers (in a pinch), has been named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick, and tops out at 28 miles per gallon on the highway.

Mitsubishi knows having just two competitive vehicles to choose from isn't enough to compete in an industry eager to fill every niche, and the company appears focused on evolving the two lone bright spots in its lineup. The Lancer has spawned many variants, the latest being the Lancer Sportback, a fun-to-drive wagon that doesn't step on the toes of the top-trim Lancer Evolution. The Outlander, meanwhile, recently gave its name to the smaller 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a five-passenger crossover looking to make its mark in a currently crowded segment.

If the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport had a favorite song, it would be Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." There's no mistaking this CUV for anything other than a product from the diamond-star family. The gaping mouth and muscular haunches leave no doubt that the Outlander Sport got the "good genes" after a night of passion between a Lancer Evo and the larger Outlander. And despite sharing the name "Outlander" with its larger three-row brother, the Outlander Sport is its own vehicle, a compact crossover different in size, shape and demeanor.

Up front, for instance, a jet-fighter nose kicks off an aggressive forward-leaning stance. Sharply cut headlights dig into the face of the Outlander Sport while the roof line pulls tightly rearward along the 169.1-inch long body. That length is almost 15 inches shorter than the larger Outlander, despite the two crossovers sharing the exact same wheelbase and almost the same width. Like a Beverly Hills housewife with a face-lift, this look has to be done correctly or things can quickly turn into a cat-faced disaster. Fortunately, Mitsubishi's corporate face survived the transplant with nary a scar to show for it. A set of 10-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels wearing Goodyear Eagle 225 55R/18 rubber shoes also sit neatly below the ever-so-slightly bulging fenders. These larger wheels come standard on our SE tester, while 16-inchers are standard running gear for the lower-trim ES.

Inside, the Outlander Sport prefers muted tones, with dark plastic and black cloth the only interior color choices available. Fortunately, the controls are laid out in a simple manner, and we appreciate the climate controls relying on three traditional dials instead of being relegated only to touch-screen control. That screen is left to handle audio and navigation, which it does rather well being responsive to the touch with crips graphics. Pop into Reverse and you'll also get a nice view of what's going on behind the Outlander Sport thanks to the back-up camera that's bundled with the $2,000 nav system.

Unfortunately, laying down two grand for navigation also forces you to opt for the $1,800 Premium package that adds a panoramic glass roof, LED interior mood lighting, a Rockford-Fosgate sound system, Sirius satellite radio and an in-dash six-disc CD changer. All told, you're on the hook for almost $4,000 worth of options if you want the Outlander Sport to tell you where to go.

Sound from the optional Rockford-Fosgate audio system is pushed out to your ears courtesy of nine-speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer in the rear cargo area and 710 watts. Surprisingly balanced, this particular sound system has lost the overbearing bass that used to be a hallmark of Rockford-Fosgate systems.

If you plan on listening to your iPod, Mitsubishi also includes a connector that lets you control the device from the touch-screen or steering wheel-mounted controls. Annoyingly, however, the stereo takes about a minute to recognize the mp3 player each time you turn off the car, and once it does, playback starts from the first song on the unit. It's like teaching your dog to sit, and every time you turn around the pooch forgets where his butt goes. In a word: frustrating.

What's not frustrating is the level of supportive comfort provided by the front seats. Headroom is also a non-issue and visibility is great regardless of where you're looking. The cabin is relatively simple, aside from the touch-screen, but it works in the Outlander Sport's favor.

If you go for a base two-wheel-drive ES model, the Outlander Sport starts at just $19,275. Our all-wheel-drive SE model starts at $22,995 (plus $780 in destination charges), and thanks to a few of those aforementioned fixings reaches $28,570. The Outlander Sport AWD SE's base price, however, is below that of the Honda CR-V EX-L ($26,645), Hyundai Tucson Limited ($26,345) and Kia Sportage EX ($24,795). Equipped like this Outlander Sport, the Kia and the Hyundai are just a few dollar bills away from $30,000 and the Honda climbs past by a Benjamin. So paying over $28,000 for this compact crossover becomes a little more palatable when compared to more expensive competition, and it's made even more so once you raise the hood.

Pull the lever and prop up the sheet metal and you'll see a familiar 4B11 face smiling back at you. Used throughout the Mitsubishi lineup, this 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine produces 148 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 145 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm. That may not sound like much oomph to propel the all-wheel-drive Outlander Sport, but at just 3,263 pounds, it feels quicker than it should be.

The Outlander Sport isn't fast by any means, but the four-cylinder engine gets the job done while returning 24 miles per gallon around town and 29 mpg on the highway. Two-wheel-drive models do even better at 25 city/31 highway. By contrast, the 2011 Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are 240, 103 and 92 pounds heavier, respectively. Each vehicle also produces more horsepower (32 hp for the Honda and 28 hp for the Kia/Hyundai) and torque (16 lb-ft for the Honda and 23 lb-ft for the Kia/Hyundai) yet return slightly worse fuel economy (21/27 for the Honda and 21/28 for the Kia/Hyundai).

It's not just the weight that helps the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport in the fuel-economy equation. Connected to that 2.0-liter engine is a Continuously Variable Transmission, or CVT, which can be manually "shifted" via a pair of steering wheel-mounted paddles. CVTs are notoriously buzzy contraptions, and the one employed in the Outlander Sport is no exception. Truth be told, the engine and transmission combination would be rather dull without those flippers for manually controlling the fun.

The Outlander Sport does have a few tricks up its sleeve besides being able to fake a gear shift. It handles surprisingly well for what's essentially a high-riding, tall-roof wagon. The brakes are quite responsive once you push past the first inch of light pedal travel, but over bumps, the tight Lancer-like suspension reveals some flaws in the Noise Vibration and Harshness department. There was some chatter inside the cabin of our test vehicle and, when rolled down a bit, the windows produced a slight rattle. We could chalk up the window rattle to press-car jitters, but the cabin chatter is probably there to stay.

Those problems aren't enough, however, to make us forget the sporty handling, accommodating interior and competitive pricing of the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC. Will it become Mitsubishi's third bright spot behind the Lancer and Outlander? The company is crowing that 1,290 units of the Outlander Sport were sold last month. That's peanuts compared to the Honda CR-V, which sold over 19,000 units, but does represent nearly a fifth of the entire brand's sales. That's remarkable for a model only a few months old, and tells us that Mitsubishi is giving buyers exactly what they want.

Fisker to use lighter dedicated range-extending engines in future, possibly three-cylinder

A very recent conversation with people who would know of such things revealed that Fisker Automotive firmly intends to use a lighter weight dedicated three- or four-cylinder inline engine in the next generation of Fisker cars after the range of Karma variants and Delaware-built Project Nina models have all been launched.

So, rather than the 255-horsepower four-cylinder "LNF" 2.0-liter turbocharged GM Ecotec engine in the current Karma that weighs around 360 pounds, next-gen Fiskers will carry instead 200- to 250-pound turbocharged three-cylinder engines to create more than adequate energy to feed the lithium-ion battery pack.

One clear candidate drawing a lot of client attention is the Lotus Engineering 1.2-liter three-cylinder range-extending engine to be produced in Spain with Fagor Ederlan Group. The chief advantage to a dedicated extender engine is the lower weight versus a normal series four-cylinder pulled from the parts bin. This lightening will automatically add range to any electric vehicle.

2012 Buick LaCrosse dropping trim levels, V6 available as no-cost option

In addition to having eAssist added to its four-cylinder powertrain, the 2012 Buick LaCrosse is undergoing a few other changes. We aren't talking about styling or content tweaks – instead, General Motors is revising its packaging strategy for the LaCrosse. Buick will be ditching the CX, CXL and CXS trim level designations and simply offer large option packages that encompass all of the available amenities.

For 2012, the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine with eAssist technology will be offered as the "standard" powertrain. We recently had some very limited drive time with an eAssist-equipped LaCrosse (stay tuned for our full impressions), and found the four-cylinder with 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque to be pleasantly adequate and its highway rating of 37 miles per gallon downright remarkable. eAssist-equipped cars will look no different than other LaCrosses, save the addition of model-specific 17-inch wheels on efficiency-optimized tires and other fuel-saving upgrades not visible from outside the car.

The General's 280-horsepower direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 will still be made available, complete with the new HiPer Strut front suspension that helps keep torque steer to a minimum, but buyers can now select it as a no-cost option, and also opt for all-wheel drive.

Final pricing information has not been released, but Buick tells us that the entry level LaCrosse will start around $30,000. Currently, the LaCrosse has a base MSRP of $26,995, which suggests the addition of eAssist and its associated fuel-saving parts isn't cheap. What Buick has effectively done is ditched the "base" LaCrosse model and left two identically priced models for buyers to choose from: one focused on exceptional fuel economy and the other on power.

Production on the 2012 LaCrosse will start this summer with the first round of cars hitting dealerships this Fall.

First Test: 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

"Oh, boy," testing director Kim Reynolds said upon seeing it.

"It looks like some weird mechanical mutant," a friend mentioned.

"There's something oddly charming about the CrossCabriolet," noted senior editor Jonny Lieberman. "Nissan might just be onto something here..."

This multifaceted, range-topping Murano is an attention-getter devised to fill a void you never knew existed, and that marketers hope to successfully tap.

Wait, this thing occupies a segment with actual buyers?

Nissan believes it does. CrossCabriolet customers will likely call California, Texas, and Florida home; be predominantly female, well-educated, and 40 to 45 years old; and make roughly $125,000 annually. They'll need that money because losing a metal top adds $7220 to the Murano LE AWD's base price, making the CrossCabriolet the most expensive trim in the lineup.

Product gurus also foresee strong sales in the Northeast and Midwest,where convertible owners might cherish sunshine more than their Southern counterparts do. When inclement weather forces tops shut for months at a time, a luxurious crossover with 12.3 cubic feet of cargo room should be useful, Nissan hopes. Some 800-plus buyers want one already, and more than 5000 people have requested information. Quirkiness is becoming more attractive to a growing consumer population. Color us amazed.

Although it could come across as a left-field sort of project, the CrossCabriolet is nothing of the sort. Designers at Nissan's Atsugi center first toyed with the study in 2006. But it wasn't until Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn saw primitive sketches that it became something real. (Industry rumors persist that it was Ghosn's wife who showed a keen interest in the model's production.)

With the green light ablaze, the engineers heavily modified their existing D-platform. Ahead of the raked A-pillar resides a 3.5-liter VQ35DE V-6 making 265 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. It's mated to an Xtronic CVT and returns an EPA rated 17 mpg city/22 mpg highway. An independent front-strut, multilink rear suspension underpins the CrossCabriolet as it does in other Muranos, which means the ride remains well-controlled. It also employs an Intuitive All-Wheel Drive system for traction in a variety of settings.

2012 BMW ActiveE plugs into Geneva

While the new i sub-brand is getting all the buzz, BMW has just pulled the wraps off the 2012 ActiveE.

Essentially an evolution of the MINI E, the ActiveE is based on the 1-Series coupe and features a unique appearance with modified fascias, a power dome hood, "circuit-inspired graphics," and lightweight 16-inch alloy wheels with low-rolling resistance tires.

Inside, the cabin boasts Dakota leather upholstery, Alpine White trim, and a new eDrive display which shows battery related information. Furthermore, iPhone owners can download a BMW ConnectedDrive app which allows them to remotely precondition the battery, check charging status, and lock / unlock the vehicle's doors.

The ActiveE is motivated by a 32 kWh lithium-ion battery which sends power to an electric motor that develops 170 PS (125 kW / 168 PS) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque. This enables the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in nine seconds, hit a limited top speed of 145 km/h (90 mph), and travel approximately 160 km (100 miles) on a single charge. When the battery is depleted, it can be fully-recharged in 16 to 20 hours with a standard household outlet (110 V/ 16 A) or four to five hours with a rapid charger (240 V/ 32 A).

Over 1,000 ActiveEs will be built and they will be available for lease in select cities in Europe, China, and the United States.

Source: BMW

Renault announces dirt cheap price for all-electric Twizy, just $9,700* U.S.

It's not like Renault is really fighting anyone for the ultra-quirky, two-seat urban electric vehicle market, but if anyone wants to undercut the Twizy on price, it'll be tough. That's because Renault's design chief, Laurens Van Den Acker, said at the Geneva Motor Show today that the Twizy (pictured above at last year's Paris show) will start at just €6,990 (that's only $9,700 U.S. at today's exchange rate). Of course, at that price, you still need to lease the battery, but Renault is charging just €45 ($62) a month for that privilege. That doesn't include the cost of electricity, but it's also less than most cell phone bills. Think about that for a minute.

The Twizy will go on sale in Europe later this year, and we'll keep watching for more detailed information. If Nissan is having problems building the $32,780 Leaf fast enough now, how will Renault manage to get a much cheaper Twizy to all the people who want one?


[Source: Renault-Nissan]

2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4: In Depth

Before the Geneva Motor Show press conference on Tuesday, Lamborghini let us in on a private Bologna-area photography studio so that we could get our own sex-machine shots of their raging new V12 firestarter, the 691-horsepower Aventador LP700-4.

First off, we're glad they didn't call it 'Jota' as some were peas-and-carroting about because it's just a silly and unpronounceable name. It probably belonged to some wimpy minor league bull, too. Only one true Jota was ever built in 1970, and it was a just an amped-up and flared Miura (we prefer not to think about the mid-90s Diablo anniversary upgrade kits).

"Aventador" was, according to the best detective work we can muster, a bull whose career peaked in 1993 in the town of Saragozza, Spain, when he and the torero had a particularly spirited encounter prior to ol' Aventador's inevitable skewering. This particular beastie belonged to the breeding stables of the sons of Don Celestino Cuadri Vides and, for unknown reasons surely banal, he bore the number 32 singed on his hide. And now he gets the strongest Lamborghini ever built named after him. And about damned time! The British were getting tired of mispronouncing "Murcièlago" over the past ten years and now they have a new proper name to mutilate.


This name-guessing game is one of the best things Lamborghini has going for its mystique value. Another thing that comes close is what the new colors of the car's paint palette will be labeled. The model we've shot here is the actual Geneva showstand Aventador, and its all-new scene-stealing hue is Arancio Argos – Argos Orange – named after the deep-colored oranges grown around the ancient southern Greek town of Argos, a chief rival of the mighty killing machines over in Sparta.

Today, Lamborghini is just hoping to go Ferrari-, Pagani-, and Bugatti-hunting, so no killing of all the male inhabitants or anything is foreseen.

Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 profile side viewLamborghini Aventador LP700-4 rear view with scissor doors openLamborghini Aventador LP700-4 front end nose

At this point, the bosses at Lamborghini know they'll never stop hearing the "Audighini" or "LambAudi" comments, but don't say it to their faces on this go-round. The Aventador is, according to creditable head of R&D Maurizio Reggiani, as close to 100-percent-new as it gets versus the outgoing Murcièlago LP-640. The three-section chassis, cabin structure, V12 engine, transmission, suspension bits, all-wheel-drive module – you name it, it's all new to the company "apart from some carryover Murcièlago nuts and bolts," adds Reggiani.

Internally known as model "LB834," the Aventador's one-piece passenger cell is made entirely of a new-generation reinforced carbon fiber formulated with help from Boeing Aerospace, and it weighs in at just 324 pounds, while the whole naked chassis including aluminum front and rear crash structures weighs just 505 lbs. Overall bending and twisting stiffness is said to be double that ever experienced with the Murcièlago. Every carbon fiber cell is created in a just-completed facility at Lambo HQ in Sant'Agata Bolognese, and between 700 and 800 units per year is the ultimate goal once the full-rhythm build starts after the August summer holidays when Italy traditionally shuts down. The best year for the Murc was 2007, when 613 were delivered worldwide.

The new 691-hp (SAE), 6.5-litre V12 engine out back – called "L539" in Lambo-speak – is a massive 40 lbs. lighter than the Murcièlago engine, sits 2.8 inches lower in the chassis, is nine percent more powerful, and produces upwards of 20 percent better fuel efficiency in the hands of the right driver (for a whopping 13.7 mpg average). Dry weight of an Aventador is now just 3,472 lbs. compared to the Murcièlago's 3,671 lbs., a healthy five percent reduction in a class segment where weight loss is a crucial and constant challenge. Weight distribution is a predictable 43 percent front and 57 rear.

So, the Aventador's all-important pound-per-horsepower reading is just 5.02 lbs. versus the Murcièlago at 5.81 lbs. To beat these super-exotic numbers in the big rear-engine club, you'd have to shell out at least $1.3 million for either a Bugatti Veyron or Pagani C9 Huayra. As it stands, the Aventador LP700-4 is estimated to come in at around $370k.

Thanks to a three-inch-lower dry-sump pan under the motor and the choice not to go with direct injection as on the Gallardo V10 engine for now (it's sequential multi-point), the exterior look and stance were allowed to remain as gorgeous as they are. Comparing bore and stroke between Murcièlago and Aventador, the former reads a rather square 88mm x 89mm (3.47in x 3.50in) while the new motor gets bored – literally – now reading 95mm x 76.4mm (3.74in x 3.00in). Engineer Reggiani is a big believer in short-stroke cylinders since the ability to get lots of torque cranking down low in the rev range improves greatly. "With this car, I can take off from a stop in fifth gear and 1,000 rpm, no problem," says the man with the R&D plan. Just, please, don't try this at home.

Whereas the Murcièlago was honestly not allowed to be a totally new Lamborghini in its design (like the cash-cow Gallardo was, albeit heavily borrowed from Audi) due to lack of resources at the start of Audi ownership in mid-1998, the Aventador design reflects a dramatic effort on Lamborghini's part over the past three years to create a true 21st-century halo car, something the Murcièlago never achieved.

The overall shape takes the aerodynamic curved profile of either a Diablo or Countach a less pimp-y step further, and is heavily influenced by the edges seen on the 2008 limited-edition Reventón. The rear face and tail profile especially take hints from the Estoque four-door concept seen at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. Overall height is identical between the incoming and outgoing V12 car, while the length of the Aventador versus the Murc grows by some 6.7 in. and width is reduced by 1.1 in. To go with the added length, wheelbase grows as well by 1.4 in. The desire is clearly to have less of a boxy door-stop shape in favor of one that will slip through the air to threaten speed records. The only visibly moveable aerodynamic bit now is the rear wing, which reaches a maximum downforce-inducing angle of 11 degrees. The gaping side intakes open or close automatically, and here there is nothing like the origami shoulder appliqué air flaps used on the Murc.

Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 interiorLamborghini Aventador LP700-4 seatsLamborghini Aventador LP700-4 gaugesLamborghini Aventador LP700-4 center console

Our time spent sitting in the finally un-camouflaged new supersport reveals a distinct leap ahead in aesthetics, with far more character and fewer borrowed (and cheaper) surfaces than before. All controls are distinctly more easily accessible and understandable, while the digital bright instrument readouts are in keeping with the retina-defibrillating show. And there is at last an electric handbrake. Throttle-engine response, Servotronic steering force, rear differential slip degree, and gearshift timings are altered by pressing one of the three buttons by our right hand: Strada, Sport or Corsa.

And what would a V12 Lamborghini be without scissor doors? As ever, there is only the slightest compromise for any sports car lover while entering or exiting the Aventador. In fact, if it had standard doors then nobody would buy the thing.

Speaking with Lamborghini executives, it is clear that they want their 12-cylinder to bust out of the big shadow thrown by Gallardo and brashly take on all Ferraris and any other 12- or 16-cylinder exotics at every quantifiable and subjective level. The Gallardo will finally eat a little humble pie and assume its proper spot as the firm's higher-volume number-two "people's car."

To make this clear, the current estimated acceleration time for Aventador to 60 mph is 2.8 seconds (i.e. 2.9 to 100 km/h) when dallying in the fields of Launch Control. The engine howls with all power on tap now up to 8,250 rpm, and there's much more flexibility in the mid-revs with almost all of the 509 pound-feet of torque available from 5,000 rpm and more going on also at the lowest revs. The new seven-speed ISR ("Independent Shifting Rods") Graziano single-clutch gearbox is said to polish off shifts in Corsa mode in just 50 milliseconds while weighing half as much as the old E-gear Audi R-tronic-like dual-clutch system. And for the first time on a Lamborghini, the suspension is pulled right out of Formula-car thinking with its sophisticated inboard pushrod spring and damper setup. Top speed realized so far, so they tell us, has gone beyond the stated 217 mph max.

As the cream on top, the new all-wheel-drive system is a Haldex IV setup in keeping with the latest-generation units with greater rear-end bias. The Aventador-specific wheels – 19-inch front and 20-inch rear – are amazing eye-snatchers, and big (15.74-inch up front) ceramic stop-you-like-a-wall brake discs are standard. The treads are Pirelli P Zero and get sized out at 255/35 front and 335/30 rear. No manual transmission will be offered, but there is a welcome limited-slip differential. To keep your Aventador from chipping expensive front teeth, there remains a hydraulic lift for garage entry and school-zone speed bumps that raises things 1.6 inches.

After a disastrous 2009 and still tough 2010, Lamborghini is right back on track and up to the tricks we expect. Having planned and executed everything for the show-stealing Aventador LP700-4 in-house, this V12 arrow is finally and properly determined to account for the updated Lamborghini pride and image lead among prospective customers. Of the five design concepts for the car from various VW Group studios that made it to 1:1 scale, Filippo Perini and his team at the Sant'Agata Centro Stile won out. A year after the hardtop launches, the "LB835" Roadster version will arrive – hopefully with a less Lincoln Logs-difficult manual roof mechanism than the contraption on the Murcièlago Roadster.

U.S. deliveries begin toward the end of October, and we promise to bring you a first production-quality Aventador drive in May. The wait is going to be excruciating. No bull.