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.

Review: 2011 Nissan Juke

Nissan seems to be on a war path to fill every last ounce of white space in the automotive spectrum. The company has unleashed a barrage of vehicles that range from playful to downright confusing. At first blush, the 2011 Nissan Juke would seem to fit into the latter category. With styling that's two shakes away from robo-reptilian, the small crossover packs plenty of power, a tall ride height and a small footprint into one sub-$20,000 package. If you can avoid pigeonholing the Juke, you'll find that the engineers at Nissan secretly managed to bring their own interpretation of the hot hatch to market without raising the ire of the company's accountants.

We wouldn't blame you for thinking we're one stud short of a lug pattern on this one, but point your peepers to a few specs and you'll see what we mean. The Juke weighs in at less than 3,000 pounds in front-wheel-drive guise and packs a turbocharged, direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that's good for 188 horsepower. For reference, the company's own Sentra SE-R hits the scales with an extra 88 pounds on its waist and 11 fewer ponies at its command. Opt for the manual gearbox in the Juke, and things get even lighter. Intrigued? We were too.


Perhaps the biggest compliment that we can pay the design of the 2011 Juke is to say there's nothing to compare it to in the automotive food chain. Sure, there are borrowed elements from the 370Z in the taillamps and there's more than a little Kia Soul in the roof line, but by and large, the Juke is its own machine. That's no small praise considering manufacturers have been cranking out vehicle designs for well over 100 years.

Up front, the Juke serves up something of a puzzle with its lighting array. Those stylized lenses up top don't tackle main illumination duty like you'd think. Instead, they prefer to take care of both marker and turning-indicator work, leaving headlight detail to the pie plate-sized lenses set low in the front fascia. If that's not confusing enough for you, higher trim levels also get fog lights placed even closer to the ground.



From the side, the Juke boasts seriously bulging fenders front and rear as well as a short wheelbase of just 99.6 inches. In fact, from stem to stern, the crossover measures a mere 162.4 inches, or shorter than even the admittedly small Versa hatchback. Fortunately, the Juke comes from the factory wearing stylish 17-inch alloy wheels even in base configuration. Those sizeable rollers give the Juke a little extra attitude and serve to help avoid the pitfall of looking like an econobox... er, trapezoid. Throw in a set of rear door handles hidden in the C-pillar and the Juke comes off as a three-door hatchback from a distance.

The rear of the Juke shows more of a traditional CUV or crossover look with a rounded hatch, sculpted taillamps and a small roof spoiler. Despite its abbreviated package, it uses a fairly tall rear deck for loading groceries and the like, and we expect the painted bumper cover to suffer more than a little abuse at the hands of careless owners.



Jump indoors and the Juke delivers an interior with a greater attention to detail than we're typically accustomed to from Nissan. The driver is treated to a sport steering wheel with contours in all the right places and quality texturing that feels a galaxy or two ahead of the tiller in the Rogue. Large, easy to use buttons make short work of cruise control, audio settings and handling calls from the Bluetooth system. Door panels are decorated with painted plastic bits color-matched to the unique "motorcycle tank" center console, and large, rounded chrome handles add a little bit of brightwork to an otherwise dark cockpit. Our tester came in S trim, which means that it sacrifices the trick I-CON center stack of the SV model for more pedestrian dials and buttons. Base guise does net buyers an iPod interface, though navigating the menu structure via the controls on the dash and steering wheel is nothing short of confounding.

Otherwise, the Juke serves up a surprising amount of room given its tiny stature. There's enough space to comfortably ferry four adults around town without having to accordion anyone's knees, and there's a deceptively large area behind the rear seats for stacking up luggage or groceries. We have it on good authority that several propane tanks and multiple bags of groceries can fit back there at the same time, though a lack of tie downs or hooks makes for plenty of racket once the going gets twisty.

The eggs never made it home.


One of the best things about the trim structure with the Juke is that no matter what configuration you choose, you're guaranteed to find one very capable four-cylinder engine under hood. Our bare-bones tester made use of the same direct-injection, turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder as the rest of the lineup. That means we had the good fortune of getting to play with a full 188 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. While we were itching to get a full week's worth of time with the six-speed manual transmission, our tester came lugging the Nissan CVT gearbox in front-wheel-drive configuration.

But that's not as bad as you'd think. Nissan has cleverly graced the Juke with the same "shiftable" CVT programming as found in the likes of the Maxima. Nudge the gear lever up and the transmission will happily provide you with a quick jump in ratios that's good for darting along your favorite mountain road. Speaking of darting, front-wheel drive will net drivers a torsion-beam suspension out back, though like many inexpensive small cars these days, the rear bar doesn't seem to hold the Juke back when it comes time to tango.



Keep the tach pointed above 2,000 rpm and the Juke will gladly dispatch any amount of tarmac with little argument. The hatchback kicks out very little understeer if you manage to keep out of the throttle. Really mash the skinny pedal, though, and the sizable pack of horses will do their best to torque-steer you away from your intended path of flight. The result is a small car that begs you to keep hammering, despite its tall ride height. The brakes are properly firm and though the electric power steering is a characteristically light, it's not enough to dampen the giggle factor.

It's worth noting that our particular tester was a pre-production unit with plenty of hard-won miles on the clock at the hands of sinister auto journos. That said, we did notice a fairly rough idle, especially when the engine wasn't up to operating temperature. At highway speeds, the cabin suffers from road and engine noise, though not enough to worry us. This is a vehicle with an MSRP lighter than its curb weight, after all.

The EPA says you should be able to net 27 mpg city and 32 mpg highway from a CVT-equipped, front-driver like our tester, though after a full week of darting around the countryside, we saw a measly 22 mpg combined. Just remember, kids: Small turbo engines drink fuel just like their larger, normally aspirated counterparts when you have your foot burried in the carpet. In this case, Nissan's little alien sucks down premium juice, so it would pay to go a little lighter on the fun pedal should you decide to park a 2011 Juke in your driveway.



And how much will Nissan ask for the pleasure of Juke ownership? Prices start with the S Trim at $18,960, and buyers can expect power doors, locks, iPod connectivity, a six-speaker sound system and Bluetooth hands-free calling for that stack of cash. That sticker price snugs the Juke smack dab between the Nissan Rogue at $20,810 and the Nissan Sentra at $15,520. With decent (if a bit theoretical) fuel economy and a fun factor that's well above either of those options, the Juke represents the perfect middle child in Nissan's lineup. While it may not be as functional as the Rogue, we'll take that sacrifice for the bump in power and the handling hijinks.

The Juke is as close to a modern hot hatch from Nissan as we're likely to get anytime soon, and were it ours, we'd immediately begin looking into ways to get the vehicle a little closer to the ground. If ever there were a car that begged for the aftermarket to right its wrongs, the Juke is it. The styling may not be for everyone, but after a week with the five-door, we grew warm to its funky face. Hey, if people can welcome pug dogs into their homes, they should have no problem opening up the garage door for the 2011 Juke.

Review: 2011 BMW Alpina B7

Try as it might, the BMW M3 Coupe can't lose the Alpina B7. The two of us are an unlikely automotive pair, playing cat-and-mouse on one long road to nowhere deep in the reaches of an unincorporated area of the California coastal mountains. The air is cool and the canyons are mostly quiet. Only the sound of two wailing V8s breaks the silence.

While the M3 dives into the corners with confidence, the B7 launches out with ferocious conviction. The M3 pulls energetically on the short straights, but the B7 puts its power down with resolve and steadily reels the smaller coupe back in. Even mid-corner, when the M3 is in perfect step, the B7 clenches a slightly wider line but still holds its ground.

We've been at this game for more than an hour, and neither of us is willing to raise a white flag. Only the illumination of the low fuel light in the smaller coupe has us calling it quits. Want to learn what it takes to harass an M3 owner?
Headquartered in Germany, Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH ("Alpina") has been working its magic on BMW models since the 1970s, and while most think of Alpina as an aftermarket tuner, the company is officially recognized as an automobile manufacturer. From its earliest days, Alpina models have been noted for their factory-quality engine, suspension and cosmetic upgrades, and the company is credited with offering high-performance street variants of BMW models even before the automaker's own Motorsport "M" Division jumped into the game.



Thirty-five years later, I'm sitting behind the wheel of an F01 B7 BiTurbo – Alpina's latest creation, based on BMW's current 7 Series platform. Mirroring the various chassis and powertrain options offered by BMW, the Alpina B7 can be had in standard- or long-wheelbase, and with rear- or all-wheel drive (xDrive). The sportiest variant of the four is the short-wheelbase, rear-wheel-drive model. That would be the Alpina Blue Metallic model we're piloting.



The heart of every Alpina model is the hand-crafted engine, and the B7 is fitted with a highly modified version of BMW's N63, the all-alloy direct-injected 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 currently fitted to the BMW 750i. Craftsmen at Alpina's facility in Buchloe, Germany are tasked with opening it up and performing a delicate surgery that includes a slew of upgrades and enhancements for the entire powertrain. High-performance pistons are inserted into the block and the cylinder heads are reinforced to withstand the additional stress from a higher compression ratio. A larger intercooler, with a 35-percent increase in surface area, is fitted to lower intake temperatures. An additional radiator lowers coolant temperatures, and external coolers are added for the engine and transmission oil. The electric fan is also upgraded to increase airflow through the new high-performance components. To move more oxygen through the engine, larger turbochargers (the vanes measure 44 mm in diameter) are fitted to keep the whole package running smoothly and Alpina engine management software increases boost to 14.5 psi and recalibrates both stability- and traction-control with more aggressive settings.

While the 750i's N63 develops 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, the modified twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 in the Alpina B7 jumps to 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque – raising specific output to 115 horsepower per liter.

Accommodating the power is Alpina's "Switch-Tronic" gearbox (a modified ZF wet six-speed automatic). Tiny leather-covered buttons on the back of the steering wheel allow manual gear selection (right side "+" and left side "-") and the driveline, from driveshaft to differential, has also been strengthened.



The suspension architecture utilizes BMW's Dynamic Damping Control and Active Roll Stabilization, as found on other 7 Series models, but Alpina wouldn't be expected to leave it alone. The automaker increases spring rates by 20 percent and lowers ride height by about half-an-inch overall. From the cockpit, the driver is able to select from three suspension setups: Comfort, Normal and Sport. Sport-Plus mode shifts the Dynamic Stability Control system into a more aggressive Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) setting, allowing more slip at the driven wheels and reducing the interference of the traction control system.

Massive brakes (sourced from the heavier armored 7 Series "Protection" model) measure 14.72 inches in diameter up front and 14.57 inches in the rear. The standard wheels are Alpina-designed 21-inch alloys (the valve stem is in the center, thanks to a single hollow spoke) wearing 245/35ZR21 tires up front and 285/30ZR21 tires in the rear (xDrive and long-wheelbase models are fitted with 245/50ZR18 tires on all four corners). The curb weight of this rear-wheel-drive standard-wheelbase model, according to Alpina, is 4,564 pounds and opting for the long-wheelbase xDrive model causes the curb weight to balloon to 4,861 pounds. Regardless, the standard B7's weight distribution is a fairly balanced at 51.4:48.6 front-to-rear.



The exterior of the B7 is distinguished by unique twin double tailpipes and its special front and rear lower spoilers. Alpina says the latter reduce lift by 30 percent at the front and 15 percent at the rear, and improve high-speed stability without adversely affecting the drag coefficient. We say they look far too "tacked-on."

The interior of the Alpina B7 receives its own touches. The cabin is upgraded with sport seats (covered in special Alpina leather), new instrument faces (red needles over a blue background), "Myrtle" wood trim, Alpina floor mats, branded illuminated door sills, and a hand-stitched Alpina steering wheel with the unique aforementioned button shifters. Lastly, if someone has somehow missed all of the other markings, there is one last Alpina plaque mounted on the inner roof panel just ahead of the moonroof.

Superfluous branding aside, the cabin of the B7 is one very comfortable place to pass extended periods of time (think BMW 7 Series, but with an extra dollop of luxury and amenities). It's hard to fault the seat comfort, support, driving position or overall presentation.

With a push of the start button, the engine spins over and settles to a muted idle, although surprisingly, there's nothing noteworthy about the exhaust note. Like all 7 Series sedans, the B7 feels big. Backing up is accomplished with the help of electronic aids, and lane changes require a deliberate look over the shoulder followed by a second glance in the mirror. While it's entirely competent in a metropolitan setting, the full-size sedan simply feels a bit out of place lazily trudging along the boulevard.

Want to wake a sleeping giant? Press the accelerator pedal to the floor.

Alpina's blown 4.4-liter comes to life like a cadet springing out of bed for a drill sergeant's call. Any thoughts of turbo lag are slammed to the back of the brain (and forgotten) as the B7 takes off. Yes, it's big and heavy, but it gets out of its own way with authority. BMW quotes a 0-60 sprint in 4.5 seconds, but it feels quicker (just for grins, we hooked the B7 up to a rather simple Escort G-Timer GT2 and recorded an easy 4.32 seconds). As a sucker for brutal power, we are happy to declare that this Alpina sedan hits all the right nerves. Like a Nissan GT-R, the B7 absolutely begs to show off at stoplights.

Place the B7 on an open highway, and pavement rolls quietly under its chassis mile after mile. However, it's difficult to finger another five-place full-size luxury sedan that is as adept off the highway on fun two-lane roads.



Alpina's decades of experience working hand-in-hand with BMW has delivered. The suspension tuning is just about perfect, with very little body roll and nearly fault-free damping on most road surfaces. Directional changes are quick and fluid, with great feedback through the steering wheel. While we didn't like the tiny shift "buttons" on the back of the steering wheel (nearly useless in the heat of battle), the six-speed auto was competent when the car was set in "Sport-Plus" mode – come to think of it, the B7 could really use one of those trick "M" buttons to personalize performance parameters.

The Alpina B7 is an amazing machine. Defying all logic, the sedan seems to shed pounds as the g-forces increase – the uncanny feedback from the driver's seat is of a sports car wrapped in a lightweight paper-mâché 7 Series disguise. In a word: fun.

The good news is that the Alpina B7 earns the fur-lined gold crown as the current high-performance king of BMW's big sedans. And, with the E60 M5 out of production and the F10 M5 still a few months away, it should be able keep its head warm until summer arrives. Don't forget, with a base price of just $122,000 the B7 also comfortably undercuts the $137,000 twelve-cylinder twin-turbo 760Li.



The bad news for the Alpina B7, of course, is that rival Mercedes-Benz has just updated the engine in its high-performance $138,000 S63 AMG. Gone is the naturally-aspirated 507-horsepower 6.3-liter V8. In its place is a new twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8, rated at 536 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque (opt for the $7,300 Performance Package, and those numbers soar to 563 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque). When it comes to powerplants, the new S63 AMG engine is about as good as they come, but the S-Class' overall performance package still falls short of the B7. Put another way, nobody races an S63, but more than a handful of Alpina owners frequent the track – with hardly a laugh from the peanut gallery.

The M3 Coupe is a better sports car, but on this particular day and on this specific road, the other driver will never be able to prove it. Each time he shoots into a corner, we follow 20 yards back. He opens the gap at every apex, but we're hard on the throttle to close it after each exit. He just can't win.

If there is any consolation to the M3 owner, it's the fact that Alpina will only be assembling about one thousand of its 7 Series sport sedans each year. Less than half of those will arrive in the States. This should be a comfort to that special breed of sport coupe drivers as they will seldom ever see an Alpina B7, let alone be intimidated by one on a lonely canyon road.