Mitsubishi Motors has launched it’s softroader the Outlander in India at the Delhi Auto Expo 2008. At the press conference Mitsubishi India MD Mr. Ravi Santhanam told us that the Outlander officially goes on sale by June 2008 at Rs. 19.74 lakhs a price comparable to the Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva the other two SUV’s which were also launched at the Expo. The Outlander would be produced on a new assembly line at the Chennai factory itself. The Outlander for India has a 2.4 litre DOHC MIVEC petrol engine producing 167 bhp @ 6000 rpm. No diesel option would be introduced which would hamper the Outlander’s sales as it competes with the diesel Hyunda Santa Fe and Chevrolet Captiva. The Outlander would have a paddle shift 6 speed automatic gearbox with a sport mode. There is obviously 4 wheel drive along with AWC (all wheel control) which is essentially a traction and ABS amalgamation. The SUV comes with paddle shift which is exciting as is the Rockford Fosgate entertainment system with a subwoofer which comes as standard. The alloys on the display car were also very cool. The outlander is a looker with sharp and muscular styling. The really flared wheel arches look impressive. The outlander from head on looks a little conservatively styled but the side and rear angles make up for that.

What i noticed about the Outlander on display at the Auto Expo was that it had only two rows of seating and is a 5 seater, however the front seats were top notch with excellent lumbar and side support. The 5 seat capacity would not compare favorably with the other SUV’s recently launched in the same space namely the Hyudai Santa Fe & Chevrolet Captiva both of which are 7 seaters. However driving enthusiasts would love the Outlander as it has the DNA of the rally winning Montero and is expected to be very good in an off road environment. The Outlander on display did not have leather seats however Mitsubishi India Managing Director has confirmed that the India version would have leather seats. The rear headroom and under thigh support were lacking as compared with the Santa Fe and the Captiva.

PICTURES OF THE OUTLANDER LAUNCH AT THE DELHI AUTO EXPO