In case you haven’t heard, the 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander is not a good SUV. While it’s spacious, it’s not ideal for families. It offers lots of utility at a low base price but it’s still not worth falling for.  Mitsubishi actually hasn’t made the Outlander good for years. You could go back to 2015 and still see the same complaints we talk about today. When was the last time the Outlander was considered good?

Taking it back to 2010

Back in 2010, the Outlander actually held its own pretty well in the SUV market. Mitsubishi decided to refresh the model, especially for this year. The handling was sporty and some critics even dared to call it supple. The 2010 Outlander featured two engine options.

There was a choice between a 168-horsepower, four-cylinder engine or a V6 engine that generated a solid 230 hp. The four-cylinder was especially known for offering a decent fuel economy. Both engine options were available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

You could consider the 2010 Outlander as a well-rounded SUV because of its high safety and reliability scores and because of its decent performance capabilities. However, this model still got points taken off for cheap interior finishings and materials. The first and second rows offered comfort, but test drivers said they couldn’t see how anyone would enjoy sitting in the available third-row option.

The standard cloth seats in the 2010 Outlander were not bad but the option to upgrade to nicer genuine leather was tempting. Additional upgrades on the inside included Bluetooth connection and a voice command system.

The Outlander was OK in 2011

In 2011, the Outlander wasn’t technically bad, but its predicted reliability scores noticeably dropped. Although, it still earned impressive safety scores and it still offered sporty handling.

The main problem for the Outlander in 2011 was that the SUV market became much more competitive. Plus, the Outlander still had the same cheap-feeling interior. SUVs like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, as well as the Kia Sportage were much more attractive options in 2011.

Falling off from 2012 to 2020

So 2012 is when the Outlander really starting falling off. Predicted reliability scores continued to be on the lower end, safety ratings started to decrease, and the interior was still shabby. Mitsubishi tried to spice things up a bit in 2013 with a livelier engine but couldn’t keep that same energy the following year in 2014. Basically from 2013 onward, critics starting advising drivers not to buy the Outlander.

Fast forward to 2020, and like we mentioned earlier, the same Outlander problems persist.  The hybrid version of this SUV is more compelling but there still isn’t much to rave about. In 2020, the Outlander’s base engine is still underwhelming and so is its handling. The seats actually got less comfortable and you guessed it－the interior still looks and feels cheap.

It’s kind of sad that Mitsubishi hasn’t been able to get things right on the Outlander for quite some time now. But at least we have plenty of good SUVs to pick from.