The car was provided by Mitsubishi via DriveShop for review purposes only. All opinions are my own and are honest. Affiliate links.
We really do not need a reason to take a road trip. We have traveled just for food. However, this time around, we were able to take the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC on the road for a special road trip: a baby shower to welcome our soon-to-be new niece or nephew. The parents are keeping the gender a surprise. Can anyone tell me why this has become so popular these days?
My husband drove the three of us, our daughter, himself and me in the Diamond White Pearl, 5 passenger crossover vehicle to New Jersey where the baby shower festivities took place. We both loved the look of this sporty compact SUV. The 18” black painted alloy wheels, black side-view mirrors with turn signal indicators and dark alloy fuel door were the perfect contrast against the white exterior. That says a lot since I am usually not a fan of white cars.
Since we were making this nearly two-hour drive with our daughter, a vehicle that has modern safety features is a must. Although the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC lacked a few that I must have in a family vehicle like blind spot indicator/warning and rearview backup camera, it at least had LATCH child-safety seat anchors to which our daughter’s Recaro booster seat latched securely the entire ride.
Our daughter enjoyed riding in the back listening to the songs we played from our phones via the Bluetooth Hands-Free Phone System. She wanted to listen to Kidz Bop, which she usually listens to in our other cars, but the Outlander Sport LE AWC was not equipped with Sirius XM Radio, but if you cannot go without Sirius XM radio like us, you can always get a subscription.
Trunk space is another feature that our family vehicle should have. For a crossover vehicle, the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC had an impressive amount of trunk space. That is something both my husband and I can agree upon. Aside from the mattress we got for them, our gifts for our new niece or nephew (I think it’s a boy) fit well with more room to spare.
Two words: automatic headlights. I think we both have gotten so spoiled and rely heavily on them so much so that on our way back from the baby shower and dropping our daughter off at grandma’s, we got back on the road without turning on the headlights. A big oops! Right before getting onto the eastbound Kosciuszko bridge, a random driver stopped us to let us know that our lights were off. In my honest opinion, having automatic headlights and daytime running lights is a very important safety feature every car these days should have, but this feature is available in other trim packages.
Who should drive the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC?
After driving the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC back and forth to work for a day, I did not feel comfortable in it. It revved much too high as we accelerated, and maintained a high rev instead of leveling off while the gears shifted as the speed increased. It felt like the car was overexerting itself. The handling did not feel stable, especially on the curvy Southern State Parkway. As a relatively new driver – I’ve been driving for three years – I would suggest that this compact SUV is suitable for more seasoned drivers like my husband. However, even he disliked how the car maneuvered and the observation about the engine’s overexertion.
The 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC is an affordable crossover vehicle with a suggested MSRP of $24,390. Averaging 25 MPG for city and highway, the Outlander Sport LE AWC has exceptional gas mileage for a compact SUV in its class. It also comes with a generous 10-year 100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Although this trim model of the Outlander does not have all of the bells and whistles that I would prefer in my car, Mitsubishi does offer these convenience features in higher trim packages like the SEL or GT model. The GT model has everything that I want in my next vehicle like a panoramic sunroof and even rain sensing windshield wipers!
We absolutely loved the Mitsubishi Outlander 3.0 GT you may read my review on it here.
The 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport LE AWC got us to our niece and nephew’s baby shower in one piece so that we were able to join in on the fun, showering with not only gifts but support and love, too.
Learn more about the Outlander Sport LE AWC and other cars in the Mitsubishi fleet by clicking here.
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For what special occasions have you taken a road trip?
The car was provided by Mitsubishi via DriveShop for review purposes only. All opinions are my own and are honest. Affiliate links.