Mitsubishi Racks Up 2,500 Orders in Two Weeks in Japan for New SUV

31 October 2005

The hot Outlander

In an indication that SUVs are still popular around the world, Mitsubishi Motors has already taken 5,000 orders in Japan for its new Outlander mid-size SUV, which launched two weeks ago on October 17. This greatly exceeds the monthly sales target of 2,000 vehicles.

The company began accepting pre-launch orders for Outlander in the middle of September and these had reached some 2,500 by the October 17 launch date.

The Outlander features Mitsubishi’s new four-cylinder, 16-valve 2.4-liter MIVEC engine (earlier post) and a continuously variable transmission to deliver 125 kW (168 hp) of power and 226 Nm of torque with combined fuel consumption of 8.62 liters/100km (27.3 mpg) in the Japanese 10-15 drive cycle.

By comparison, Ford’s Escape (non-hybrid) in Japan delivers 9.09 l/100km (25.9 mpg US) for the XLT model with a 115-kW, 2.3-liter engine, or 12.5 l/100km (18.8 mpg US) for the Limited model with a 149-kW, 3.0-liter engine, all in the Japanese 10-15 cycle.

The Outlander’s fuel consumption exceeds Japan’s 2010 specification for this weight class of vehicle, and on the emissions side, it beats the Japanese 2005 Emissions Regulations by more than 70%. CO₂ emissions are 200 g/kilometer.

The new engine—which will become Mitsubishi’s primary powerplant—uses Mitsubishi’s intake and exhaust cylinder head port design and intake/exhaust systems along with a double-wall stainless exhaust manifold and a high-performance catalytic converter. The new 2.4-liter engine delivers a 5% increase in power over the current 2.4-liter MIVEC engine.

The basic design of the new 2.4-liter MIVEC engine was developed through the World Engine project—the alliance among Mitsubishi, the Chrysler Group and Hyundai Motors.