Funny thing... before I got my Outlander, all I wnated was a Subaru Impreza or a Nissan X-Terra.
But then I went to check out a Mitsu dealership for a 2006 new (unsold) Outlander when I learned about the 2007 and fell in love with it.
But
before I bought an Outlander, I called every Mitsu dealer in a 60 mile radius and tried to get the best price before I did anything. This was a 45-day nightmare in my quest to try and get the best price for my trade (a VERY minty 2005 Mazda Rx-8, which I loved and only traded because I am moving to CO) and the best price for their vehicle.
During the grueling 45 days, I got so mad at the Mitsu dealers for not cutting me the best deal ever that
I test drove:
1. Honda CR-V. It was a joke. The 2007 model looks like a coachroack on the outside, cool on the inside. The price tag was OUTRAGEOUS, they would not discount the car $1 (I kid you not, I asked the manager for a $1 car discount and he said 'no'). So I ruled this one out.
2. Pontiac Torrent. This one is quite nice! But I didn't want to just buy the car, I wanted to see the rest so I kept test driving...
3. Mazda Tribute. This is a clone of the Ford Escape (Mazda is largely owned by Ford). I say get the Escape and work out a better deal on it. ;)
4. The Toyota RAV4. This one sucked, the interior of the car is a joke!! It is old, outdated... just like the Corolla. Pathetic and VERY expensive. Oh and the warranty on it sucks!!
5. The Nissan X-Terra. Nissan had a TON of them new 2006 in stock unsold by 2007. If they had worked out a real deal with me, I would have bought it, because I liekd it, even thought it was too big and not as cool-looking as the Outlander.
My 45-car-hunt finally paid off when I got a call from a Mitsu dealer after I had gotten mad at the sales manager. This other manager called me and worked a deal out, just like that. $3,900 off my Outlander and got exactly the KBB value for my RX-8 (no other dealers wanted to give me the KBB trade-in value, they were low-balling me on the trade)!! I ended up getting more crap than I wanted (sun+sound package and DVD package), but hey, I pretty much got all that stuff for free!
I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with my Outlander. My wife keeps stealing it (grrrr), but it's ok, it's a great car.
who buys outlanders? Just kidding, I looked at all the cas you did too, test drove the base model outlander, stopped looking at honda and toyota. Then I came back when they had the xls in stock.
I am totally in love with my car, however its just not practical for a person who has dogs that love to go for car rides (their nails tend to ruin my leather seats) or bikes to take out on trails or to help friends move or haul stuff.