question for those with '07 Charcoal grey outlanders

OK, so I'm a newbie and I'm soon ready to sell/trade in my '98 Eclipse GS on an '07 Outlander LS.  I'm trying to decide on color...between the silver or the darker grey models.  My Eclipse is silver and one thing I really like about it is that it is easy to keep clean and doesn't show dirt as much.  My wife's Cavalier is a dark green and it is such a pain to keep water spots off of it after I wash it and whatnot.  So I'm leaning towards the dark grey Outlanders because I think they are much sharper looking, but how hard is it to keep them clean? 
 
Thanks for any opinions!
 
Joe

.i have an 07 gray xls.  does not show dirt/dust easily.

i really like the paint as when it is very clean and shined in the sun it sometimes looks to be a different color.

tha only thing i did the first week i had it was pull the roof rails and paint them satin black.
the silver rails to me were to distracting from the lines of the body.

I have the Charcoal Grey.  It doesn't stay clean any better than any other color. 

It does hide the dirt relatively well.  I have had cars in all colors and will say that the Charcoal Grey is far better than Black or Red as far as not showing the dirt, while it is no where as good as White or Yellow.  It is pretty good when it comes to normal dirt and dust, but dried on salt during the winter shows pretty bad.  I would guess the Silver would hide the salt better, but I still preferred the darker Charcoal Grey color.  Hope that helps.  Sounds like either way it will be an Outlander, so that is good.  The ne Outlander has to be the most underrated vehicle in it's class.   It may not be the best at much, but it is as a whole the best balance of form  and function.

If you have not read Edmunds' long term test drive reports of the '07 Outlander, you should check it out.  Their final review I thought was very accurate with the exception of the comments about the rear seats being useless. 
'07 Outlander Long Term Review

I agress fishermen! I also own the Darker Grey Outlander XLS model. To me, I think the grey looks better than all the colour availbe for the Outlander.

Like Fishermen said, if you live in an area with a lot of snow, the Grey Outlander is hard to hind the dry salt. Like me, in Toronto, my Outlander shows all the white dried up salt during the winter. However, in the summer time, after a car wash I did, it stays clean for a heck of a long time.

So the only bad thing about the gray Outlander is about the dry salt, beside that, it stays clean and of course....LOOKS NICE!

SR

Thank you all for your comments!  That pretty much locks my choice with the dark grey model!  I'm in Pennsylvania and we get snow throughout the winter, but I'm not as concerned about dried salt...I mean, that's to be expected in winter.  I just didn't want to have to hand dry it in the summer like I have to with my wifes' Cavalier. 
 
I have read that review.  Everything I hear about the Outlander just makes it sound like the perfect SUV for my wife and I.  We want a smaller, sylish SUV with hopefully good reliability, decent gas mileage, yet need the power of a V6 and it's 3500 lb towing capacity as I'm also looking at getting a small bowrider power boat in the future. 
 
We're looking to get a slightly used one, with say only 8,000 miles on it or so, probably an LS model...though I would LOVE the sunroof option in the sun and sound package...I wish that could be ordered separately instead of just a package for XLS models.
 
Thanks for your help!
 
Joe

Just get the color you really want.
 
I was thinking the graphite gray or silver on paper (just coming off a black car) but I kept getting drawn to the black.  Yeah black is harder to keep clean, but I love it when it is..good thing I like to wash, polish, and wax cars :) 
 
I know if I got my second or third choice, I'd see my first and say I should have got the one I wanted

Another thing to keep in mind is that the XLS comes with 18" wheels.  Sounds good at first, then you have to eventually buy tires.  There are two issues with the 18s.  1. there are much more expensive than the 16's and 2 Mitsu picked a bastard size that was very few offerings.  I have the 18's and am debating about picking up a set of 16" wheels from an LS or go with steelies and dedicated snows in the winter.  I work for a tire company, and get discounts and it still hurts to think about buying the 18" tires. 

You will be pleased with the towing ability of the Outlander.  Just put it in 4wd to transfer some of the power to the rear wheels, and it tows like a dream.  I have towed over 3000 lbs, and it did it with ease.

Fisherman,
 
Yeah, 18" wheels would be a bit much.  I had 17" wheels on my Eclipse and switched to 14" wheels to help with it's ability in snow (or lack thereof) and to make the ride a bit nicer.  I definitely prefer the cheaper tire price!
 
It's still weird for me to realize that I'll be able to put the Outlander in 4WD even when the roads are dry...I'm used to having to reserve that for snowy conditions only!  I'm glad it seems to handle 3000 without too much trouble...the lake I will take the boat to is about 1 1/2 hours from my house and there are a couple of steep hills (paved roads) right before you get there.
 
I'll probably hold off for a few months yet before I officially go and get one.  It should be easier to sell my Eclipse in the spring/summer (unless I just end up trading it in) and I want to save as much as I can before taking the plunge. 
 
Joe

Hey Outlander_Joe,
 
I have a 2007 XLS in Charcoal Grey and I must tell you that I love this car. 
Much thought went into this vehicle's design for it's price and when released, was ahead of it's time.
 
The color is awesome when polished and it even has a hint of a crimson red hue under certain kinds of bright lights.
If at all possible, buy every feature you can afford at first, because you may wish that you had done so later.
I wish I had purchased the black leather seats and HID lights.
 
The Auto AWD is awesome and I leave some drivers stunned when I run away from them while averaging 20 MPG on regular gas!
The 18" rims are worth the performance and great looks that are added to your vehicle.  When properly cleaned you'll even see a sparkle from the metal flake in the rim's silver paint.
 
The only thing I don't like is some of the undeserved reviews that are less than Excellent.
Consumer Reports did rate the 2007 Outlander as a "Recommended" Buy!
Driven 10,000 miles and no problems for me so far...
 
Take care,
E

If you buying it because of the color DONT BUY the dark gray. I have it and the dryed salt clings to the outside big time. Its washes right off and looks great in the summer. I dont have any dirt problems. But its a brand new car and I was it at least one time a week. I towel dry it everytime so I couldnt tell you how the water spots look. I would imagine you would get water marks with any dark color car though. Oh yea I live in NJ and going snowboarding over in PA covers my outie in salt. I have to go through the drive through car wash when I get back.

Outlander_Joe,
I don't have a gray Outtie (mine's DWP), but do have a metallic gray Mazda 3s and the color is easy to care for and looks clean longer than most other colors.  Hides tar marks and road debris easily.  It's amazing when you finally clean it and see how much junk comes off even when you didn't think it was that dirty.
 
If you already have your finances in order you may want to seek out a leftover '07 instead of picking up a used one.  Not that there's anything wrong with low mileage used cars...except the unknown.  There should be plenty of leftovers left out there especially in LS version.  You could easily save $5000-$6000 off sticker without much haggling.  I had a deal on an '07 LS 4WD w/Sun & Sound and Entertainment Pkg for under $22K, but was able to save so much I decided on a loaded XLS.  Without those pkgs you could get one for under $20K.  Spring is right around the corner so dealers should still give you decent trade money for your Eclipse.  Research the figures for your car, get a quote at one dealer and then go to the next and see if they can do better.  These days you gotta play the game to get the best deal.
 
You won't be dissapointed with the Outlander.  Happy hunting.

rtrackr99,
 
Thanks!  I've enjoyed my Eclipse and I can't wait to see what the Outlander can do.  I've never owned an SUV before, but I have driven several.  It just seems like the right move for my wife and I at this point in life.  Yeah, the good gas mileage was another reason for leaning towards the Outlander.  I mean, if I wasn't going to get a boat, I would have considered something like the Nissan Rogue....but then I look at that...it's a 4 cylinder, has less power, and gets the same if not worse gas mileage as the V6, 220 hp Outlander!  I've never purchased a brand new or even a leftover vehicle before.  But my wife has and she is at 5 years on her Cavalier right now, so we're going to try to offset it...this will technically be "my" new vehicle and we'll try to keep it for 10 years...so in 5 years it should be paid off...at that point her car will be 10 years old and we can trade it in for a new vehicle.  Hopefully this system will work out for us.  I mean, we were paying (2) car payments at the same time...this way we will only ever have one payment.
 
antlip,
 
I'm not as concerned about dried salt...I tend to wash my vehicles pretty regularly as well.  As long as it's easy to keep clean in the summer, I'll be happy with it.  I definitely think the dark grey models are the sharpest Outlanders.  But if I end up washing my car twice or more a week, I don't want to hand dry it EVERY SINGLE TIME. 
 
Cuffy,
 
I kind of like the white ones too...but even though this is technically "my" Outlander, I think the wifey has forbidden me from buying a white car.  I don't know...she just doesn't like them.  Its ok, I'm all about the dark grey ones, so it doesn't matter much.  I also kind of like the dark blue, but they only come with the tan interior...which is ok, but I MUCH prefer the grey/black interior.  That's right...I forgot that the sun and sound package is available on the LS model.  I really would like a sun roof.  I also wouldn't mind going with a leftover, but I don't know if I can afford going $20k+  I was thinking more like 17-18K with only 7-9k miles.  The big thing is I want to make sure the vehicle wasn't just leased for a year or something...I don't know if that is possible, but I'm sure people aren't as gentle with a vehicle they aren't planning on keeping.  The nice thing is that I only have a 5 mile commute to work, so I should be able to keep the miles low on this for quite awhile :)
 
Thanks for the advice everyone!  If there is anything else anyone wants to add, feel free!  I appreciate it!
 
Joe
 
 

Outlander_Joe,
Understood on the finances.  I tend to be a car snob and when i got inside the XLS and played with all the goodies i couldn't pass up the great deal...even tho it put us into a year longer payment schedule.  Like you we plan to keep this one a long time (6-7 yrs) so we figured why not splurge some.
 
My wife also isn't too keen on white, but the WDP is very pearlescent which makes it much nicer than straight plain white.  I had a similar color Pathfinder that she liked it well enough to go with the WDP.  The Outtie is her daily driver since our other car's (Mazda 3s) a stick and she has a long, generally traffic laiden commute.  
I get sole use of it on the weekends!!!
 
It's very useful for going to Home Depot, Target, Sam's, Costco, etc.  I folded the seats up and put a 70 inch long box in there the other day without having to move the front seats and was able to close the tailgate/hatch completely.  Leaving the tailgate down and using some MacGuyver engineering i know i can handle hauling some 2"x4"x8's without worry.  I don't think a sheet of drywall will fit, but that's why I'm adding a hitch for my utility trailer.
 
Gas mileage has been a very satisfying 20-21 mpg for my wife's 50/50 commute.  Much better than the 12-13 mpg my Titan was giving us.  I haven't taken her on a long road trip yet, but expect at least 23-24 mpg going thru the Appalachians.  It's a solid choice in any color.