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soundcolor -> RE: Shopping: 2007 Outlander (2/25/2007 2:30:25 PM)
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oddly enough, my wife and I looked at the same vehicles... I liked the toyota for the same reasons, its a toyota, and I can trust that. But any car company having the testicular fortitude to thow their car out there and put a 10yr, 100k mile warrenty gets a nod from me. Tells me, they werent ****tin around in the design stages. Also tells me that they went through the trouble of some serious torture testing... Or else they wouldnt selll it. If they didnt, and still sold it, they would lose their ass on warranty repairs... Then again, Toyota has absolutley legendary testing techniques that no-one else seems to bother with.
We decided on the Mitsu for cost, and size. First, after getting in the Rav4, it really is ALOT smaller inside than the mitsu. Second. Toytoa is really, and I mean REALLY proud of their little tyke. To get one as loaded as the XLS we got, we would have paid at least 5grand more or worse. Then there is the issue of drivability... Toyota has had zero success in any form of racing. save their own JGTC... which they basically funded for several years while it was getting off the ground. The Outlander rides on the same chassis as the evo x will, and that alone tells me alot about its durability... If mitsu is going to dump money into a car and send it out rally racing, then they know it had better be strong. and from what I can tell in my 4k miles of time with our new truck, it is.
Also, the fact that mitsu ditched the pajero rally truck, and is placing the outlander in its place tells me they are confident in it, and have built it well. I know we are talking about apples and oranges here, but they wouldnt throw money into making it a race vehicle if it couldnt win, and the only way to be sure of that, is in the design stages for generall production.
As for the toyota, All I know is that its a toyota, and that tells me alot. I know its strong, and I know the mechanicalls are where they need to be. After driving one, I can tell you the motor felt way underpowered, the suspension felt more floaty than the hyundai sante fe we also drove. the interior pieces fit well, but in typicall toyota fashion were harder, and had more glare than anything else. The seats were only confortable for short drives and the stupid spare tire on the back (which everyone else abandoned a long time ago) blocks your view a little.
But it is a toyota, and you know the reliablitly is there.
In the end, we chose the a white pearl outlander XLS, so far, we have had all the rear taillight replaced, including the lower reflectors, the rear corner bumper piece replaced, and the front end clunks... I have had to fight to get the work done, and it has been a royal pain in the ass.
But every time, and I do mean EVERY TIME I get behind the wheel, drop it over into sport-tronic mode, and go apex hunting, I leave with a smile. This was the right truck for me. I like fast cars, ones that corner flat, and dont shiver when you hit a bump mid-corner. I like cars with good motors, and good torque... I love a car that can handle perfectly when asked the right way, and doesnt cut your throat if you miss something. I like cars that can sit back, and become transparent when you dont want to rip around a corner at two, or three times the posted speed. I like my cars to be quiet, when I want them to be, and have the wrath of god when I want that.
Guess thats why I liked the outlander.
Oh, and pop the hood of toyota, and tell me where there racing experience paid off. I can see it all over the engine bay of the outlander. From the strut tower bar, to the radiator re-rill nozzle thats built into the upper radiator hose, so the new coolant doesnt shock the radiator, or motor. I see it in the aluminum valve covers, and the really strong motor mounts. From the airbox, that draws a ram air effect form in front of the radiator, to the huge brake master cylinder, its in the location of the fluid dipsticks, and the arangement of the suspension. These guys took what they learned racing and applied it to what they sell on the showroom floor. show me this stuff in the rav4, and ill be impressed.
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