2018 Mazda CX-5 vs Mitsubishi Outlander

What's the difference?

The CX-5 GT is a triumph of style and substance. The range is generally a tremendous value-for-money line-up and this upper-echelon offering is no different because a GT buyer will want for nothing – except perhaps Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and if we can live without those, you can too. More of a city-friendly SUV than a rough-and-ready off-roader, the GT is still capable of getting you to where you want to go, as long as you have a realistic notion of AWD-suitable terrain: think formed trails, well-maintained National Parks tracks and perhaps even, at a stretch, very firm sand.

Is the CX-5 a legitimate Adventure vehicle, or should it stay in the suburbs? Tell us what you think the comments below.

The 2WD Outlander is a tidy package that’s a long way from the most impressive among its peers, but also the one that doesn’t really do anything wrong. It’s good looking without being over the top, has reasonable internal space that’s quite versatile, plus is comfortable to drive in most situations. 

This is certainly not the SUV for long-distance outback adventures (and neither is the AWD version, really), but it’s more than capable of getting out into the real Australia and exploring its back roads and campsites, even with a small family on board. 

What do you think of the 2WD Outlander? Tell us in the comments section below.

People who know me, know that I put more stock in what’s under the bonnet than appearance but, having said that, I am still capable of appreciating attractive things. The previous version of the CX-5 looked good; this new one looks damn good. Everything is simply neater, sleeker and more streamlined than before, inside and outside.

Fit and finish is tighter and all materials and designs complement, rather than clash with, each other. That bright white leather – adding a real overall touch of class – doesn’t hurt either.

This CX-5 looks and feels like it sits more comfortably in the realm of sports cars than that of family-friendly SUVs – but I spend zero time in sport cars, so what do I know?

Like the ASX below it and the proper Pajero above it (not the sort-of ugly looking Pajero Sport), the Outlander is neither good looking, nor bad, but conservatively designed with enough modern flair to fit in at school pick-up without creating any bold statements or setting new trends. 

Although the range is increasingly moving away from its roots as a soft-road 4WD, its maintained that typical SUV body-shape and, for the most part the new-ish front end (which it received in 2015) is one of the best things that’s ever happened to it, and still looks good now. 

Inside, the Outlander has a modest flair thanks to small details like white-on-black stitching, a simple centre-dash layout, and use of carbon-fibre-look infills that’s not overdone.

From the front to the back everything is pretty well suited for day-to-day life.

There is ample room for driver and passenger up front with electric adjustment for those forward pews.

Second-row travellers also get stacks of leg and headroom and the driver seat goes nowhere near encroaching on space behind. When it comes time to collapse those second-row seats, it is a 40/20/40 split.

Storage solutions include a space for phones and loose change in front of the shifter, four cupholders (two up front and a pair in the second-row centre arm-rest), and a bottle-recess in each door. Annoyingly, there are two USB ports in the glovebox, which is deep enough for a dog to sit in (only joking!), so it is difficult for the driver to readily access those as a charging point.

There are air vents for both rows.

Down the back, cargo space is 442 litres with the second row up; and 1342 litres with that row flat.

This isn’t a huge SUV, especially one trying to seat up to seven people, but for all that, the space is used incredibly well. When the second- and third-row seats are folded forward, the floor space is flat from front to back, which makes packing a lot of gear in easy and convenient. What I really like is that the second-row seats can slide forwards, so if you are travelling with a couple of kids and a boot-full of camping gear, you can reduce the amount of leg-room you give them (the only thing kids do with leg-room is drop toys and food crumbs into it, so they don’t need it anyway), to maximise the amount of space you’ve got in the rear load area. And if you’re camping with kids, every skerrick of space counts.

Interestingly, there’s not a lot of benefit in the five-seater when it comes to space. Both it and the seven-seater have the same volume of load-space with all seating rows folded down, while the seven-seater’s only sacrifice to the space is the pair of cup holders for the third-row passengers. However, the seven seater is about 40kg heavier, so those two extra seats do technically affect load capacity. 

As far as value goes, the Outlander is one of the sharpest priced mid-sized SUVs on the block. At just $30,990 it’s cheaper than the equivalent Toyota Rav4, Mazda CX-5, Nissan X-Trail, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Santa Fe, partly because this Outlander’s platform is getting old now, partly because it doesn’t quite have the same safety features in the base models as some of those vehicles mentioned, and partly because Mitsubishi generally keeps its prices sharp.

Still, it is well featured, even on the bottom rung. The ES range offers the choice of two petrol engines, the smaller with a five-speed manual or the bigger with a CVT transmission and the choice of 2WD or AWD drivelines. 

All models come with 18-inch alloy rims, LED daytime running lights and tail lamps, roof-rails. and central locking. The front-seat occupants benefit from dual-zone climate control, cruise control, steering wheel stereo and phone controls, a couple of USB points, and a touch-screen centre display with Apple and Android phone integrations. There’s no built-in mapping, though, so if you’re out of phone service areas regularly, it could be an issue.

The GT has a 2.2-litre SkyActiv diesel engine – producing 129kW@4500rpm and a chunky 420Nm@2000rpm – matched to a six-speed automatic transmission. No complaints about this pairing.

There are three engines offered across the Outlander range, although automatic 2WDs are only available with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol. It’s capable of 124kW at 6000 rpm and 220Nm of torque at 4200rpm. The only transmission option with this engine is a CVT.

We recorded 8.3L/100km for about 160km of daily driving (country, suburban, city and freeway) and 8.7L/100km for 150km of AWD-appropriate touring (including a substantial amount of dirt-road driving). The CX-5 has a 58-litre fuel tank

Loaded up with camping gear and following the winding and unsealed backroads of the Southern Highlands, the Outlander used 29.2 litres of fuel over 376 kilometres, which is just shy of 7.8L/100km. Mitsubishi claims a combined consumption of 7.2L/100km under more controlled circumstances, so that’s a good figure. The tank can hold 63 litres of fuel, so expect the range to be around 750km to a tank. 

This CX-5 is 4550mm long, 1840mm wide, 1675mm high has a claimed kerb weight of 1744kg and an 11.2m turning circle. It feels low and long – even though it’s not really – and is rock-steady to drive, at any speed.

This CX-5 never feels like anything but a supremely well put-together unit and that makes for a smooth driving experience. Steering is light at the right time and takes on a real weight when you need it to; the 2.2-litre engine is eager and works well off changes in the six-speed auto.

It’s better suited to open-road cruising, than stop-start city driving as it tends to lag off the mark when you actually need it to swiftly budge.

Mazda reckons its staff have worked hard to make the current CX-5’s NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels much better than those in the previous model, but we’d never noticed anything in that earlier thing, and nothing in this latest model, so we have to take their word for it.

The GT is on 19-inch alloys, shod with Toyo Proxes R46 rubber.

Similar to the Outlander's looks, it’s neither good nor bad. I almost want to call it boring to drive, but it’s not quite that either. Let’s just call it adequate as a daily driver. 

The Outlander is comfortable and quiet on the road. It has no rattles and very little engine or road noise intrudes into the cabin. Under acceleration it’s definitely not sporty, but it’s not slow either. If you need to put the boot in, it’ll respond well enough.

The steering is a little twitchy, especially trying to keep it in a straight line on the highway. That’s likely thanks to the electronic power steering, which isn’t as fluid in its assistance as the older-tech hydraulic systems are. The benefit, of course, is better fuel consumption, but I did find it a little hard to get used to. 

With the reverse camera and small stature, the Outlander behaves like a largeish hatch if it’s used around the shops or to cart kids to and from school. The middle-row seats are easy to move forward to give access to the third row. However, those back seats don’t have a lot of space in them – they’re probably better left for special occasions, or as regular seats for your kids’ friends who you’d rather weren’t their friends.

The Mitsubishi Outlander was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating on its updated release in 2015. It has dual front, curtain, and driver knee airbags, plus the essential suite of electronic safety aids, including ABS, EBD, ASC, ATC and ESC. Hill start assist is across the range, as is Emergency Stop Signal Function (where the brake lights flash under heavy braking) and a reversing camera. Next models up get reversing sensors, adaptive cruise control, and a forward collision mitigation system and lane departure warning. 

Mazda offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the CX-5; capped price servicing is included. The servicing schedule is set at six months/10,000km and will cost from $317 to $387.

The Outlander is covered by Mitsubishi’s capped price servicing scheme. The cost of a service is only $280 for and you’ll only need one every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first. That’s a slight increase on the 2017 models, though, which will be serviced for just $230 for the first three years. 

Major pain points will come at 90,000km when the iridium or platinum tipped spark plugs need to be replaced along with all the engine and transmission fluids, but otherwise service intervals are generally long and well-spaced. 

Mitsubishi offers a 5 year/100,000km warranty, plus 5 year Perforation Corrosion Warranty on the Outlander.