madfast

Hey has anybody here, who works at a dealership or whatever, heard of a Ralliart trim coming out for the new Outlander Sport?

i want something that has more cargo and ground clearance and if a RA Outtie Sport comes out im all over it. heck i think i may even buy one if it gets the 2.4L engine. But the waiting for rumors/news/spy photos is killing me...

anyone with any kind of actual news???

EvoOtto

iTrader: (2)

I have no official info about a ralliart version of an Outlander Sport but chances are it will never happen. The sport was designed for fuel efficiency. Don't get me wrong I would love to see something like that happen.

Airtrek Sport

madfast

Yeah i have my doubts as well, however there is a lot of speculation from the press that it will happen, so they must have SOME indication that it will happen, no?

but there are also no spy photos. before the RA was shown to the press, we saw spy photos of lancers with intercoolers. before the Outlander sport was shown we saw spy photos of a new mitsu-grilled compact crossover... so does the lack of spy photos mean its not happening? or just that it hasnt been caught in the wild yet?

im eagerly waiting. i want a RA trimmed Outlander sport soon. or i will have to perhaps get a Sportage SX with DI Turbo and active suspension. dont lose a customer mitsu.... dont forget what made you guys popular in the past...

RiG

Id love to see the outlander sport in RA trim with the turbo RA motor, a 5 speed and AWD. When I went to MOD this year, they asked what we thought of the new outlander sport, I told them to turbo it and Id buy one. He said "maybe....."

madfast

cool. i've been looking into the car ever since it was announced. if i had the opportunity to talk to a mitsu rep like that i'd definitely speak my mind. they seriously need a turbo AWD version of this thing. like i said before, kia is coming out with a 270+ hp sportage sx. if mitsu wants to compete they're gonna have to step up. im not even asking for anything new. just use the stuff you already have. using the RA engine and the Outlander GT AWD system makes perfect sense. offer a choice of 5sp manual or SST and it'd be perfect.

CEY05EVO

iTrader: (3)

That would be sweet to have next to the Evo in the Garage

RiG

I agree. They have all the parts, just put them on this SUV! Id also like to see them put the RA motor in the Eclipse as a FWD to compete with the SRT4 and Focus ST (2011) but they wont do that either

NFSLancerRA

iTrader: (8)

I still don't quite understand why the Outlander Sport comes with the most un-sporty transmission that Mitsubishi makes. That CVT thing sucks.

Also, when did the 6B31 (3.0L V6) come out? It seems that Mitsubishi has fitted the regular Outlander with this motor instead of the 3.8L (6g75?) that comes in the Eclipse...which is odd, because the older motor makes more power. I thought that that was the name of the game in an AWD SUV.

madfast

fuel economy? anyways, yeah i get that mpg's matter, a lot to a lot of people. but unless it gets AMAZING mpg, its NOT such a great selling point if the rest of the car isnt up to task.

fostytou

iTrader: (15)

Torque with a low RPM powerband is the name of the game in SUVs. I realize this motor still has less torque, but I'm guessing since it is smaller than the larger Montero they assume it needs less power and more fuel efficiency.

The Outlander isn't really designed to be a big boy hauler, its designed to be a car with alot of space. Its more of a crossover than an actual SUV.

....and then theres CAFE

NFSLancerRA

iTrader: (8)

At home, my family keeps a 2007ish Honda Pilot to pull our boat with. Even that has a 3.8L V6, and it gets phenomenal gas-mileage for an SUV. However, it is still on the small side for the job that it is asked to perform. I would love to stick with Mitsubishi in the future, even though the service sucks, but I can't justify opting for an even smaller engine. They are getting out-gunned by Honda, the king of fuel economy. Something is wrong with this picture. They spent more money to develop an engine that is in exactly one car, and the motor doesn't fit with the overall design. That motor would be great in the Eclipse, which is a pig. However, I can't see it in the Outlander.

NFSLancerRA

iTrader: (8)

That is a "safe" move. It is a dumb one, at that. Wouldn't it have made more sense to essentially lift the turbocharged motor from the Ralliart if that was the concern? I make more power than that, and my fuel economy is through the roof.

madfast

no way just let the eclipse and galant die already. if they wont give those 2 cars a REAL redesign then forget it. if im not mistaken, the only real reason those cars are still around is because they are built in the US and they have a contract with the union/factory or something like that...

mitsu's focus is on small cars. but if their vision of a small car is the US version of the i-MiEV then im out. im cashing in my chips and looking elsewhere. hyundai/kia seems to be where its at nowadays. if it wasnt for a few things they dont have right now, i'd have jumped ship already.

madfast

i dont know the specifics of the CAFE laws, but couldnt mitsu balance the existence of a sports car, like the evo, in their lineup with an economy car like the i-miev, or colt?

and that's the key. mitsu doesnt WANT to "balance" their lineup. instead they want to sell the entire lineup as econocars? and go up against REAL econocars like hyundai/kia, honda, toyota, vw, etc? PUH-LEEZ!!!

i say sell mostly econocars, but make a few trims/cars (evo or RA trims) that can knock your socks off and make people want a mitsu branded car. would most of us know the Colt existed if it werent for the youtube videos, etc/ of the awesome colt ralliart version r? im not saying sell ONLY a RA version, but at least make one so people can desire it and buy the regular one...

the Outlander sport just came out not too long ago and there is absolutely NO fanfare whatsoever from the automotive press. make a RA version or ::gasp:: evo version of one and i guarantee you the queue for a long term tester at the magazines/websites will be miles long...

NFSLancerRA

iTrader: (8)

I would trade in my Ralliart for a performance version of the Outlander Sport. I think that that is a cool idea, and I think that it could compete with higher-priced SUVs that claim greater off-road utility. This is what Mitsubishi has done well over the past 15 years. They made a rally-car that could compete with anyone. Why does it not stand to reason that they could use that same heritage and technology to create a smaller SUV with a kick-*** sport package?

I think that this is why Mitsubishi is struggling. They are trying to create a car that is both sporty and fuel efficient. They suck at that.