Upgrade report, OLD vs. NEW Outlander. Differences found.

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Fragge

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
169
Location
Sweden
So I recently upgraded my 2014 Outlander to a 2016 one and I thought I would give you a report of my experiences so far. I live in Sweden and the trim level I have is called "Business Nav", it's the high end one without the active safety features(don't want them, annoying).
This is everything i can think of at the moment, please feel free to ask questions.

Exterior
I like the new aggressive look over the old round and cuddly look. The new LED DLR:s give it a more menacing look and the shark-fin antenna is a welcome improvement.
The low beam are now twin LED projectors in each light. Very powerful low beam. High beam is a regular halogen.

Interior
The leather quality is better than before(more matte) but not premium. Stitching and look has improved quite a bit. The seats are softer and the drivers seat actually can be adjusted further back than before(had them all the way back earlier), better for tall people.

The interior part of the doors are nicer than before and the new center console is an improvement. It still has a Japanese aura around it and can't compete with major European brands when it comes to "premium feel".

The steering wheel is new and better than before, the new material is a bit slippery, it might wear off after a while.

The dash has stitching on the edge making it look a bit more premium.

Improved door seals, gives as premium "thud" when closed.

A bit quieter then before, nothing major.

Sun visors and a-pillars are now covered in cloth instead of plastic/vinyl. Nice but could be an issue when mounting hardware on the a-pillar.

Armrest storage compartment now has a light in it, no more digging for coins in the dark :)

MMCS
The GUI has been reworked a bit, nothing major has happened. The "Info" and "Settings" hardware buttons has been combined into one button.

The Track/Artist information actually seems to work properly when using bluetooth, the old one usually got stuck on the first track played.

Voice command now can control the stereo(Play, change track and such). Only controlled the phone in the old one.

Now beeps when bluetooth connection is established, annoying. One more beep you'll love to hate every time you start the car.

Wifi range is as poor as before.

Performance
Performance off the line has improved a lot. The old one was quite slow and a problem in busy intersections. The new one takes off a lot faster.

Handling/comfort is about the same as before, it's winter so haven't tested this fully.

New features
360 camera, I like it a lot. Different modes are available from the steering wheel. When reversing options are "rear+360" or "rear+passenger side view". When driving forwards at slow speed options are "forward+360" and "forward+passenger side view"

Front parking sensors, don't like them. They only trick you in to thinking you are about to reverse into something but in reality you are only close to the car in the spot next to you. They practically beep every time you leave a parking spot, rendering them useless and increases the risk of reversing into something because you ignore the beeps.

Heated steering wheel, nice but only positions 9 and 3 are heated the rest is cold.

Heated wind shield, hate it. In the dark the light from other cars reflect in the wires in the screen.

Sun glass storage in the roof, love it!

Charging cover now has a lock on it(central locking), don't see the use. I usually lock the car on the door button when I leave the car. When I then try to plug the charger in the cover is locked.

The central display (between power meter and speedo) has some new graphics, nothing major.

Boot beeper only beeps once when opened or closed, great! The old one was annoying as heck.

New button on the remote, "disable charging timer". I would rather have a "enable heater" button.

12V outlet in the boot, great!
 
Good write up..with some interesting comparisons.

Is the phone function of the MMCS any better? ie does it show call history or anything other than the phonebook :lol:
 
Charging cover now has a lock on it(central locking), don't see the use. I usually lock the car on the door button when I leave the car. When I then try to plug the charger in the cover is locked.

This would drive me nuts.

We have the original PHEV and it seems fast off the line - prior cars being Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3l turbo diesel and Jag XK8 with 4l petrol. Phev holds its own. Odd you though it slow or at least slower than new one.

Can't say your findings have me rushing to buy new one

CJ
 
CJ1045 said:
We have the original PHEV and it seems fast off the line - prior cars being Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3l turbo diesel and Jag XK8 with 4l petrol. Phev holds its own. Odd you though it slow or at least slower than new one.

Can't say your findings have me rushing to buy new one
CJ
The off the line performance of the old one has been a major complaint to Mitsubishi, with the new one they claim a 2 sec improvement 0-100 km/h and is one of the selling features of the new one. But it still can't compete with our Nissan Leaf that takes off like a rocket.

I use mine as a company car and was able to trade in the old one at the remaining value on the lease. Since there was no extra cost involved to get a new one it was a no brainer. If a had purchased the car personally I would have kept the old one.

But don't misunderstand me, the new one is by far better than the old one.
 
I've had my new one for 3 weeks now, it is better than the old one ( which was brilliant) .
I can vouch for the extra 1 mile of range - I managed 33+ the other day on twisty stop start roads .
Items I can add are:-
The ride is better and the whole look and feel is more premium.
The tail gate raises higher- I'm 6ft and its ok.
The standard seats are much nicer and more comfortable - I prefer them to the leather.
The dash display now shows the D,N or regen level with big readable digits.

I don't understand your issue with the charging flap, it now locks and is safe from casual mischief just like the petrol flap is, you unlock the car with key or button, plug in and you can then lock the car. It still sticks out a lot though!
 
oxforddon said:
I don't understand your issue with the charging flap, it now locks and is safe from casual mischief just like the petrol flap is, you unlock the car with key or button, plug in and you can then lock the car. It still sticks out a lot though!
The issue is that I need to use the keyfob to lock the car after I plug the cable in. Before I locked the car using the button on the door and didn't have to use the keyfob.

I don't really see the problem with it being unlocked, what's the worst the can happen? That someone else charges the car for you? Now it probably will be busted open by someone looking to steal gas causing unnecessary body damage.

Might be a future modification to disable the lock.
 
I was hoping they were going increase the battery capacity but one extra mile is probably due to just tweaking the electronics.

Had a quick look at the new model at dealer showroom today. They had one on display that looked pretty good in metallic red.

I am one year into my two year lease and will probably go with 2016 renewal based on positive experience so far.
 
That's very interesting fragge - I'd been meaning to ask just that question!

Personally I would love a heated windscreen - really miss it from my last car. I like the shark fin antenna too!

Don't like the central locking of the charge flap though. Many is the time I have gone out without the key to plug in (with the central locking engaged) and have been very thankful for Mitsubishi's foresight! What happens if you finish charging and want to shut the flap? Is this possible? Does it then remain unlocked?

It's all irrelevant really as I have to keep mine for a minimum of 7 years :shock:
 
I like that the chargings socket locks, but I have the model with the button on the door so I used that to unlock and lock.

While I am too rural for issues I can just imagine some city kids deciding it being fun to squirt glue or gunk in someones unlocked ports.
 
Fragge said:
CJ1045 said:
We have the original PHEV and it seems fast off the line - prior cars being Jeep Grand Cherokee with 3l turbo diesel and Jag XK8 with 4l petrol. Phev holds its own. Odd you though it slow or at least slower than new one.

Can't say your findings have me rushing to buy new one
CJ
The off the line performance of the old one has been a major complaint to Mitsubishi, with the new one they claim a 2 sec improvement 0-100 km/h and is one of the selling features of the new one.
Can't imagine this (the first part) is really true. In the Netherlands we have been running a similar forum with several 1000s of participants for more than 3 years now. There have been several MOSCOW lists (must have, should have, could have, would have) that have been communicated to Mitsubishi several times, but "poor acceleration off the line" has never been mentioned as an issue on any of these lists. AFAIK, it has never been mentioned on this forum as such either. It only started to be mentioned after it ended up in marketing materials from Mitsubishi. If Mitsubishi had been listening to their customers, they would have addressed the lack of a pure EV button :evil:
 
anko said:
Fragge said:
The off the line performance of the old one has been a major complaint to Mitsubishi, with the new one they claim a 2 sec improvement 0-100 km/h and is one of the selling features of the new one.
Can't imagine this (the first part) is really true.
Well, that's what the dealer told me. I certainly wished for a bit more power off the line with the old one, especially compared with other electrical cars.
 
jdsx said:
What happens if you finish charging and want to shut the flap? Is this possible? Does it then remain unlocked?:
Yes, it's possible to close the flap while the car is locked. It will remain locked.
 
In the nearest town to us there are quite a few sets of lights where the road goes two lanes down to one just after the lights. We have found that the PHEV always gets to the one lane section first. I guess it is an off the line 100m sprint. I am pretty confident it is as good as our previous 4l normally aspirated (no turbo lag) Jag at doing this. I would also suspect that the Leaf is even better as it is a much lighter car. Clearly neither are in the league of the Tesla in Insane mode.

CJ
 
Fragge said:
anko said:
Fragge said:
The off the line performance of the old one has been a major complaint to Mitsubishi, with the new one they claim a 2 sec improvement 0-100 km/h and is one of the selling features of the new one.
Can't imagine this (the first part) is really true.
Well, that's what the dealer told me.
And that I can imagine ;)

Fragge said:
I certainly wished for a bit more power off the line with the old one, especially compared with other electrical cars.
Are you faster off the line, even in pure EV mode? Or is it in serial hybrid mode, when it is faster?
 
anko said:
Are you faster off the line, even in pure EV mode? Or is it in serial hybrid mode, when it is faster?
EV mode, the new one has a lot more kick (torque) off the line, now the tires (studded) struggle for grip. That never happened before. The old one eased off the line and then picked up speed. Acceleration is about the same as soon as you get going.
 
The old version does feel a bit slow off the mark. The trick is to give a lot more gas than you would with a lot of petrol/diesel vehicles. Give it a bit more pedal and its fine, you just need to make the adjustment mentally. It caught me out a few times to begin with.
 
Fragge said:
anko said:
Are you faster off the line, even in pure EV mode? Or is it in serial hybrid mode, when it is faster?
EV mode, the new one has a lot more kick (torque) off the line, now the tires (studded) struggle for grip. That never happened before. The old one eased off the line and then picked up speed. Acceleration is about the same as soon as you get going.

I find it quite believable that they tweaked the software so that when it sees the pedal getting pressed rapidly from start it short term allows a initial higher current than before, even if its more than the components can normally take, for a few seconds won't be an issue.

I found the PHEV delay in pulling away a bit uncomfortable at first as its slower than just letting up a clutch on a high revving engine, but I have got used to it and now anticipate traffic more by hitting the pedal a second earlier. With a geared car bogging down quickly in first gear and needing a change the beauty of the PHEV is it just keeps pulling. Sometimes I pull out onto a fast dual carriage and people some distance away start moving to the other lane but they never catch me up, I am gone when they arrive. :eek:

So what does the phone button do?

Does it just take you to the dial screen? do you then have to press - contacts - mobile phone contacts - find the contact - press on the number in the contact - press dial - still lots and lots of keypresses?
 
I did a test once, where I held my foot on the brake, engaged the hand brake on top of that and gave full throttle. In that situation, I extracted measurements for outgoing Torque for both the front and rear motor directly from the E-motor ECUs. Both were at the max values as stated in the official documentation. Without moving an inch.

Assuming the ECUs are not lying (why would they), this would mean the motors (or the software) would somehow have to be modified to produce more than max torque at 0 RPM .... I don't think the documentation was updated to reflect something like that? not that that means a whole lot ...
 
Isn't the maximum quoted torque at the maximum rated current? therefore if they say, allowed a 30% more current burst for 5 seconds there could be more torque?

(assuming the motors were not already saturated and had more to give but would be damaged by overheat to run at this level all the time)

Perhaps inspired by some Ford diesels that have something like an 18 second overtaking boost in the software which produces more power outside normal limits if it detects a sudden power demand.
 
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