NYIAS 2017: You Won't Believe What They've Done With the 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Sit back and place a nitroglycerine pill under your tongue. It’s product announcement time.

As it revamps its utility vehicle lineup, Mitsubishi isn’t letting the looming introduction of the poorly named Eclipse Cross compact crossover stop it from foisting attention upon its existing products. To keep things fresh, the automaker plans to revamp its very own Eclipse Cross competitor — the Outlander Sport — for 2018.

So, say goodbye to the aging model you see above. Wait — hold on. That is the 2018 model.

Yes, there are very evolutionary changes coming to Mitsubishi’s stalwart Outlander Sport, which bowed in the U.S. for the 2011 model year (and 2010 elsewhere). With the planned downsizing of the model tentatively pushed back to 2021, this will be the model’s second refresh in the same generation.

Nissan-Renault’s acquisition of Mitsubishi has thrown the struggling automaker into a state of pleasant turmoil. Not surprisingly, its product timelines have become question marks as shared architectures and components become the new reality. Supplier sources claim the flagship Outlander will also see a delay. A new model could appear in 2020, a year later than first promised.

But back to the brand’s best-selling U.S. model. What changes can you expect going forward? Well, here’s a photo of the 2017 model for comparison:

Mitsubishi has added trendy, near-vertical LED running lights in the lower fascia, adjacent to the carryover foglights. The lower air opening now sees a tightly spaced mesh instead of horizontal slats, while the upper grille gains a thin chrome accent strip to frame the badge. Again, plastic slats are replaced with mesh. The rear bumper sees similarly minor tweaks.

Phew. Did you get all that?

As for content, the Outlander Sport gains a Touring Model for 2018, bringing the option of a panoramic sunroof, a longer list of safety aids (such as Forward Collision Mitigation) and unspecified measures to improve NVH issues.

Inside, you’ll find a redesigned console, new shift lever (best take another pill) and a 7-inch Smartphone Link display audio system. To woo millennials, that system features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

It looks like the drivetrain remains exactly the same, so don’t expect to see much movement in pricing. The 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport arrives at dealers with helpful window stickers denoting its model year this fall.

[Images: Mitsubishi Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • MLS MLS on Apr 05, 2017

    Though the Outlander Sport is old, its relatively clean and restrained styling has aged pretty well. Compare the 2011 Outlander Sport to, say, a Nissan Rogue of similar vintage.

  • CincyDavid CincyDavid on Apr 08, 2017

    We had an Uber driver pick us up in Mesa AZ last week in a late model Outlander Sport...felt pretty well put together but it was SMALL inside, very limited rear leg room. First Mitsubishi I've been in since the 80s?!? This restyle is bold perhaps, but I don't find it attractive.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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