Mitsubishi Outlander 2005: The Weekly Driver Review

Written by James Raia


The 2005 Mitsubishi Outlander isrepparttar least expensive ofrepparttar 102743 Japanese manufacturer's three sports utility vehicles. It's compact, nicely designed and offers more standard features than many SUVs nearly twicerepparttar 102744 price.

Butrepparttar 102745 Outlander faces a tough challenge. In a popular category that includes best-buy choices likerepparttar 102746 Ford Escape, Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester,repparttar 102747 Outlander doesn't offer any outstanding qualities that could sway potential buyers.

My test drive forrepparttar 102748 week wasrepparttar 102749 new all-wheel drive limited edition Outlander. It joinsrepparttar 102750 previous LX and XLS models and features an impressive list of upgrades from previous models.

All Outlanders offer a 4-cyclinder, 160-horsepower, 2.4-liter engine. With its standard automatic transmission,repparttar 102751 vehicle performs adequately in city driving. But it lacks acceleration for highway journeys, and it struggles on long inclines, even with only two adult front-seat passengers.

Steering and handling are adequate andrepparttar 102752 automatic transmission shifts smoothly. Mitsubishi's all-wheel drive system is a plus and it's reminiscent ofrepparttar 102753 AWD feature Subaru first offered. The Outlander limited edition includes 17-inch alloy wheels and four-wheel independent suspension. But such features don't easerepparttar 102754 tough go over city street speed bumps, even at slow speeds.

In several other basic areas – front and rear-seat room, ride noise, interior materials and instrumentation function –repparttar 102755 Outlander is adequate. The gauges, for example, are simply designed and easy to use. But if average isrepparttar 102756 best Mitsubishi can do, how canrepparttar 102757 Outlander compete with heavy-hitters inrepparttar 102758 compact SUV market segment?

Recreational Vehicle Buyers Guide

Written by Jason Odom


Recreational Vehicle Buyers Guide

Service Records - If you're buying from an RV dealer and they can't produce something - you've got problems - possibly serious ones. If not, he'd be proudly displayingrepparttar records. There should at least be receipts for repairs, service work, and possibly old owners manuals.

See http://busforsaleguide.com/rv_types.htm forrepparttar 102742 advantages and disadvantages of each major class of recreational vehicle onrepparttar 102743 market.

Body Leaks -Other than structural rust, I know of no other exterior related problem that will cost you as much money and cause you as many headaches as exterior body leaks. Body leaks are amongrepparttar 102744 most difficult to fix ifrepparttar 102745 body design is less than first rate. Front facing windows on many Class C's are nearly impossible to stop leaking due to flexing and stress.

I have been incredibly pleased withrepparttar 102746 purchase of my 1993 Class A. However,repparttar 102747 wood over skeleton frame roofs likerepparttar 102748 type Georgie Boy used in this coach has begun to sag betweenrepparttar 102749 support tubes or "skeleton". The weight of air-conditioners, vents, my roof mounted kayaks, and walking up there to fix seams, has permanently created "ponding" issues. Price quote from my very trusted and competent local RV service center was $4,200 to rebuild my entire roof.

Ponding is water sitting onrepparttar 102750 roof whenrepparttar 102751 coach is level. When this happens you have increased chances of leaks, bugs, slime and algae growth, and dirty water run off when you drive somewhere. Rounded formed fiberglass roofs arerepparttar 102752 very best but only appear onrepparttar 102753 newer coaches that were out of my price range.

I have seen $30,000 to $60,000 coaches nearly ruined by leaks that went unchecked. Be especially cautious if you see ANY delamination ofrepparttar 102754 side wall. I have never seenrepparttar 102755 permanent damage fixed for less than $4,000 and that is WITHOUT a guarantee that it won't happen again. This is usually caused by poor roof and seam design.

Nearly everyone underestimates how serious this is. I know I almost bought one. Couldn't figure out why a great looking Santara diesel pusher would only cost $24,000. Then I walked around torepparttar 102756 drivers side and sawrepparttar 102757 fiberglass body delaminating. I didn't think it looked too expensive to repair. I figured caulkrepparttar 102758 seam and just screwrepparttar 102759 panel back tighter torepparttar 102760 frame. Of courserepparttar 102761 salesman agreed.

WRONG! People do not realize especially in older coaches thatrepparttar 102762 WOOD (yes I saidrepparttar 102763 WOOD) that is underrepparttar 102764 fiberglass skin does offer quite a bit ofrepparttar 102765 stability, and rigidity ofrepparttar 102766 exterior. Once it gets wet for a prolonged period of time it rots, breaks down, and becomes heavy enough to causerepparttar 102767 entire skeleton to sag. Windows no longer fit right, seams pop open worse, storage doors underneath stick, and on and on. Do NOT buy an RV with this problem. It can cost as much as $13,000 to fix (highest horror story I have read about onrepparttar 102768 RV chat logs thus far).

Body integrity is one ofrepparttar 102769 more important advantages thatrepparttar 102770 big solidly constructed bus conversions have over 95% ofrepparttar 102771 factory built RV's in use. Do NOT purchase an RV that has signs of leaking without a thorough plan for paying for and fixingrepparttar 102772 problem. Otherwise, I can assure you, it will destroy your experience and investment in a short time.

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