Mitsubishi Outlander Vs Toyota Previa

[Mark_374364721]

Hi,

I currently have a Toyota Previa and towed my new van (Sprite Major 6) 250 miles down to Cornwall for the first time a few weeks ago.

I have 4 kids, so with the car FULLY loaded and the van behind we set off.

The spec for the Previa says that the max it can tow is 1323 KG, with a max noseweight of 65kg although my van is much less than this with a MIRO of 1100KG. The problem was up hill, I could manage 20mph for mile after mile on the Cornish roads; so I now wish to think about a new car.

I have looked at the spec of a Mitsubishi Outlander and it can tow a max of 2000kg with a max noseweight of 100kg, this would seem to indicate the Mitsubishi would be better at towing, however my Previa has a 2.4litre petrol and the Mitsubishi a 2.0L turbo diesel.

I am concrened that the Mitsubishi will have the same trouble uphill that the Previa does with its smaller engine (althugh admittedly turbo charged)...does anyone have any experience of this car/van combination FULLY LADEN with 2 adults plus 4 kids and all their trash they take on holiday?

Or can anyone recommend the best figures in the statistics of the vehicle to look for so that I will be able to tell if it can tow my weight at a decent speed before I spend £24k!!

Cheers,

Mark

 

[Garfield]

Hi

I'm surprised that you find the 2.4 so underpowered, you do need to keep petrols revving to get the power out of them, the diesel option in the previa is gutless by todays standards which is why we crossed it off our shortlist without even a test drive, it's daft that Toyota put their 175hp 2.2 diesel into the smaller corrolla verso but not the Previa.

You will find that the 2.0 diesel in the outlander (apparently a VW engine) may not have the same maximum power that the 2.4 petrol has but it produces much more power/torque at lower revs. At 2000 revs a turbo diesel produces nearly double the power of a non turbo petrol of similar cc

 

[Alf_374346853]

I thought Toyota had stopped producing the Previa hence you won't find the 175bhp engine in it (the T180 was only launched in Avensis mode in 06). Great engine though if the Verso is big enough.

 

[Mel]

Hi, we loked at the Outlander before deciding on the Santa Fe. The thing that put us off the Outlander was the 3rd row seat which is basically a folding metal chair with a bit of fabric stretched over it. You say you have 4 children and so I assume at least one will sit in the very back. You would struggle to fit two in the 3rd row of the Outlander. Unless the children are quite small or very very placid the one sat in the very back is going to complain. If/when you test drive it take your largest and grumpiest child and drive it over bumpy boring roads. Sorry this is not a technical answer about power and torque but this wil pale into insignificance if you have to pacify a wailing child for 6 hours!

let us know what you decide.

mel

 

[MartinJ]

Hi Mark,

Check the torque (pulling power) figures as this will have a major impact on towing ability. My guess is that the Outlander diesel will be a far more accomplished towcar than the Previa and should have no trouble at all with a van the size of yours.

Martin.

 

[Mark_374364721]

Mel,

You said you went for the Sante Fe, the reason I was drawn to the Outlander was:

1. Not permanent 4 wheel drive so fuel consumtpion is better

2. 6 Seats (albeit not great for the ones in the rear)

Does the Sante Fe have 6 seats and optional 4 wheel drive also?

Mark

 

[Mel]

Hi mark. The answers to your questions are Yes and Yes. There is a 5 seat version but we got the 7 seat model. The leg room in the very back isn't amazing but they are proper seats. It drives on 2 wheel drive unless you lock it into 4 wheel drive or if it is slipping in which case it does it for you. Only towed one journey and back with it so far and haven't used the 4 wheel drive (hooray for hardstandings)

mel

 

[Icemaker]

for a van as light as the sprite major why are you looking at big heavy cars such as the outlander ?, you have stated that 4x4 is not a priority which is why you didnt look at the santa fee and you need at least 6 seats so would a mid size mpv not be more suitable for you ?.

With an mpv you get the best of everything, a fairly heavy car so it can tow a fair range of vans you get up to 7 seats rather than 5 and a bench you get much better fuel economy and in most case far superior ride and stability cheaper insurance and tax and these days some chance of retaining a bit of value in the car, eg, a friend of mine bought a nissan navara less than a year ago for 28 grand and sold it around 6 month later for 15 grand as nobody wants the cars anymore, my dad bought a mitsubishi shogun sport for 18 grand 2 years ago and when he went to buy a new car he was offered just 6 grand for it !, on the flip side i paid 17 grand for my seat alhambra and part exchanged it 2 years later for 11 grand.

I know its each to theire own but if your not entirely interested in 4 wheel drive then there are far better alternatives for you to consider.

 

[Mark_374364721]

I take your point about a midsized MPV. Another concern of mine is the towball height. When fully laden the Previa struggles to keep within legislative limits...it just sags! Consequently the jockey wheel hits EVERY speed bump and sits only a few inches off the ground

I was kind of hoping a 4X4 would be able to better support the weight!

I will take a look at the Sante Fe in more detail I think!!

Thanks,

Mark

 

[Garfield]

Icemaker, the outlander is slightly lighter than the S-max you and I have, my father in law has just opted for the outlander over the S-max as he does not need the space of the s-max and the outlander is only a little more thirsty than the s-max and in the same tax bracket but does give him 4wd traction which would have been a benefit to us last w/e when we pulled onto a CL near Pickering which was a sloping field with the vans pitched along the top edge of the field so we had to reverse the outfit into position. FWD on wet grass was an instant failiure, even when we fitted our snow chains, traction was doubled but only enough to get us off the field, we reversed back onto the field but were still 10yds short of our pitch, the guy in the next van hitched his Nissan 4x4 onto our van in low ratio and pushed the van onto the pitch with no wheelslip whatsoever.

Mark, firstly the only reason the outlander won't sag as much as the Previa is that you will not be able to get anywhere near as much kit in the back of it, generally, not always, 4x4's have softer suspension than MPV's to keep all 4 wheels on the ground over rough terrain, this can be detrimental to towing stability on the road, MPV suspension is designed to be stable at high speeds on the road, carrying heavy loads and is ideal for towing.

Bottom line is if you want a perfect towcar, get a 4wd MPV (if you can find a decent one!)

 

[DeliDave]

How about a Mitsubishi delica people say they are ugly but with shogun/pajero running gear,7 or 8 seats pull like a train,flip down screen for the kids and Jap reliability.All this for 2to3 grand off fleabay.

 

[Mark_374364721]

Thanks Dave, I'll take a look

Mark