Made the 140-mile drive to Joshua Tree national park to meet the rest of the gang.
The paddle shifters got a workout, and there are several reasons why they're useful.First off, I'm an engine braker. I constantly select gears manually when driving autoboxes.
For me, the column-mounted placement of the paddles is ideal amongst such devices. Here's why: They're always in the same place. You never have to guess where they are when you've got the wheel cranked over in a turn:
With wheel-mounted shift controls, it's all too easy to lose track of where they are when the wheel's turned. Plus, the Mitsu's paddles are usefully long, enabling them to be reached from a variety of hand positions. In my perfect world, though, the paddles would have "pull-push" up- and downshift capability, rather than being dedicated to up- OR downshifting
Secondly, the Outlander's V6 is gutless in the high desert. The transmission would hunt on a nearly level freeway with the cruise locked at 80mph, so I took matters into my own hands (literally) using the paddles. Give me Toyota's barnstorming V6 powertrain from the RAV4 over this one any day.
You already know about the byzantine MMI interface, the need for a volume knob, and the great driving dynamics. Here are other random notes from the trip:
1. The back-seat report from my adult passengers is that the "seats are very comfortable, and [the Outlander] feels very stable."
2. Torque steer is a non-issue, possibly since there's not a surfeit of engine torque.
3. There's noticeable road noise.
4. The doors feel tinny and insubstantial, particularly the rears. No bank-vault whump here; more of a thin thwack.
5. Impressively bright headlights.
6. The wheel-mounted cruise and radio buttons are just okay; they'd be more intuitive to use if they were rocker-style controls.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor at 4,771 miles
SubyTrojan says:
03:55 PM, 05/21/07
Thanks for the update regarding the torque steer, Jason! I guess I may need to recalibrate my keyster.
I'm more of a fan of wheel-mounted paddles a la Formula 1. I guess it's the wannabe race car driver in me.
I'm surprised the "pull-push" up- and downshift paddle action hasn't been implemented in any street vehicles yet. Many FIA World Rally Championship rally cars have already been using that setup for years.
The next problem we would then have would be manufacturers implementation of the up- and downshift motions incorrectly. Just look at the different implementations of manufacturers' "auto-sticks" out there. I believe upshifts should always be a pull (toward the rear of the vehicle) and downshifts should be a push (toward the front), just like the sequential gearboxes that really burst onto the road racing scene in the 1990s if I remember correctly.
bimmerjay says:
07:13 PM, 05/21/07
Is it just the picture, or is that a really uneven gap between the silver trim piece and the airbag cover on the top pic?
dodo2 says:
09:49 PM, 05/21/07
I noticed the gear hunting too. I think the tranny is the culprit not the engine. It took a bit to get used to it, but now I'm fine with it. A 5-speed gearbox (like RAV4) would help with the problem. Likewise, I think a RAV4 V6 with a 6-speed would have the same problem. Not a big deal though as long as any Outlander has the manual mode (not the RAV4).
Wind noise - there is a known problem with the Outlanders produced before February 2007. There is a TSB on it or you could fix it yourself very easy. Once this issue is resolved, I find the wind noise perfectly acceptable (much lower compared to my Mazda3)
I agree with Suby that the up shift should be a pull (towards rear) and the down shift should be a push (towards front). Mazda does it this way and I think it's more natural for anyone used to shifting gears. However, I remember reviewers criticizing Mazda (Mazda3) for doing it the opposite way versus other manufacturers.
Over the weekend I tried to induce torque steer, but I couldn't. I tried to floor it form a standstill as well as from various speeds, but I was unsuccessful. As far as I'm concerned this is a non-issue.
Did you guys do any off-roading?
jkavanagh says:
10:34 PM, 05/21/07
The gearing could also be a factor, true, but the V6 was a dog out there in the high desert, and that's where the hunting was observed.
It's not wind noise so much as it is the road texture originating at the tires and finding its way to the cabin.
dodo2 says:
06:05 AM, 05/22/07
Does this mean that the engine doesn't behave well under certain environment conditions?
Sorry I misread your post. You said "road noise" not "wind noise". Could it be the tires or the 18" wheels? Did you notice the noise on the freeway or on unpaved roads?
Not that I doubt your assessment on the source of the noise, but are you aware of the wind noise issue I mentioned? That noise is very weird and many people attributed to various causes until the real source was discovered. The quick way is to check the manufacturing date of the vehicle. If your car is manufactured before Feb 07 it should have this issue, unless it was fixed at the stellarship before you took delivery. Pop the little plastic cap underneath the side mirror and you will know in a heartbeat.
jkavanagh says:
11:34 AM, 05/23/07
dodo, the high desert degrades engine power output--the low ambient pressure and high temperature reduces air density. So it takes deeper throttle inputs to move the car, which prompts downshifting and/or hunting in cars that don't have plentiful powerbands to begin with.
In a nutshell, if the Outlander had a more powerful engine, the tranny wouldn't hunt nearly as much.
We do go off-road occasionally. We haven't in the Outlander... yet.
I'll check into the wind noise TSB, thanks.
dodo2 says:
09:34 PM, 05/23/07
Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize that the US desert conditions are that severe that could impact the engine's performance that much.
Luckily you have the manual mode which could prevent the gear hunting in these special occasions. If you live in the desert, perhaps it would be a good idea to get a car with a more powerful engine.
I wonder how would the CRV or the RAV4 I4 (just two examples of I4 SUVs) perform in an identical environment?
mitsui says:
07:56 PM, 06/ 7/07
Hello, Dodo2!
I'm a rookie so please bear with me. Thanks for your great comments about the 2007 Outlander. Got my baby from the dealership mid-May here in Toronto, Canada. Just want to follow-up on the wind noise factor. I followed your instructions: popped the little plastic (black) cap underneath the side mirror but I can't seem to understand the numbers written on it. And what does TSB mean, please?