Mitsubishi Outlander

The Mitsubishi Outlander shares every underpinning with the Citroen C-Crosser and Peugeot 2007. Happily it looks better than the French efforts, and has a better engine on the way.

• Comfort

  The need to limit body roll means the suspension in the Outlander is fairly firm, but it's not so much as to actually make it uncomfortable. General refinement on the move is also far better than the larger, older Shogun.

  

• Performance

  Currently being sold with an older 2.0-litre diesel or a 2.4-petrol, the 2.2-litre HDI from the French offerings is on its way any time now, so hold out for that one. It's vastly better at speed and infinitely more refined to boot.

  

• Cool

  Although the coolness of an urban SUV is highly debateable, we reckon the Mitsubishi is at the very least the coolest of the three cars that share this platform. Something about being French and rugged really doesn't ring true does it?

  

• Quality

  The Outlander is exactly as well put together as you'd expect from a Japanese product with this sort of family-oriented lifestyle in mind. It's tough, simple and fit for purpose if the purpose in question is nothing more arduous than kids, dogs or mountain bikes.

  

• Handling

  The Outlander is part of that modern breed of urban SUVs with precious few pretensions towards the mud. As such it handles much more like a road car than a proper off-roader, with plenty of grip and little body roll.

  

• Practicality

  No chink in the Outlander's armour here, with a split tailgate and the option of a third row of seats, albeit a very token one with scarcely enough room for kids. The second row folds automatically at the touch of a button too. Which is nice.

  

• Running costs

  The French diesel in the Outlander returns a reasonable 40-odd miles per gallon, and isn't as much of a target for the taxman as some larger SUVs. The basic Outlander is also currently the cheapest of the three, but you'll want the pricier 2.2-diesel anyhow.