Dayton Daily News

The 2009 Mitsbushi Outlander might not leap out of a lineup at you. And that can be a good thing.

While the Outlander doesn't stand out, it doesn't fade into the background, either. A compact sport-utility vehicle that is part of the rising number of crossovers on the road, the Outlander offers sufficient bang for the buck in a number of categories.

One of the most interesting is the addition of a third-row seating option in the midlevel SE trim (the entry-level trim is the ES and the high end is the XLS). Raising seating capacity to seven people is a plus, even if those two people in the rear seat will have to be children in the 60-inch and under league. For folks with kids, you just never know when a couple of extra riders are going to be coming along.

And it's not as if cargo space is severely compromised. There's still some space behind the third row seat and when that seat isn't used, it folds neatly into a floor well. While the XLS, which comes with a 220-horsepower V-6 engine, has had the third-row seat option in the past, the SE and its 160-hp 2.4-liter 4-cylinder had not.

Our test vehicle was the SE with 4-wheel drive (front-wheel drive is also available on all trims) and a continuously variable transmission. A 6-speed automatic is the transmission with the V-6 engine, which figures to be a little more receptive to the throttle thrust than the tame 4-cylinder.

While espousing the virtue of the flat cargo floor, also note that loading into the area can be made easy both via a liftgate and a small drop tailgate that enjoys the added benefit of holding up to 400 pounds.

See photos of the Outlander here

David Mikesell is a free-lance automotive reviewer based in Indianapolis. Read this review and others like it at DaytonDailyNews.com/Wheels.