To own a Mitsubishi Outlander, you have to get over all those associations with the dreaded letters S.U.V. Or for those who never let it bother them in the first place then this is a great car to suit an active family’s needs. The Outlander has style, space, versatility, presence (whether you like it or not) and can cope with all the grotty weather that the UK can throw at it. It’s also really quite good to drive.

That excellent drive is partly down to the twin-clutch gearbox which essentially makes all the changes smooth and quick whether you’re in automatic or manual mode. You have the option of the paddle shifts which quite frankly leave me cold (always have done, not just on this car). I even noticed that the boys tired of them after their initial childlike enthusiasm.

It’s also partly down to the way the Juro glides over bumps and humps, which it does very well. It feels slightly ungainly in the bends though. I thought the girls were winding me up every time we went round a corner quickly. Their sound effects resembled a very lively fairground ride, although it’s always easier cornering when holding onto the steering wheel – maybe they were being thrown around more than I thought. I would describe it as slightly wobbly, although Mitsubishi describe it as athletic. Somewhere in the middle is probably right. More >