Mitsubishi Motors’ automotive production base in the Philippines has added to its green credentials with a goal to plant 25,000 young trees in a five-year program across the archipelago.
These credentials include the Japanese manufacturer’s aim to reduce CO2 emissions globally from its new cars and business activities by 40% and raising its proportion of electric vehicles by 50% in less than seven years.
Driven by reforestation programs under the National Greening Program, the Philippines will plant 1.3 billion seedlings on 1.7 million ha of denuded forest lands over five years.
The President has issued an executive order prohibiting the harvesting of timber in natural forests and has ordered provincial governors to reactivate anti-illegal logging task forces.
Perhaps Mitsubishi’s gift of young trees has been rewarded In some way. Its new Outlander LS Black Edition is the top-selling medium SUV in the Philippines.
It follows that the Outlander is also the most popular car in Australia right now. Measuring 4.7 m long, it is one of the bigger vehicles in this SUV segment, a practical, well-sized and good value choice that shares a platform and major components with the Nissan X-Trail.
Unlike other all-wheel drive or a plug-in hybrids in the range, the Outlander LS is front-wheel drive and petrol-powered. A 2.5-litre in-line 4 engine has 135 kW of power (at 6000 rpm) and 244 Nm of torque (at 3600 rpm) via a CVT auto 8 drive.
Mitsubishi claims 7.7L/100 km of unleaded petrol in a combined city and highway cycle while putting out 174g of CO2. It has a 55-litre fuel tank so it will travel 714 km on a full tank.
In the cabin, two-tone double-stich leather upholstery contrasts with a striking aluminium instrument panel and matte carbon trim to complement an eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat that customises and memorises anybody and height.
Heated front seats and independent tri-zone climate control allows everyone to create their own comfortable space.
All seats recline for added comfort, while the slide adjustable 40:20:40 split second row and 50:50 split rear third row that can fold fully forward to create a multitude of versatile passenger and cargo configurations. The rear seats can lie flat to create a huge luggage area and up to 1717 litres of cargo space for 5+2 seat models.
Outlander’s large and wide panoramic sunroof is a touch tilt and slide operation. To this can be added a 9-in. infotainment display, automatic LED lights (with auto high-beam), wireless phone charging, automatic wipers, rear privacy glass and keyless entry.
The new Outlander model comes with a $42,490 price tag before on roads, which puts it between a regular two-wheel-drive LS ($40,740) and Aspire ($44,240). This compares to an entry-level ES ($37,240) and a top-spec Exceed Tourer ($54,490), before considering the option of a more expensive plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Mabuhay Mitsubishi.
