Cepsa Auto Team

According to perhaps the most knowledgeable industry insider publication on the automotive world, Mitsubishi has made a decision to pull the plug on the Endeavor after August. That’s normally when their production lines would be ramping up to produce many, many Endeavors, but this time, they will be ramping up, it looks like, to make more Outlanders.

It’s not that I blame them, at all, because the Endeavor, a crossover based on the Eclipse front-drive platform – that, by the way is ending its run, too – is just plain mediocre.

It’s not as good as say a Kia Sorento (who would have every thought I’d say that) and it’s not even as good as a 1999 Toyota RAV4 – let me correct that – it is as good as the 1999 RAV4, except that we’re coming into the 2012 model year, seem a little out of sync?

For what it is, the Endeavor is a reasonable vehicle. It’s ride is harsh and it’s handling is vague and like its platform base, it’s actually a front-drive vehicle that features all-wheel-drive when you need it. Actually, it works best in front-drive and don’t let anyone indicated anything differently to you. It’s just that the all-wheel-drive settings just aren’t that good and when you cranked the wheel over in all-wheel-drive, the Endeavor tended to not only become a handful, it actually became two hands-full as it was both tough to handle and tough to steer. (Actually there was a third hand-full, if you will, it really didn’t like to move all that well with the wheels at any sort of obtuse angle so it does make it a bit tough to pull into or out of a parking space in all-wheel-drive.)

Yes, there are those parts of the world that love the Endeavor. There’s little doubt of that, it’s just that I don’t happen to live in one of those parts of the world now. Maybe 10 or 12 years ago it was okay to have a crossover that handled more like a tractor than a car-based vehicle (the handling should have been more positive and the steering should have been more responsive. Indeed, I think an Abrams M1A1 tank has better and quicker handling, but that’s just my opinion).

As to the interior, it was pleasant enough with a late-90s plastic feel to it and a center console that was about as intuitive as a brick. It’s true that all of the key controls were easy to access and were the keys were adequately placed, but when you need to keep looking at the keys to see if you are accessing the right feature, you know that this is a vehicle that needs lots of tending.

The seats were the same way. They were nice enough in 1999, but in 2011, coming into 2012, it’s tough to imagine seats that are firm to the point of hard and that offer great back support, if you need a back board, but the Endeavor’s seats felt that way to me, especially as I slid around on them. The leatherette or leather upholstery was very slippery and I’m glad I did have my seatbelt on.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this: the Outlander is a better choice if you are looking for a Mitsubishi crossover. It handles better; is far nimbler and offers better mileage. I think Mitsu has made a good decision, although I’m sure there are others who will debate me.