When is a niche vehicle not a niche vehicle? When it's the Outlander, Mitsubishi's latest foray into the lifestyle vehicle market. It's an SUV/MPV crossover combined with the best elements of a roomy family hatch, with the added versatility of 4WD aimed at offering the best aspects of each genre wrapped up in one package. The Outlander is the first of fourteen new Mitsubishis to be launched in the next five years and as such is a signal of their new design direction and brand identity. It is being touted as an "ambassador" for the company and its new ethos. Quite a role to fulfil then.

Vehicles like this are two a penny on the Japanese domestic market so it's no surprise that the Outlander is a direct derivative of the Airtrek, itself based on the ASX concept shown in Detroit in 2000. Rather than simply punt the Airtrek here in its current state it was decided to send it off to California to be restyled inside and out with the focus being on European tastes. The nose is the familiar beak type design as seen on the Evo 8 and set to become the company's 'face', complete with prominent three diamond badge. The rest of the car is a little awkward though; from some angles it just seems confused as to what its role in life is. It certainly has physical presence but you wouldn't call it pretty or pleasant. Unlike the interior.

The interior designers really did their homework here and influences from various European manufacturers are plentiful. There are some obvious cost savings that have been made, most obviously the cup holders and the shabby cover for the central storage bin, but for the most part it works well and looks good. It's soft to look at and touch; the silver strip of material across the dash with centrally mounted analogue clock is a particularly nice touch. The round air vents also look good and work well. You have to say it is a real success and a vast improvement over the more industrial interior of the Shogun Sport. The dials are clear, well laid out and subtly lit at night. A highlight, and I'm not sure if this is altogether intentional, is the way the light reflects off the needle giving the impression of a sweeping arc of light on the perimeter of the dial as the speed or revs rise and fall. The gear selection read out is well positioned and the trip computer is handy and easy to see, although we prefer the resets for trip etc. on the end of a column stalk to avoid the awkward reach into the facia.

The interior is roomy, but the boot space is disappointing due to the high floor, a by-product of the 4WD driveline and carrying the full-size spare in the boot. The narrow opening due to the intrusion of the rear light clusters further compromises this load space. It is a shame that practicality has been sacrificed in the pursuit of style, especially considering how quickly the 'Lexus clears' style is beginning to date. Strangely we found that a load just too wide to fit in the boot was just too narrow to fit on the roof rails, which was a tad annoying! Overall though, the Outlander gets a resounding thumbs up on the inside.

Another success is the chassis. As one would expect with an Evo 8 based set up it works well and offers a very car like experience in a very un-car like body. The steering is well weighted and offers a fair amount of feel and feedback; the viscous diff pays dividends here in eliminating the vibration and interference inherent in fixed power distribution 4WD drivelines. It also pays huge dividends in the road holding and handling with initial 4WD-esque understeer giving way to a nice neutrally balanced cornering stance once settled into a bend. Our cornering shots bear witness to the good body control and lack of roll; the Outlander was on the outer edge of its limits but still looks very composed. It also rides very well with only pronounced ripples in the tarmac causing any kind of unsettled attitude, and some low-speed bounce. The excessive stiffness found on the Shogun Sport and Freelander Sport we have tested is marked out only by its absence. The Outlander doesn't drive like it looks; it is saloon car like and the adaptation of the Evo chassis is very good.

Something else the Outlander shares with the Evo is a healthy appetite for fuel. In our time we struggled to match the claimed 28 mpg capability and returned something nearer 23 mpg. Blame some of this on the perky 2.4-litre MIVEC engine, but probably more significant is the 1600 kg kerb weight, full time 4WD and the four-speed INVECS auto 'box. The engines itself benefits from variable valve timing and lift and delivers a nice linear wave of torque accompanied by a pleasing growl in the upper reaches of the rev range. The INVECS 'box adapts to the drivers style by monitoring throttle and brake inputs and modifying its default change strategy accordingly. The manual function works well with down-changes in particular being better than similar systems we've tried lately. We felt that a 5th ratio was needed for extra mid-range urge as the gaps between the intermediate ratios was just that little bit too big to keep the engine on the boil when pressing on.

Considering the size of the car and its less than ideal driveline, a maximum of 119 mph and 11.2 seconds 0-62 time are respectable, if not earth shattering. As you'd expect, our spirited driving down one of our regular test routes had the brakes running for cover in pretty short order, but they were much better than the Freelander's. To be fair, we don't think that the average owner would drive the Outlander down the roads we do in quite the same fashion.

In light of the economy you begin to feel that Mitsubishi has missed a trick in not offering a diesel engine, but a scan of their current model line up reveals a lack of a suitably refined unit and so one can understand its omission and applaud it. The official line is that the Outlander is not aimed at huge sales (only 2000 in the UK per annum), and so the development cost of another engine was not justified. We think that a less than refined power plant would have compromised the excellent dynamics and road manners of the Outlander, so the fact the decision was made is encouraging as far as the quality and focus of future offerings are concerned. The presence of a dual fuel alternative is a clever way of filling the gap as it effectively gives 40 mpg economy. This £1000 option looks like a sound investment, at least until the government start whacking more tax on to LPG!

Standard equipment levels are high and the safety and security are good, although our old friend from the Shogun, the Cobra alarm system is still a feature. It's still annoying, even more so in the Outlander's installation as it beeps. Although I can see the practical use for this - as it was still possible to leave the car unlocked when you thought you'd locked it depending on whether you had had to reset the immobiliser after it had reset itself, when filling with fuel for example - do the beeps really have to be so loud?

On the whole Mitsubishi have done well with this car and European sales figures reflect its abilities. The Japanese manufacturer has set the bar at a high level with this first new model and whilst it has produced a car that may be considered to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, the Outlander is still a very good vehicle. How good depends on the angle from which you approach it. If you expect a 4x4 SUV with road car manners then you'll be pleasantly surprised, and the Outlander stands up well to comparison against the Subaru Forester and Honda CRV. However, if you're looking for a roomy family wagon with car like dynamics then other manufacturers may offer more tempting products - the Focus C-Max and Megane Scenic for example - with more powertrain options.

I think for now Mitsubishi would be happy just to get some new models out into the market place and generate some traffic through its showrooms. The fact that the Outlander is such a good stab is promising and the Evo heritage is a selling point that continues to grow. The key will be if Mitsubishi can transfer this success into some mainstream high volume sectors.