It seems like yesterday when the Mitsubishi Outlander first came around. And – heck – it was, three years to be exact, and my how the years have just whizzed by. Perhaps it's because the Outlander debuted as just another little SUV in a sheetmetal sea of hulking top heavy vehicles. Except for the price and the warranty, it just melted into the scenery of Hondas and Toyotas, no one paying heed until that gravelly-voiced dude would come on the radio and grumble something about zero-percent financing.

Yeah. It's been a long three years for Mitsubishi. Even with a new Eclipse and a hand-shaking, knee-knocking Evolution, sales are flat and people are largely unexcited about the company's wares, something it hopes the 2007 Outlander will change. And it might, because style counts and this is a very attractive SUV with some interesting innovations and a driving demeanor that balances out the good and bad, winding up, for the most part, at acceptable. Take a look? Sure you should. And when you do, pay careful note to the tailgate feature in back, which works to make your grocery-haulin' life a little easier.

Also pay attention to the plastics inside the cabin for they require a significant upgrade, and the lack of stereo knobs on the instrument panel. Audio controls are mostly, and frustratingly, managed via the navigation center. Seating comfort and legroom is right up there with the best in its class, however, and the powertrain – a V6 engine with a six-speed shift-o-matic – is peppy but unrefined with a little too much gear hunting going on. Overall, however, the Outlander offers nicely responsive steering, acceptable handling for an SUV, and more than enough power for most. All told, this Mitsu is better looking than the Toyota RAV4, though not quite able to match it in terms of precision and quality.