life, liberty and the mitsubishi outlander

The 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander pulled up to our house right in time for the Fourth of July weekend, an appropriate time for a car that offered us the freedom to do so much during our week-long test drive.

Of course, it was a patriotic Rally Red which already gave us the ability to be seen in the rare San Diego fog. Look at how it stands out in that hazy photo, above. In a city where the absence of sunshine ridiculously causes hundreds of car accidents, this made me feel so much safer.

And so did the Lane Departure Warning, which you can kind of see in this picture. (I didn’t want to take a picture while I was driving so that’s the best I could get.) It’s that little neon green image on the top right, and it lights up and beeps if you start creeping into someone else’s lane.

I’m also a big fan of the rear camera, especially in bad weather. I know you think I’m being dramatic about the rain but because “it never rains in Southern California,” when it actually does, drivers have no clue what to do. As a former New Yorker, I have to say this is insane — but also requires a car with major safety features.

Where the Outlander really gave us our freedom, though, was in its surprising roominess. Both of our kids were home for the holiday — yay! — and Alex’s girlfriend, Julie, was visiting, too — double yay! — so we needed a car that could comfortably fit five. Sure, the three kids could sit in the backseat but, no matter how old they are, they still like their space.

That third row seat was a lifesaver! Although it wasn’t overly spacious, it was perfect for Sara. Plus, there was plenty of room for all the beach stuff and snacks and towels and junk we tend to bring along in the off chance we need it.

You’d think you’d have to have a monster-sized car for all of this but I don’t like driving gigantic cars so the fact that the Outlander is a nice, manageable Compact SUV is a huge win win for me.

Really, my only complaint — and it’s a minor one — is the radio. Yes, it has satellite but we couldn’t get the Yankee games and we couldn’t get good reception even on our everyday FM stations. That was a little frustrating but I’m always happy to plug in my iPod, and I liked that, even on Random, it would tell me which songs were up next. I also liked that the USB port was in the center console box, so I didn’t have to leave the cord dangling near the gear shifter.

Thanks to the Outlander, we all had a great holiday, free to go for long car rides together yet free of stress.

Talk about the pursuit of happiness!