2020 Mitsubishi RVRChris Balcerak OVERVIEW A surprisingly complete package from Mitsubishi PROSHandling, ride, interior décor, all-wheel-drive CONSinfotainment a little basic VALUE FOR MONEYExcellent compared with some of the faux-by-fauxs out there WHAT TO CHANGE?Eventually it’s going to need a total redesign. For now it’s soldiering on admirably. HOW TO SPEC IT?I could easily do without the booming bass of the Rockford Fosgate audio system and save a few bucks. I’d probably get the SEL AWC trim that costs $29,798. The RVR is Mitsubishi’s best vehicle. By that I mean that it’s the company’s most complete package, the Mitsu nameplate that best competes against those in its segment, has the fewest consumer-facing flaws and, most importantly, offers key features otherwise unavailable in its class. You’ll note that I didn’t say that, despite the RVR being the company’s best-selling vehicle (some 6,229 RVRs finding homes in Canada last year), it’s Mitsu’s most desirable product. That title, despite a few flaws (an aging interior, slightly wonky infotainment system and middling looks), remains the Outlander PHEV, mainly by dint of being the industry’s only affordable plug-in SUV. Being in a class of one means you’re also the star pupil and the hybridized Outlander is not only setting the sales charts ablaze but winning converts to electrification and Mitsubishi.That’s not to say the RVR does not also offer unique features. My significant other, who knows a thing or two about hardcore off-roading, loves the RVR for its truck-iness. By that she means — and it does lose something in the translation from colloquial Quebecois to prim and proper English — there’s a sense of robustness about the Mitsu lacking in so many of the subcompact segment’s faux-by-fauxs. Mitsubishi calls the revisions “robust” and “ingenious.” I don’t know about the latter, but the former is certainly apparent, the RVR quite easily the butchest looking among subcompact sport cutes. Effective and efficient powertrainNor is said purposefulness completely illusory. Unlike most of the competitors — I’d say all, but I’m worried I’ve missed some off-brand — the RVR offers the segment’s only lockable 4WD system. Yes, just like the big boys — you know, real sport brutes can be negotiated with all four wheels driving forward. I’m not sure how many people need a lockable four-wheel-drive system in this segment. I’m not even sure how many people shopping compact SUVs know what lockable 4WD is or what its benefits are. But the RVR’s All-Wheel-Control system offers it. It’s good to have around in emergencies and Mitsubishi’s RVR has it, at least in GT spec. Said GT AWC model is also powered by the better — that should be read larger — of the RVR’s two available engines. While the 2.4L four cylinder’s 168 horsepower and 167 pound-feet of torque are only middling, its actual performance is not. Always torquey, always responsive, the sportiest of the RVR’s always has plenty of git-up-and-go as well as a reserve of passing power. No, it’s not a Ferrari. Or even Civic Type R for that matter. But combined with Mitsubishi’s latest INVECS­III CVT transmission, there’s plenty of pep. It is also, except when said CVT occasionally hunts for “gears”, quite civilized. And, as for fuel economy, talk about truth in advertising: Mitsubishi rates the GT versions of the RVR at 9.4 litres per 100 kilometres, almost exactly the 9.6 L/100 km I averaged.Ditto for the handling, which, though unchanged for 2020, speaks to a chassis well sorted. There’s nothing special here folks, just a MacPherson struts up front and an independent multi-link system in the rear, but it tracks well, isn’t particularly squishy and still manages a decent ride. A step above most subcompact crossovers, in other words. Interior upgradesInside, the RVR is pretty nice, especially this GT format, though if one were looking for criticisms, some of the plastic trim isn’t quite up to Toyota’s synthetics. That said, the build quality is excellent, with panel gaps minimal and uniform, the leather seat covering is quite elegant and the new infotainment system, now with a larger screen, adds a touch of modernity. The GT option offers a 710-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system with subwoofers that rival the Bose 901s that used to pound out the bass in the discotheques of my youth. Said infotainment is also simply and well laid out. That said, I did encounter one anomaly. Whenever I received a call to my bluetoothed phone, as soon as I “picked up,” the radio would start blaring some country station at top decibels. My SO was sure I was exaggerating or somehow screwing up some of what she never tires of reminding me is simple technology. That is, until she was in the car when someone phoned and she was greeted by the dulcet plaints of Billy Ray Cyrus. I never did figure that one out. Credit one for the dark side of electronics then.As for the rest of the
Origin: SUV Review: 2020 Mitsubishi RVR