Interior

The Outlander Sport's interior is simple but not plain. There are enough chrome- and metal-looking accents to keep the interior from being boring.

The climate controls are in the form of easy-to-decipher knobs, and the stereo system is straightforward, which I appreciated even though it looks dated with its dot-matrix display. Between that and the Rockford Fosgate logo, I felt like I was back in 1988. Those were good times, but an update wouldn't hurt, either.

The Outlander Sport's Bluetooth hands-free phone system was a piece of cake to use. The instrument cluster had a more modern readout than the stereo, and I loved that it said, "See You" whenever I turned the car off. Hopefully, it didn't say "Wouldn't want to be you" after I got out and closed the door.

The five-passenger crossover only comes with fabric upholstery, which is usually tough for parents to maintain. Add to the fact that it's black and you know that every piece of lint, Goldfish cracker and other miscellaneous goo will be easy for the whole world to see. Fortunately, there was a cool-looking square pattern on the fabric to help camouflage the kid debris.

The front seats are comfortable and bolstered just enough that they made me feel snug in them. The backseat bench isn't bolstered, and there's a surprising amount of legroom in the second row.