The Inside

The crossover's uncluttered dashboard sweeps across the front of the cabin, broken up only by the instrument hood. The dash panels are made of hard plastic, but they have nice graining and don't look the least bit cheap, and everything fits together well. Three large knobs below the audio system control most climate functions; the simple setup works well, but the knobs feel a little low-grade.

It took me a little while to find an agreeable driving position in the manually adjustable front bucket seats (a power driver's seat is optional), but once I did they proved comfortable even on longer drives; I spent six hours on the highway in the Outlander over the course of a day, and I walked away not feeling any worse for wear. The seats in my SE model were finished in mesh fabric and had leather accents.

The Outlander's second-row bench seat is impressively roomy for adults — it's one of the best in the class, rivaling the likes of the Equinox. I had plenty of room to sit back there, and I suspect other taller passengers would, too. In models with the optional third-row seat, which my test car had, the second row slides forward and backward in addition to providing the recline feature that five-seat models have. I had the seat in its rearmost position, which reduced third-row legroom.

The Outlander and Toyota RAV4 are among the few smaller crossovers that offer a third row, and in both models seating capacity increases from five to seven with the extra seat. The Outlander's third row is clearly meant for children, but I suspect some kids will really like riding back there, far away from mom and dad up front.

Compared with most seats, the Outlander's third row is really flimsy-looking. The seat cushion and backrest are very thin, though that means it doesn't take up much space, allowing you to fold it flat into the floor when it's not needed.