The Mitsubishi Outlander is the workhorse in the Japanese brand range – solid, spacious and reliable. From a heritage of off-road Mitsubishi vehicles the Outlander has crept out from under that image to be a more modern SUV that’s as comfortable on the road as it is on the track.

The current Outlander is a very different SUV. It incorporates a seven-seat option along with enhanced looks, while all too often it’s not even considered in the buyer’s shortlist.

For SUV drivers, diesel power remains the competitive choice in terms of running costs and the Outlander has a single diesel option in a well-proven 2.2-litre turbo-diesel unit. That engine has been considerably cleaned up in recent years. More recently, there is also a new plug-in hybrid petrol version available.

The Mitsubishi Outlander is a relatively spacious seven-seat SUV with wide opening doors and a sliding centre seat that gives easier access to the rear seats.

I took the seven-seat Outlander diesel for a test drive in recent weeks and was impressed with the upgraded styling and space management in the modernised package. The Mitsubishi package is all the more attractive because of the eight-year warranty; the best on the market. And the Outlander is competitively priced too.

The new LED headlights provide an instant first impression. There is a liberal use of chrome to add to the modern car styling.

It is on the inside that the bigger changes are more obvious. The controls and centre panel have been upgraded and the large infotainment screen is incorporated well into the overall dash area, so it’s easy to get comfortable on the road.

Mitsubishi claims that the Outlander’s rear shock absorber has been altered with a new valve, to give better stability and comfort. The seating is good and the middle row of seats can slide forward for access to the final third row or to give more balanced legroom. This car is comfortable, while not being plush.

The Outlander’s wheelbase length is marginally shorter than that of similar seven-seat SUVs such as the Nissan X-Trail, Renault Koleos and Volkswagen Tiguan but that gives no noticeable difference in road comfort and handling. The Outlander is marginally longer than five of the six competitors that I compared it against; only the seven-seat Volkswagen Tiguan is longer.

SUVs with three rows of seats often have limited boot space when all seats are in use. The Outlander has the small load area, while the Volkswagen Tiguan has significantly more. When all seats are folded flat, the Outlander comes into its own and jumps then to the top of class in terms of load carrying area.

For rural drivers, the towing rating is equal to the competition at two tonnes with a braked trailer.

The Outlander’s off-road credentials are strong, the 4WD engagement is easy and effective to use.

I drove the manual version with its six-speed gearbox and Mitsubishi’s auto stop and go system. This car is rated to have a fuel economy figure of 19km/litre (5.3/100km or 53mpg). In theory, that should give a range of well over 1,000km from a full 60-litre capacity fuel tank.

My driving experience fell noticeably short of that. I found the Outlander to be less economical than I had expected over a 1,100km mixed test route, returning an average economy figure of 14.5km/litre (7l/100km). That’s almost 35% off the rated figure. That surprised me as the Outlander can cruise comfortably on motorways at the legal limit of 120km/hr at under 2,000rpm.

I rarely used the on-demand 4WD system, as road and field conditions were good in recent weeks. Most of my driving experience was based on the tarmac roads where the Outlander handles well.

This latest generation Outlander comes with seven airbags and a host of safety features, including hill start assist, two ISO-Fix units in the middle seats, and a useful reversing camera with parking sensors. The Euro NCAP safety rating is a little dated so an update is overdue.

The Outlander entry prices start at €39,900 (£29,770 in NI) for the seven-seat version which is a step up from the entry five-seat version that comes in 2WD only. The price jump from basic five- to seven-seat versions includes adding a 4WD system that pushes the price up by almost €7,000 (not as big a jump in NI). That’s a bigger price jump than most of the competition.

The Outlander is held in high regard for its reliability across owner surveys in the larger UK market.

The eight-year warranty deal is an attractive part of the price offer, while the styling and features have improved to give a better driving experience.

The Mitsubishi Outlander offer demands scrutiny in this growing price competitive seven-seat SUV market. The offer is attractive against the likes of the Nissan X-Trail and Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace while Renault and Skoda also offer competitive seven-seat SUV deals. Diesel power will remain my preference because towing performance remains important, as does economy and diesel delivers on both counts with this modernised Outlander.