2003 Mitsubishi Outlander vs. 2003 Subaru Forester Cargo Space, Conclusion

Neither of these hearty wagons had much problem negotiating the snow-covered trails close to the chalets, with AWD clawing them up hills and into small valleys. On packed powder, they were about equal, but, in the soft stuff, the Mitsubishi spun its tires, while the Forester kept plowing along.

Besides the notion of expanded-use capability from a terrain standpoint, most people buy sport/utilities to haul stuff. With 60.3 cubic feet of available space, the Forester bests the Outlander by almost four cubic feet. The load lift is higher on the Mitsubishi than on the Subaru, and the taillamp design pinches the opening, making it difficult to load large appliances. While Forester owners will find loading cargo an easy deal, the wheelwells protrude into the cabin farther than we'd prefer.

Clouds and snow swirled around us, as all hell broke loose: Visibility dropped to just over a car length. We were snow-blind. Now, we were thankful for all-wheel drive, and, even at 20 mph, the road was super-slick with snow rapidly piling up. Heading south on 395, Kiewicz unexpectedly changed lanes in the Subaru, and an instant later, the Outlander changed lanes, too--without any steering input! Only one answer: black ice. Okay, now it was time to go home.

At its as-tested price of $20,877, the Outlander is money well spent for a compact AWD wagon. It provides reasonable, if not stirring, performance, and the manumatic transmission is first rate. Mitsubishi's AWD system will be up to most, if not the most extreme, nasty road-surface challenges you throw it at. It's comfy, rides well, and holds an acceptable amount of cargo for its size. But it ends up striking us as average, not exemplary.

It's only when you step into the Forester that you get a sense of what lies just one rung up the ladder. For the additional $3500, you get a machine that outaccelerates/brakes/handles/hauls/tows the Outlander. Overall equipment levels are higher. Those few extra payments for the Forester are easily justified, and it's our pick of this particular AWD litter.