Mitsubishi has announced that the 2008 Outlander ES will be outfitted with a 2.4-liter, 168 hp, four-cylinder engine rather than the the 3-liter, 220 hp, V6 that has been used since the vehicle's introduction in 2006.

The new version of the company's small SUV was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show and will also feature a continuously variable transmission. The LS and XLS trim levels for the Outlander will still use the original V6.

When Mitsubishi introduced the Outlander to the U.S. market, it did not have the budget to purchase large numbers of the four-cylinder engine it had constructed in partnership with DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai, a situation that has obviously been corrected.

The sales chief of Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., Dan Kuhnert, said he expected brisk Outlander sales for both the four and six cylinder versions. "Over 50 percent of the small SUVs are bought with four cylinders. Now we're competing in another part of the segment."

The 2.4-liter engine will also be used in the Lancer GTS sport sedan for 2009, replacing the current 2-liter, 152 hp, four-cylinder unit used across all three trims. In discussing that move Kuhnert said, "We wanted to differentiate a little more between the base model and the GTS. The new engine gives the GTS enhanced performance."

For the first ten months of 2007 sales of the Outlander saw a 171.5 percent increase over 2006 with Lancer sales up to 28,090 units over 20,214 from the previous year.