MITSUBISHI has taken the two-wheel drive route with its Outlander compact SUV, paving the way for a $4250 price cut on its base LS model that now opens the batting at $28,990 for the LS 2WD.

The new variant, dispensing with the rear-wheel part of the drivetrain of other Outlanders in favour of exclusive front-wheel drive, arrives as part of a tweak for the 2011 model year, along with side and curtain airbags that are now standard on all 4WD models but are an $850 option on the 2WD LS.

The two-wheel drive Outlander is essentially the same in most other respects to the 4WD LS, powered by the same 2.4-litre 125kW four-cylinder engine combined with a choice of five-speed manual gearbox or continuously variable transmission (CVT).

It misses out on the climate control air-conditioning of the AWD variant, but gains superior fuel economy, thanks to the reduced weight of the pared-back drivetrain.