(Mitsubishi Outlander sold with full 5-years warranty and service and Toyota Harrier below is reconditioned/used with no warranty and no after sales at all)
Malaysian car buyers are a funny lot. They will pay up to RM225,000 for a used 5-seater Toyota Harrier SUV that has a simple 2-liter engine and no rear air conditioning. This reconditioned SUV comes with no warranty and no after sales and its only bargaining chip is the Harrier name which was a big branding point some 15-10 years ago when the earlier Harriers had a high desire point with affluent Malaysians.
(Toyota Harrier cabin above and Mitsubishi Outlander cabin below) Very similar quality and features with Mitsubishi providing 3rd row seats.
Malaysian car buyers will show little interest to the fully imported Mitsubishi Outlander which is sold brand new with a full 5-year warranty, after sales and 7 seats. This all new Outlander actually has similar lines to the 2013-2017 Toyota Harrier and has a more powerful 2.4-liter engine and more cabin features and space. All for just RM169,000 and still the reconditioned Harrier will sell more easily.
This is phenomenon that seems rather weird but the fact is Malaysian car buyers will go with any buying herd that is moving in one direction. If the head of the buying herd says Harrier, then the Harrier it is no matter what facts are presented.
