Road test review: Mitsubishi ASX VRX

Tuesday, 28 January 2020

Project Global didn't spawn a lot of great cars - for every Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X highlight, there was a Jeep Compass, Chrysler Sebring or Dodge Avenger dragging things down again.

**MITSUBISHI ASX VRX

Base price:** $41,990

Powertrain and economy: 2.4-litre petrol four-cylinder, 125kW/226Nm, continuously variable transmission, FWD, Combined economy 7.9 litres per 100km, CO2 181g/km (source: RightCar)

The new 'Dynamic Shield' face brings a touch of the Triton to ASX.

Vital statistics: 4365mm long, 1640mm high, 2670mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 393 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/55 tyres.

We like: New face looks great, high levels of standard equipment, spacious and comfortable for a 'small' SUV.

We don't like: Engine a bit lethargic, the usual CVT complaints, that silly fake vent…

Mitsubishi has become something of a specialist at squeezing the absolute maximum life possible out of a car or platform by incrementally improving it over its life, while simultaneously adding more equipment and charging less money. The Lancer was a masterclass in that technique, consistently getting cheaper over the last decade of its life while also offering more. And now the ASX has taken over its mantle.

So you're saying its old, but with lots of new stuff jammed into it?

You say that like it's a bad thing. But that's pretty much exactly what the ASX is.

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* Small SUV market set for strong competition**

The front is striking and handsome, the rear is... generic.

The ASX has been with us for a decade now, originally launching in Japan (as the RVR) in February 2010, but its platform stretches back further than that to 2005, when it debuted as the 'Project Global' platform used by Mitsubishi, Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot, Citroen and Proton.

Apart from Mitsubishi every other manufacturer in that alliance has retired the platform (well, Dodge and Fiat still use it under the ancient and wheezy Dodge Journey/Fiat Fremont people mover) and, arguably, Mitsubishi was actually the only one to ever make a decent car on it, while it was certainly the only one to make a truly excellent car on it - Lancer Evolution X anyone?

Does that mean there are shades of Evo X in the ASX?

Oh dear lord, no. Don't be silly.

No, the ASX is every inch the small commuter SUV Mitsubishi pitches it as, with its USP being the fact that, despite being pushed and priced as a compact SUV, it is actually closer in size to a medium one - with the same wheelbase as the Outlander, the ASX is a good 100 to 150mm longer between the wheels than anything else it is priced against.

Mitsubishi's process of gradually improving everything means that, while it started its life a decade ago with a cheap, slightly naff interior and an apologetic face, the ASX now gets a far more upmarket look and feel, helped no end by the adoption of Mitsubishi's more aggressive 'Dynamic shield' face.

The ASX sits on the same platform as the Outlander, so is really a medium SUV disguised as a small one.

Bringing more than a hint of the Triton ute to the ASX, the new face also brings the ASX a far more dramatic sense of presence on the road. Until you get around the back, that is, and it becomes a bit 'generic SUV' again…

Wait… is that a fake vent behind the front wheel?

You noticed that, huh?

While the new face is a win (at least, it is to my eyes) that awkwardly-placed chrome-highlighted piece of silliness on the front guard is totally unnecessary, utterly pointless and I hate it with a passion that a small piece of chromed plastic simply shouldn't be able to rouse.

In fact, I hate it more than the fact that the ASX is saddled with an elderly engine and a continuously variable transmission.

Oh, so its not just the platform that's old then?

No, the ASX still gets the 4B1 engine that also sprung from the Project Global alliance. While it is far from a terrible engine, it isn't exactly sparkling with character and enthusiasm either.

Most of the time it simply does its job without drama, but ask more of it and it runs out of breath quickly, while the fact that it is hooked up to a CVT only makes things thrashier and slightly depressing. However, ask no more of it than the average owner will - ie: pottering around town - and it is perfectly adept.

Dynamically the ASX is nothing special, with a tendency to lean hard on the outside front wheel when pushed, however, it is always controlled and predictable, while remaining comfortable and largely unflustered by road imperfections.

So is it just an old car with size as its only real selling point?

Actually, no. It also has value for money on its side.

Heated leather front seats, a new 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, self-levelling LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, privacy glass, keyless entry and push button start are just some of the features jammed into the VRX, meaning it is equipped at the top of the segment as well as being sized at the top.

Add that generous extra size to the fact that the ASX is well-equipped, comfortable and looks good, and you have a package that is literally more than the sum of its parts might suggest.

Any other cars I should consider?

While the likes of the similarly-priced Mazda CX-3 Takami effortlessly shades the ASX VRX in terms of interior quality and dynamics, it is less powerful and WAY smaller.

In fact that same can be said of almost anything in the ASX's segment - it is actually around the same size and still more powerful than the more expensive top-spec Nissan Qashqai ST-L.

But like a good 80s slasher movie, the biggest threat to the ASX comes from inside Mitsubishi's own house, and the vehicle wearing the mask and clutching the machete is the Eclipse Cross.

Again, based on the same platform (so same wheelbase) and fractionally longer than the ASX, the Eclipse Cross is powered by a far more modern and thoroughly excellent 1.5-litre turbo engine (still a CVT though) for around the same money. It is a generation older in terms of looks, however, but a facelift is no doubt due…