New Mitsubishi ASX revealed

Japanese brand searching for a small SUV as rebadged Renault won’t make it Down Under.

15 November 2022

By Callum Hunter, carsales.com.au

Mitsubishi Australia is about to lose one of its most popular models.

The Japanese brand has revealed the next-generation of its top-selling ASX small SUV in Europe, with a mildly restyled and rebadged version of the Renault Captur.

But the 2023 Mitsubishi ASX won’t be coming to Australia as it will be exclusively built in left-hand drive configuration for European markets only.

Mitsubishi Australia told carsales last month it was confident the ASX had a future Down Under beyond the current generation, and that a potential successor was in the works.

“ASX is still a really important model for us,” product strategy senior manager Owen Thomson said.

“It’s now the entry point to our brand and we’re currently working through what the successor to that car will look like.”

“I can’t say any more than that, but small SUVs are very important to us and to get that right as the entry model to the brand is very important.”

Mitsubishi was saved from collapse when rival Japanese brand Nissan took control in 2016 and it became part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, hence the tie-up with the European ASX to the Renault Captur.

For Australia – and other right-hand drive and ASEAN markets – it is likely that any replacement for the existing ASX will be based on the all-new Nissan Qashqai that is due to arrive here later this year.

Until then, it’ll take less than a second for you to see the similarities between the Euro Mitsubishi ASX and its established Renault Captur counterpart, with cosmetic differences limited to the exterior badging and upper grille.

Mitsubishi says it has injected its Dynamic Shield grille design into the mix, but there’s little more than some new chrome trim inserts and the triple-diamond logo.

The Japanese brand openly concedes its new small SUV is being “supplied by Renault”, meaning the two models not only share the same CMF-B architecture but also their body panels, interiors and powertrains. Not surprisingly, both will be built alongside each other at the same production plant.

In Europe, it will be available with the choice of four powertrains including two internal combustion units, one hybrid and one plug-in hybrid.

A turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with 67kW and paired to a six-speed manual transmission will serve as the entry point to range, with a force-fed 1.3-litre mild-hybrid occupying the rung above with outputs varying depending on the transmission choice: 103kW for the six-speed manual or 116kW with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

The regular Hybrid model features a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor – supported by a 1.3kWh battery – developing 108kW.

Those after more power again and more of that zero-emission driving experience can opt for the dual-motor 1.6-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain that develops 118kW and consumes a claimed 1.5L/100km. The electric motors in this instance are fed by a 10.5kWh battery pack.

With the new model ruled out for local releases, Aussies in the market for a compact SUV will need to either settle for the current ASX – which is now 12 years old – or shop elsewhere because there’s no clear sign of a replacement any time soon.

Sales of the current ASX have slipped this year as Mitsubishi grapples with ongoing supply issues and more modern rivals with fewer supply constraints were released.

A Mitsubishi spokesperson confirmed to carsales this week that a new ASX order would take between two to three months to be filled and that a similar wait time applies to the bigger Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

Wait times for the larger-still Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV, meanwhile, are out to three or four months depending on the specification but waiting lists for all three models are expected to shorten when an injection of new stock arrives in November.

Disclaimer: Images supplied by Mitsubishi.

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