Video presentation – Mitsubishi ASX 2022: don’t call it Captur

The Mitsubishi network desperately needs vehicles to sell. In fact, the range of the Japanese manufacturer in France, a member of the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi alliance, is today reduced to a minimum. Space Star, Eclipse Cross, L200, no model does high volumes.

To remedy the situation, solutions are needed. And there is one all found. Use models that already exist within the alliance and change them. This has the advantage of being able to introduce new models quickly and at a lower cost.

And Mitsubishi in 2023 will dig the vein. In the fall, the brand with the three diamonds will present the new Colt, which will only be a rebadged Renault Clio, but before that the second generation of the ASX will be presented. You have it in front of you.

And we’re telling you bluntly, we didn’t expect that when the veil was lifted on this “novelty”.

Indeed we expected a revised model, and why not corrected in depth by the Tokyo firm. But we were at our expense. Hide the logo on the grill and you have a Renault Captur. Point bar. The ASX will also come out like him from the Spanish factory in Valladolid.

So let’s play the game of 7 differences, if possible… Because small changes are rare and relate to details.

The front face features the Mitsubishi logo for any modification in place of the diamond, in the center of a grille mask that adds small chrome fins to either side of the logo. The brand talks about “Mitsubishi’s iconic ‘Dynamic shield’ front face,” which is…clearly abusive.

In profile, only the wheel centers are different, and the doors feature, on the featured hybrid model, the “EV” badge found on the Eclipse Cross, for example.

Finally, at the rear, the Renault logo disappears and the “Captur” inscription is replaced by “Mitsubishi”.

And that’s it for the bodywork. Look, we didn’t even get to 7 differences. And it is, we repeat, somewhat disappointing. We would have appreciated a greater differentiation, so that this new ASX offers its own identity, and closer to that of Mitsubishi.

It should be noted in passing that taking up the size of the Renault, up to 1 mm, the ASX, which with its 4.37 m was somewhat halfway between two categories (urban and compact SUV), now becomes a true urban SUV. with 4.23 m long.

In the cabin, not the slightest difference.

Inside, it is even “worse” than outside. Only the coat of arms in the center of the steering wheel changes, as well as the images of the vehicle in the multimedia system. The rest is 100% pure diamond juice. But is that a drawback?

Not necessarily. When it launched, Renault’s cockpit had been (very) well received. Suddenly we find a cabin certainly without stylistic exuberance, but very well built, with quality materials, which automatically propels the ASX to the top of the category basket at this level.

The rear habitability is correct in terms of space for the legs and the head, and the sliding bench is occupied with caution. It allows modulating the volume of the trunk, which goes from 332 liters with the rear bench seat to 401 liters with the front bench seat at its maximum. This is less than the old ASX, which offered 419 litres. Losing 14 cm in length does have consequences.

team at level

The team is also inspired by that of the “donor” and represents the best of the category worldwide. Thus we can find, as standard or as an option (the ranges are not yet fully defined): keyless entry and start, 10.3-inch digital instrumentation (only at the top of the range, otherwise they are 4, 2 or 7-inch), lane departure warning, vehicle blind spot warning, vehicle distance warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian recognition, MI-PILOT (level 2 autonomous driving that combines adaptive cruise control and lane centering assist), Bose sound system, wireless playback of Android Auto Phone or Apple Car play, “Multi-sense” driving mode selector (Eco, Pure (for the rechargeable hybrid), Sport or My sense), but also the steering wheel and heated seats, 3D navigation or mood lighting in 8 colors to choose from.

Wide range of engines, 100% thermal, hybrid or PHEV

Technically, what a surprise, we found all the engines of the Captur. So no diesel, but a 100 hp 3-cylinder petrol engine (160 Nm, 132 to 136 g CO2/km) and a 140 hp 4-cylinder 1.3 micro-hybrid (manual transmission, 260 Nm, 130 to 134 g CO2 /km) or 160 hp (automatic gearbox, 270 Nm, 131 to 137 g of CO2/km). We then move on to more serious electrified blocks, with a 1.6 thermal 4-cylinder assisted by two electric motors, one of which acts as a generator. The simple hybrid version develops 145 CV (multimode dog gearbox, 1.3 kWh hybrid battery, from 107 to 113 g of CO2/km) and its plug-in hybrid version 160 CV (10.5 kWh hybrid battery that allows a 100% electric range of 47 to 49 km in the WLTP combined cycle and 62 to 63 km in the urban cycle, for emissions of 30 to 31 grams of CO2/km).

However, with that choice, the ASX 2 covers most market needs, and the choice is wide enough to satisfy everyone.

The tests of this new entrant in the category of urban SUVs are scheduled for the beginning of the year 2023. No big surprises should be reserved dynamically, knowing that nothing has been revised at the level of the Renault platform.

It also remains to discover the prices of this “Franco-Japanese” novelty. Hoping they are a little more interesting than those of the Captur, or other competitors like the Peugeot 2008, the Volkswagen T-Roc or the Toyota Yaris Cross, otherwise the ASX would definitely be doomed to remain in the shadows. Could it be used to retain old customers from the previous generation of ASX within the brand? But if it’s cheaper, and further aided by a 5-year/100,000km warranty (unlimited mileage for the first 2 years), it might come along and grab some customers in the segment. To those who do not care about the logo on the grill, in short.

Marketing will take place in March 2023.