Sharp handling and easy to park; the small SUV with its modern design and high ride was already popular with city-goers. Usually powered by a 112kW petrol engine, recently New Zealand has been supplied with versions with the 2.2L turbo diesel we previously reviewed in the top-spec Outlander. An engine powerful enough to make that size vehicle get up and go was always going to be fun in a car that weighs 200kg less.
It’s a bit of a rocket actually! Power arrives in huge dollops and as it is mated to a 6-speed auto (with sport mode if you want to use the paddles) it is pretty much always in the right gear to get up and boogie. It makes travel, any travel, so effortless.
Plenty of power, huge torque numbers for a vehicle this size and yet only using 5.8L/100Km. I must admit, I failed in my attempt to run it out of gas in the many days I had the ASX. With the 60L tank you should be well over 1000km before needing to visiting the pie and coffee shops we used to call service stations.
Inside my ASX Sport came with a host of luxurious goodies like electrically adjustable heated leather driver’s seat , a large colour info and music screen, sadly without Sat Nav, and a leather-clad wheel with cruise and audio controls. The lower than usual compression of 14.9:1 means that in addition to a lighter weight engine cabin clatter is kept to a minimum too.
Smart use of leather and chrome accents make for a classy driving environment. Chrome is also used outside on the grill surround and mirrors, which automatically fold away when the vehicle is locked. Wheels are 17” on the sport model and 215/60 in size – offering good grip and modest noise levels. For farmers in remote locations, the ASX 4WD has a push button switchable 4WD option with diff lock if needed.
Price: $41,990 for the slightly lower-speced LS model and $45,990 for the leather clad version, which also has better lighting options. Mitsubishi offers a 10 year powertrain warranty, a five year or 130,000km new vehicle warranty and five year roadside assist on all its new cars.
Tel. 0800 54 53 52
www.mmnz.co.nz
