After so many of us ragged on the old Mitsubishi ASX for so long, we should be grateful it’s finally been replaced, right?
The old compact crossover SUV was finally discontinued here after 15 years in 2025 – surprisingly it lives on in other markets like the US – due to new government regulations concerning autonomous emergency braking systems.
Mitsubishi actually launched a new-generation small SUV in 2023 called the Xforce, but astonishingly it didn’t develop this new model for sale in markets like Australia, Europe and the US.
Further to that, Mitsubishi announced in 2020 it would pull out of the European market, only to beat a hasty return in 2021. But what Mitsubishi needed was fresh product and quickly, and the answer lay with Alliance partner Renault.
The Clio became the Colt and the Captur became the ASX. Last year Mitsubishi Europe also revealed the Grandis (a Renault Symbioz) and the Eclipse Cross (a Renault Scenic).
With Mitsubishi Australia forced to pull the plug on the old ASX, then, the most expedient option was to bring over the European ASX.
All Mitsubishi had done was tweak the grille and put its badges on it. Removing the Renault diamond from the tailgate unfortunately means there’s now an undisguised and unsightly growth containing the reversing camera; it’s the only black mark on the otherwise very handsome design of this small SUV, with even the revised Mitsubishi grille looking elegant.
And with Renault’s Captur gone from the local market and seemingly unlikely to return, the ASX doesn’t have a twin here.
But this is so vastly different from anything else in Mitsubishi Australia showrooms. Even the indicator stalk is on the wrong (left) side.
Despite being based on an updated version of the Captur launched in 2020, it looks so much more modern inside and out than its predecessor. It looks a lot more upmarket, too – something reflected in the price…
How much does the Mitsubishi ASX cost?
The old Mitsubishi ASX was priced from $24,490 before on-road costs – admittedly for the spartan, manual-equipped base GS – and topped out at $35,240 before on-roads. That’s actually below where the new-generation ASX lineup opens.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
|
2026 Mitsubishi ASX LS |
$37,740 |
|
2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire |
$42,690 |
|
2026 Mitsubishi ASX Exceed |
$46,490 |
To see how the Mitsubishi ASX lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
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What is the Mitsubishi ASX like on the inside?
You won’t find a single piece of the old ASX in this new one. It’s almost confronting just how different this car is.
Other than being a bit tighter in the back seat, however, this is an enormous step forward. The interior feels premium, from the material choices to the technology.
Take the screens. They turn on instantly, and the ASX Aspire’s 10.4-inch touchscreen features Google Built-in. That means embedded Google apps like Google Assistant and Google Maps, with the latter also appearing in the attractive 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with its many available views.
Considering the old ASX’s laughably dated TomTom satellite navigation and the fact it didn’t even have a digital speedometer, it’s hard to overstate how much of a leap forward the new ASX is.
There are still tactile physical switches for things like temperature and fan speed adjustment, so not everything is buried in the touchscreen.
One aspect where the ASX’s technology hasn’t improved is the reversing camera. It’s mediocre in the day and lousy at night.
There’s no surround-view camera but you do get front and rear parking sensors, and visibility is generally good so the ASX is easy to park.
The interior has a modern and attractive layout, with a portrait-oriented touchscreen, a split-level centre console with a stubby gear shifter, and a lovely leather-wrapped steering wheel with intuitive switchgear.
There’s one quirk that may take time to adjust to, and it’s the volume and skip track adjustment. Instead of being on the steering wheel, or controlled via buttons on the rear of the steering wheel like in Mitsubishis of yore, these buttons are found on a stalk jutting out of the right-hand side of the steering column.
The front of this stalk has two buttons for volume, while changing tracks is done by spinning a wheel at the rear. It sounds unusual, but in practice it all works well.
Storage is average. The centre console bin, situated under a padded lid, is too small but there are decently sized door pockets. The glove compartment, too, has sufficient space.
Leatherette trim wraps around the level of the centre console containing the gear shifter, like in the old car, so there’s no hard plastic for your knee to strike.
There’s hard plastic atop the doors but fetching cloth inserts just below it. I was trying to think what these reminded me of and then it struck me – the Cadillac Optiq. Not a bad parallel…
The interior is topped off with subtle ambient accent lighting, soft-touch trim across almost all of the dash, and an unusual yet attractive headliner.
The seats are comfortable, and finished in genuinely appealing cloth trim. Leather is scarcely needed when cloth trim is this nice.
Weirdly, the interior lacks any grab handles. Otherwise, front and rear occupants are well-served, with those in the rear enjoying a pair of USB-C outlets and air vents, plus map pockets and a 12V outlet.
It’s not the most spacious small SUV. The front seatbacks are scooped out for more knee room, while headroom meets the segment standard, but it doesn’t feel as roomy as the old car back here – understandable given the new ASX has a smaller external footprint than the old ASX.
There’s also a bit of a driveline hump to contend with, and we wouldn’t be sitting three across in this unless your passengers are small children.
Speaking of small children, you can fit child seats back here using one of the three ISOFIX anchor points, or one of the three top-tether anchor points.
The boot is spacious with up to 484 litres of storage capacity, measured to the top of the rear seatback, and there’s a fabric panel allowing you to adjust the boot height. This expands to 1596L with the rear seats folded.
Disappointingly, there’s no spare tyre under the boot floor. You only get a tyre repair kit. Boo.
| Dimensions | Mitsubishi ASX |
|---|---|
| Length |
4238mm |
| Width |
1797mm |
| Height |
1575mm |
| Wheelbase |
2639mm |
| Cargo capacity |
484-1596L |
To see how the Mitsubishi ASX lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
While the ASX has been offered in Europe with hybrid and plug-in hybrid power, there’s just a single petrol powertrain available in Australia.
It’s a thrifty petrol mill, and across both our fuel economy loop and over 900km of mixed driving we managed to match the official combined-cycle claim, or come within a hair of it. It runs on regular unleaded fuel too, unlike some rival Europeans.
| Specifications | Mitsubishi ASX |
|---|---|
| Engine |
1.3L turbo 4cyl |
| Power |
113kW @ 6000rpm |
| Torque |
270Nm @ 1800rpm |
| Transmission |
7-speed dual-clutch auto |
| Drive type |
Front-wheel drive |
| Kerb weight |
1294kg |
| Fuel economy (claimed) |
6.4L/100km |
| Fuel economy (as tested) |
6.5L/100km (inner-city, suburban and highway loop) 6.4L/100km (over the course of a week) |
| Fuel tank capacity |
48L |
| Fuel requirement |
91-octane regular unleaded |
| CO2 emissions |
142g/km |
| Emissions standard |
Euro 6e |
| Braked tow capacity |
1200kg |
To see how the Mitsubishi ASX lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How does the Mitsubishi ASX drive?
The new Mitsubishi ASX looks completely different inside and out, and it feels completely different to drive.
You might argue a European vehicle is more likely to be engaging to drive than a vehicle from any other region. And to be fair, there’s a lot to like about the ASX on the road, though we wouldn’t necessarily call it fun to drive.
The steering is actually pretty good at low speeds in terms of weighting but, as your speed picks up, it becomes light and lacking in feel.
Adjusting the steering weight to the heaviest setting doesn’t do much. It gets fractionally heavier but it doesn’t make the ASX more confidence-inspiring to drive. At least it’s better than the woolly steering of the old car.
The ASX has a noticeably high centre of gravity, so it’s not one of those small SUVs – like the related Nissan Juke – that feels like a hatchback to drive.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have the Juke’s lousy transmission tuning. This is a dual-clutch auto as well though, and there will be a learning curve for owners of the old ASX with its continuously variable transmission.
Like CVTs, DCTs can be great at extracting the most out of a small engine, but they go about it a different way.
The ASX doesn’t drone loudly when you accelerate like the old car did, but you can’t just punch it from the lights – you have to treat it a little bit more gently, as there’s a slight delay off the line, likely due to both the transmission and turbo lag. After this, the gears change rapidly and the ASX feels particularly fleet of foot.
If you slow back to a crawl, for example by getting stuck in slow-moving traffic, you’ll get a bit of vibration and odd noises from the transmission in classic dual-clutch fashion. It’s a bit annoying when creeping through traffic, but it’s hardly unique to the ASX/Captur.
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Honestly though, I’ll take a good torque converter auto over a CVT or DCT any day. You may have a different view.
We can’t imagine you’ll be impatient with the snappy shifts, but should you become so there are paddle shifters.
The ride is Euro-firm but comfortable, with just a bit of vertical motion over some undulating and patchwork rural roads.
You also get a little bit of tyre roar but it’s not excessive, and generally the cabin is well insulated – we could carry on a conversation easily with rear-seat passengers, even at highway speeds.
The engine doesn’t sound all that bad, either. It’s not a gruff mill like the 2.0-litre in the old car.
In all, the ASX feels quicker and more refined than its predecessor, but not significantly more entertaining to drive. Will most buyers in this segment care? Perhaps not.
The lane-keep assist and lane centring aids aren’t too intrusive, though the latter could perhaps stand to be a little more that way – it’s not exceptionally assertive.
The adaptive cruise generally worked well, though on one occasion it did significantly and suddenly try to slow the vehicle down on a straight, open road.
It’s extremely easy to adjust the set speed as, besides the usual toggles for changing it by 1km/h or 10km/h increments, there’s a dedicated button on the steering wheel to set it to the detected speed limit. Idiot-proof. There’s even a simple speed-limiter function as well.
Starting the car one day, we received a message in the instrument cluster reading: “P auto gearbox failing”.
That was concerning, and a search of owners’ forums reveals this to seemingly be a common issue among Renaults. Either the message appears as a glitch, or it forewarns of mechanical issues. Fortunately, we had no further issues, so we’ll chalk that up to a system glitch.
To see how the Mitsubishi ASX lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What do you get?
There’s a steep premium of $4950 over the base ASX LS, itself no value play in this segment. For the extra outlay, however, the Aspire adds a lot of kit over the surprisingly spartan (for the price) LS.
Standard equipment on the ASX LS includes:
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Tyre repair kit
- Automatic LED headlights
- Automatic high-beam
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Heated, power-adjustable mirrors
- Electric parking brake with auto hold
- Proximity entry with push-button start
- Paddle shifters
- Cruise control with speed-limiter
- Eco drive mode
- 10.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- DAB+ digital radio
- 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen
- 6-speaker sound system
- 2 x USB-C outlets
- 2 x 12V outlets
- Climate control air-conditioning
- ‘Soft-touch’ steering wheel
- Tilt and telescopic steering column adjustment
- Fabric upholstery
- 60:40-split/folding, sliding rear seats
The ASX Aspire adds:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Rear privacy glass
- Power-folding exterior mirrors
- Selectable Comfort, Sport and Perso (Custom) drive modes
- 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
- Google Built-in
-
- includes embedded apps such as Google Maps, Google Assistant
- Wireless phone charger
- Heated steering wheel
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Ambient lighting
- Electrochromatic rear-view mirror
- ‘Floating’ centre console with e-shifter
- Rear map pockets
- 2 additional USB-C outlets
There’s frankly much less reason to spend the extra $3800 over the Aspire to get the range-topping Exceed.
The Exceed adds:
- Sunroof
- Black roof
- Power driver’s seat
- Heated front seats
- Leather-appointed upholstery
- Accent stitching
Is the Mitsubishi ASX safe?
The Mitsubishi ASX has a four-star rating from independent safety authority ANCAP, based on testing conducted by sister authority Euro NCAP of the related Renault Captur and Symbioz in 2024.
| Category | Mitsubishi ASX |
|---|---|
| Adult occupant protection |
76 per cent |
| Child occupant protection |
83 per cent |
| Vulnerable road user protection |
76 per cent |
| Safety assist |
70 per cent |
Standard safety equipment on the ASX includes:
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection
- Driver attention alert
- Lane-keep assist
- Emergency lane-keep assist
- Reversing camera
- Rear parking sensors
- Traffic sign recognition
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Front, front-side and curtain airbags
The Aspire adds:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Lane centring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Safe Exit Assist
- Traffic Jam Assist
- Front parking sensors
How much does the Mitsubishi ASX cost to run?
Mitsubishi backs its vehicles with a 10-year, 200,000km warranty, though this only applies if you service within its dealer network. If you don’t, it drops down to a five-year, 100,000km offering.
The brand naturally offers 10 years of capped-price servicing and, despite the new ASX’s origins, it’s not much more expensive to service than its predecessor – $473 more over the 10-year period.
| Servicing and Warranty | Mitsubishi ASX |
|---|---|
| Warranty |
10 years, 200,000km |
| Roadside assistance |
12 months |
| Service intervals |
12 months/15,000km |
| Capped-price servicing |
10 years/150,000km |
|
Average capped-price service cost |
$568.60 |
| Total capped-price service cost |
$5686 |
To see how the Mitsubishi ASX lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take
We were calling for an ASX replacement for some time, and Mitsubishi has finally delivered.
What the company has delivered is a stylish, premium-feeling small SUV with slick technology. But there’s going to be a learning curve for existing ASX owners, who may not even make it as far as a Mitsubishi showroom on account of the higher price tag.
We know Mitsubishi picked the ASX nameplate because of how well-established it is in the market, but this car has nothing in common with its predecessor. And Mitsubishi has spent over a decade selling ASX-badged SUVs at affordable prices, so to raise the asking price so much has us questioning whether the ASX can succeed.
We know Mitsubishi has to contend with new issues such as import duties, on account of it being sourced from Renault. But in mid-spec Aspire trim, it’s just a few hundred dollars shy of an Outlander LS – a much more spacious vehicle with a good amount of standard equipment. And it’s a more authentic Mitsubishi product too, for what that’s worth.
For something already a few years old itself, the new ASX sure feels like a spaceship compared to the old car. But does that say more about the vehicle it’s replacing?
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