Mitsubishi 380 Series III: third time lucky for MMAL?

With their fingers crossed that buyers are over the VE Commodore/Toyota Aurion honeymoon period, Mitsubishi has released an upgrade of the 380.

The 'new' 380 will be hitting the showrooms at the end of this month. What Mitsubishi has done is less an upgrade and more a re-structure of the model range, adding value to attract buyers who might have overlooked the car previously.

The range starts with the entry-level ES model, graduating to the SX grade, then the VRX and finally the GT with a GT-L luxury pack option on top.

Mechanically, the 380 is unchanged and cosmetically...well, it's unchanged there too. Not quite perhaps, but let's put it this way, the Series III badge on the left rear is probably the most telling difference.

The entry-level 380 ES gains a sports-style bumper at the front, fog lights and alloy wheels.

Internally, the changes for the ES variant amount to a revised seat fabric and chrome trim for the instruments.

Those extra inclusions come at a price, the ES model being $1000 more expensive than the Series II equivalent.

One step above the ES, the SX grade gains new alloy wheels in a five-spoke design, a different colour grille and a new design seat fabric with silver trim.

The 380 variant that has undergone the most significant revision is the VRX, the sporting model in the range. A new body kit including a large rear wing, a new design of alloy wheel, charcoal colour grille inserts, luxury seat trim with VRX logo and redesigned leather steering wheel are the major changes in specification for the Series III VRX.

In addition, an optional luxury pack can be specified for the VRX and this features leather interior, a sunroof and contrasting silver stitching for the seats.

For the top-of-the-line 380 GT, alloy wheels are revised and the car is now equipped with chrome exterior trim and a 'sports' instrument cluster.

Replacing the Series II LX variant, the 380 GTL is a GT model with a luxury pack, which consists of stone leather interior, revised styling treatment for the boot lid and tail lights, a 'luxury' instrument cluster, sunroof and painted (silver) alloy wheels.

Traction control is now standard for all models.

The Series III changes aim to reinforce the perception that the 380 represents good value (more here). Sales of the Mitsubishi 380 are the lowest of any large car manufactured in Australia and yet buyer feedback indicates strong customer satisfaction with the car.

MMAL is hoping to ignite sales with two limited edition models to go on sale with the mainstream Series III range.

The 380 ES Sports features a rear wing, 17-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension, sunroof and Bluetooth for a price of $28,990, the same as the standard ES.

The second limited edition model is the 380 Fusion Burst, which is based on the VRX and features the distinctive colour, matching seat insert colour and a sunroof.

Dealers will have the 380 Series III available for purchase from July 29.

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