Mitsubishi ASX Aspire 2026 Review

The middle grade of the three-tier ASX family, the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire retails for $42,690 plus on-road costs.

For reference, the entry-level LS starts from $37,740 and top of the range Exceed from $46,490.

The ASX has long has an abundance of rivals, chief among them the Hyundai Kona ($32,950), Honda HR-V Vi X ($34,900 d/a) and the Nissan QASHQAI ST ($34,665).

Standard features for the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire include 18-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, power-folding and heated side mirrors, mood lighting, climate control, proximity keyless entry and push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, a heated leather steering wheel and paddle shifters.

There are five exterior hues available at no extra cost. These include Crystal White, Sunrise Red, Royal Blue, Steel Grey, and Onyx Black.

There are also plenty of dealer-fitted accessories on offer, including a 16-inch space-saver spare-wheel kit ($750) to replace the standard inflation kit under the boot floor. However, there’s a catch: the spare can only be used on the rear. So, if you end up with a flat at the front, you’ll need to pop the spare on the back and shift the good rear alloy to the front.

Towing capacity is 675kg unbraked and 1200kg braked, while the roof's maximum load capacity is 80kg. The boot capacity is 484 litres to the top of the second-row seat, or 1596L to the roof with the back seat folded.

You must read the fine print when it comes to Mitsubishi’s after-sales provisions. The ASX has what Mitsubishi calls a 'Standard New Car Warranty' for five years/100,000km, which extends to 10 years/200,000km provided you have had – and continue to have – every service completed at a participating Mitsubishi dealer. There’s also a 10-year/150,000km capped-price servicing offer for scheduled maintenance.

Assuming you only own the ASX for five years, you’d be up for $2545 for the first five services, or $5686 if you go all-in for 10 years/150,000km. You also get one year of free roadside assistance, with a further three years added at no cost – provided you have each service completed at a Mitsubishi dealer.

The 2026 Mitsubishi ASX carries a four-star ANCAP safety rating based on the 2024 testing protocols, as per the near-identical Renault Captur.

It comes with expected features such as dusk-sensing headlights, a reverse camera and rear sensors, active cruise control, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist and pedestrian detection.

Other safety goodies include traffic-jam assist and Mitsubishi’s Mi-Pilot semi-autonomous drive mode (which pairs lane-keep assist with the active cruise control system), LED headlights and tail-lights, auto high beam, traffic-sign recognition, safe-distance warning, driver-fatigue monitoring, front and side parking sensors, rear cross-traffic alert, exit assist and tyre pressure monitoring. There’s no autonomous rear cross-traffic braking in any ASX, nor a 360-degree camera.

The 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire's tech suite is headlined by a 10.4-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen and a 10-inch digital instrument cluster.

Other features include sat-nav, embedded Google apps, Google Assistant voice command (for handling functions such as phone calls, climate control functions, drive-mode changes), a wireless charge pad and four USB-C ports. There is also a 12-volt outlet in the front and another in the back.

Powered by a 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire delivers 113kW/270Nm to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Drive modes include Eco, Sport, Comfort and Perso.

The latter allows personalised settings for engine responsiveness, steering effort, air-conditioning performance and ambient lighting, and integrates with the My Safety Perso system, enabling activation or deactivation of specific driving aids based on preference, such as lane-keep assist or emergency braking.

The claimed fuel consumption average for the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX is 6.4L/100km. On an easy 100km/h cruise one-up over 500km, the ASX used 5.0L/100km, while around town it returned 8.0L/100km. The ASX can run on regular unleaded (91-RON) and has a fuel capacity of 48 litres.

The 2026 Mitsubishi ASX feels very different to drive compared to its predecessor. The dynamics are excellent – this is a fun SUV to steer, with minimal body roll, good turn in, direct steering and decent grip.

All the while, it avoids crashing through potholes – which is surprising, especially given the ASX uses a torsion-beam rear suspension rather than a more sophisticated independent set-up.

The powertrain is unremarkable – in a good way – when chugging around the city. If you’re in no hurry, the engine feels responsive and relatively quiet, and the dual-clutch automatic doesn’t lag badly during slow parking manoeuvres. That said, the the throttle response can be a little laggy when pressing on or diving for gaps in traffic.

Vision out the front and to the sides is very good, but the rear isn't so great – like many modern SUVs. The sensors and rear camera, of course, help here.

When out on the open road, the most noticeable thing is the lack of punch. You need to leave plenty of room for overtaking or getting up to speed when joining a freeway, especially when laden.

The only concern we had with the way the ASX’s safety systems operate was that active cruise control detected a non-existent obstacle on the highway and activated emergency braking – twice. It was a simple matter of applying a bootful of throttle to countermand the auto-braking directive, but if this behaviour is typical, it’s concerning.

There are no glaring omissions in design or practicality inside the 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire. The seats are comfortable, and there’s plenty of room for four of the five adults it can take (yes, the centre-rear seat is tight), although the sloping roofline at the back may not do taller people any favours.

If you’re a Mitsubishi owner through and through, you’ll have to accept some Renault oddities. The key fob is shaped like a swollen credit card – a Renault trait since at least the 2001 Laguna III.

The audio controls sit on a stalk on the right-hand side of the steering column, which took this writer a while to find… until I remembered: Renault. Vive la différence.

The 2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire is an intriguing car; it comes from a Japanese brand that has relied almost entirely on the French for its provenance. You get all the benefits of owning a Mitsubishi in Australia – such as the extensive dealer network and long warranty offer – but you’re really buying a Renault Captur, a good SUV in its own right (and due to return to Oz in an updated form anytime now).

If dynamics, features and style are important, the ASX is a good choice, but if you want overtaking power, excellent fuel economy around town and keen value from an established model in the small-SUV segment, there are better options.

2026 Mitsubishi ASX Aspire at a glance:
Price: $42,690 (plus ORCs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 113kW/270Nm
Transmission: seven speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km
CO2: 142g/km
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2024)

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