New Mitsubishi ASX revealed

The new-generation 2023 Mitsubishi ASX has been revealed in Europe, but the rebadged Renault Captur will not be coming to Australia.

A Mitsubishi spokesperson confirmed to carsales that the long-awaited replacement for one of Australia’s top-selling small SUVs will only be produced in left-hand drive form in and for Europe and therefore won’t be available here.

It’ll take less than a second for you to see the myriad similarities between the belated second-generation Mitsubishi ASX and its established Renault Captur counterpart, with cosmetic differences being pretty well limited to the exterior badging and upper grille.

Mitsubishi says it has injected its Dynamic Shield grille design into the mix, but in reality there’s little more than some new chrome trim inserts and the triple-diamond logo.

The Japanese brand openly concedes its new small SUV is being “supplied by Renault”, meaning the two models not only share the same CMF-B architecture but their bodies, interiors, powertrains and even production plant.

In case you missed our previous coverage, the new ASX – Mitsubishi's development of which was cancelled following the formation of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance after Nissan took control of Mitsubishi in 2016 – will be available in Europe with the choice of four powertrains including two internal combustion units, one hybrid and one plug-in hybrid.

A turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine good for 67kW and paired to a six-speed manual transmission will serve as the entry point to range, with a force-fed 1.3-litre mild-hybrid occupying the rung above with outputs varying depending on the transmission choice: 103kW for the six-speed manual or 116kW for the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Above that will be a dual-motor 1.6-litre four-cylinder hybrid system – supported by a 1.3kWh battery – developing 108kW.

Those after more power again and more of that zero-emission driving experience will have to opt for the dual-motor 1.6-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain that develops 118kW and consumes a claimed 1.5L/100km. The electric motors in this instance are fed by a 10.5kWh battery pack.

With the new model ruled out for local releases, Aussies in the market for a compact SUV will need to either settle for the current ASX – which is now 12 years old – or shop elsewhere because there’s no clear sign of a replacement any time soon.

Mitsubishi Australia executives told carsales last month they were confident the ASX had a future Down Under beyond the current generation, and that a potential successor was in the works.

“ASX is still a really important model for us,” product strategy senior manager Owen Thomson said.

“It’s now the entry point to our brand and we’re currently working through what the successor to that car will look like.

“I can’t say any more than that, but small SUVs are very important to us and to get that right as the entry model to the brand is very important.”

Sales of the current ASX have slipped this year as Mitsubishi grapples with ongoing supply issues and more modern rivals with fewer supply constraints were released.

A Mitsubishi spokesperson confirmed to carsales this week that a new ASX order would take between two to three months to be filled and that a similar wait time applies to the bigger Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross.

Wait times for the larger-still Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV, meanwhile, are out to three or four months depending on the specification, but waiting lists for all three models are expected to shorten when an injection of new stock arrives in November.

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