SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Changes: 2020 Mitsubishi ASX 2.0 CVT

 a.k.a Mitsubishi RVR and Outlander Sport in other markets

Works like a charm

Posted: June 30, 2020

The numbers

Prices: Manual @ R379 995 and CVT @ R399 995

Engine: Mitsubishi 4B11, 1998 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder

Power: 110 kW at 6000 rpm

Torque: 197 Nm at 4200 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 11.5 seconds

Top speed: 190 km/h

Real life fuel consumption: About 8.5 l/100 km

Tank: 63 litres

Luggage: 406 – 1206 litres

Ground clearance: 190 mm

Turning circle: 10.6 metres

Maximum towing capacity (braked): 1300 kg

Standard tyres: 225/55R18 Bridgestone Ecopia

Spare: Steel rim with 215/70R16 tyre

Warranty: 3 years / 100 000km

Roadside assistance: 5 years / unlimited km

Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals

•    Same power
•    New face
•    Updated CVT
•    New Display Audio with Smartphone link

The South African version of Mitsubishi’s ASX SUV is still powered by the previous two-litre, naturally aspirated, DOHC 4B11 engine producing 110 kW and 197 Nm. That's despite overseas cars having switched to the updated, SOHC 4J11 that puts out similar numbers.

Apart from that it scored a redesigned bonnet, grille and bumpers; All-LED headlights, Daytime Running Lights, fog lamps with integrated turn signals, as well as brake lights, taillights, reverse lights and turn signals in two-piece clusters. 

The six-step CVT added a Sport mode that holds lower gears for longer and a Low setting for sustained towing and hill-climbing. There are no paddles; no stick-controlled override either.

It’s odd but you could probably get used to it. Simply select Sport and let the CVT do its job. Keeping power on holds a lower ratio for spirited cornering while relaxing pressure lets it upshift for the straightaway leading to the next bend. Add boot for the following corner. Repeat. 

In non-sporting use the CVT behaves like a normal automatic, provided you treat it respectfully. It happily shifts up and down all day and accelerates decently when called upon politely to do so. Just don’t floor the gas like a road hog and expect instant obedience. That’s when whining and stubbornness kick in. 

New features include Mitsubishi’s improved Smartphone-link Display Audio (SDA) with 8” WVGA display and touch controls, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and two USB sockets. Black leather seats (heated in front) remain standard. The driver’s chair adjusts electrically for reach, height, rake and seatback angle.

Traditional standard features comprise panoramic glass sunroof, cruise control, single-channel automatic air conditioner, powered windows and foldable mirrors, remote central locking and keyless starting. You still unlock the doors with the fob.

Safety kit includes seven airbags, ISOFix mountings with top tethers, hill start assist and ASTC – automatic stability and traction control –helpful on rainy or gravelly roads.This, together with excellent suspension, works like a charm. Our favourite dirt roads, those with devilish washboard and embedded small stones, that set up tooth-rattling resonance in lesser cars, molested the ASX with all they had. And were shrugged off.

Practicalities:

Boot: Loading height is at 73 cm onto a flat deck with one light, two side wells, four lashing rings and protective carpeting. The space is about 780 mm long, a metre wide between wheel arches and 40 cm deep. The 60:40-split seatback folds by means of push-down catches reachable from behind. 

Rear seat: Knee space and headroom for six-foot passengers are marginal although there is plenty of space for feet; the backrest is a little too upright for sustained comfort while three full belts, three head restraints and a pair of ISOFix mountings keep passengers restrained. There’s a central armrest with two cup holders but only one map pocket and no door bins. 

Front seat: Marginal headroom again – two finger-widths with the chair fully lowered - because the sunroof steals space. We suggest making this optional so that taller buyers may choose to do without. The spacious central armrest box contains a 12-volt, 120-Watt socket.

Dash area: Simple HVAC controls, 8” touch-screen media centre, cigarette lighter with loose ashtray, decently sized cubby, narrow door bins and a straightforward Info button for trip details. The RHD handbrake has a firm and positive action. The shift gate is dog-legged and, as noted, there’s no manual override.

Driving: Smooth, comfortable over dodgy surfaces, plenty of power, easy-handling and pleasant to live with.

Ditch the sunroof and we’d have one; but preferably with five-speed manual.

Test unit from Mitsubishi SA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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