Owner
Izak Breytenbach
Kilometres travelled
25,000 - 50,000 km
Did you buy this car new or used?
New
How much did you pay? (including all on-road costs)
$32,000
What were your needs when you bought this car? Has it fulfilled those needs?
I bought the ASX new when I immigrated to New Zealand in 2022. As emigration is an expensive exercise that sets you back financially quite a bit, I needed a vehicle that would last me for somewhere between five and ten years. At the same time, I needed a vehicle that is not too expensive to maintain and would fulfill our daily needs. To date, the ASX has lived up to my expectations, and the Mitsubishi Diamond Warranty provides great peace of mind, when it comes to longevity of the vehicle.
What were your initial thoughts about the car? Tell us why it appealed to you.
Initially I looked at options including the Mitsubishi ASX, the previous generation Honda HR-V, Kia Stonic and a few others. My requirement was to buy a new vehicle with an intact warranty. My decision was ultimately made for me by the fact that of all the options on my list, only Mitsubishi had new stock vehicles at the time I needed to purchase and I had an option of a blue one or another blue one. All other manufacturers only had used vehicle stock, or a waiting list of a few months. I quite liked the looks of the ASX, its comparatively spacious interior and its size. It was big enough for what I needed, yet small enough for city driving. The XLS is a fairly basic model, but comes with the few features you really want in your car (e.g., reverse camera, cruise control, smart phone compatibility for music, navigation, etc.).
What have you discovered since owning the car?
The car is fairly straightforward with no real surprises. It does what I need from it reasonably well and so far, there have been no problems. A minor observation is that certain aftermarket seat covers cannot be fitted to the rear bench without fully enclosing the middle seat's seatbelt (i.e., the seat belt is fully under the seat cover and cannot be used). This is not an issue unless you transport passengers or take your car for a WOF. It is worth noting that the ASX is very popular with rental car companies and as a result, the ASX suffers from a rental car image. It is not uncommon to come across two or three similar, blue ASX's in a tourist spot car park. In fact, on a recent holiday road trip we counted 54 ASX's on the trip between Queenstown and Mount Cook in one day. If the rental car image bothers you, you might want to invest in a sticker for the rear window which reads "This is not your rental".
What do you like/dislike about the car?
Likes: 1. Simple and adequate vehicle that does what I need it to do without a fuss. 2. Reasonable fuel consumption for a naturally aspirated engine. 3. Quite spacious with plenty of boot space. 4. Infotainment system and smart phone interface is easy to use and intuitive. 5. Given how popular they are with rental companies, there is bound to be ample spares and mechanics are familiar with service and maintenance. There is really only one major dislike, and that is the CVT gearbox. This, however, is not unique to the ASX. This CVT gearbox will frustrate any person with even a remote fondness of driving. For city driving, the CVT is good, but as soon as you hit the open road, it is noticeable. Overtaking or climbing even a moderately steep incline is a real struggle with the CVT. Going up Porters Pass, for example, you need to make peace with the fact that the engine is going to run at high revs, but you are going to be doing 40km/h, no matter how deeply you bury your foot on the accelerator. Here you will miss a normal automatic or manual gearbox with fixed ratios to gear down to.
Any other comments on the car?
I have the ASX serviced at Morrison Mitsubishi in Sockburn, Christchurch. This dealer provides great, friendly service.
Reliability
5
Features/technology
3
Performance/economy
3
Value for money
4
Overall rating
4
Lastly, would you buy this vehicle again?
Yes
Why would/wouldn't you buy it again?
If in the same scenario/situation as before, yes, I would buy it again. It has proved to be the right purchase for what I needed.
