Mitsubishi Express slammed in crash test

Japanese make’s version of French model first to earn a ‘zero’ score from NZ-accredited ANCAP procedure.

HAVING a swag of safety ingredients has not kept a Mitsubishi van selling here from achieving the poorest outcome ever from a crash test funded by New Zealand agencies.

The damning ‘zero star’ assessment of the Express has come from the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme.

The announcement from Melbourne-based ANCAP, whose funders on this side of the Tasman include Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and New Zealand Automobile Association, has caused controversy in Australia.

Critics there have pointed out that the Renault Trafic that is identical to the Mitsubishi save for minor details that have no bearing on crash testing has a three star rating, issued by ANCAP’s European equivalent, NCAP, in 2015. 

ANCAP, in turn, has said the Express, a popular choice for commercial fleets and private tradespeople, was unable to qualify for a rating higher than zero due to the absence of active safety systems.  

“The Express also delivered marginal performance in physical crash tests and lacks basic safety features that consumers have come to expect in a newly released model.” 

Mitsubishi Motors NZ has offered no comment about the ANCAP rating and neither has the Motor Industry Association, which acts for new vehicle distributors.

When Express was announced last year there was clear confidence from within Porirua-based MMNZ that it would prove to be far more robust than the its forebear, the L300 discontinued in 2015.

The Mitsubishi-designed and built L300 had only basic safety features and that showed in its rating. 

The Express matches its Renault counterpart in having six airbags, roll over mitigation, stability and traction control, anti-lock braking system and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD).

Both versions fall behind some category players in lacking automated emergency braking. Blind spot detection and driver fatigue monitoring are also absent.

The Express would have only been eligible to share the Trafic’s NCAP rating had it introduced within two years of the original model.

Though the agencies are linked and work to common protocols, the testing process has toughened. Express was tested to 2020 ANCAP protocols, involving a series of crash tests against moving and fixed barriers – conducted in Australia from October 2020 to January 2021.

These showed the adult occupant protection offered by the Express had  ‘marginal’ protection for the driver’s chest and upper legs and ‘adequate’ protection for the lower legs. Protection was rated as ‘good’ for other critical body regions.

ANCAP noted ‘a high risk of neck injury was recorded for the driver in the whiplash test.’

 In a side impact pole test, chest protection for the driver was rated as ‘marginal’ and a penalty was applied because the latch on the cargo sliding door disengaged on impact. In another side impact test, the cargo sliding door deformed and created a large opening.

New Outlander fully revealed

Alliance co-sharing means the gen four car is a Nis-subishi.

 REVEALED today and set to land locally later this year, the new generation of the popular Outlander sports utility is set to be the first Mitsubishi here with Nissan DNA.

The shared bloodline with a make that has historically been a corporate foe arises from Mitsubishi and Nissan being in an alliance that also involves Renault. 

For Outlander, one of the more popular SUVs with Kiwis with 2424 registrations last year and 2838 in 2019, it means an interesting blend for Kiwis to consider when the car arrives.

Which is when, exactly? “We’re very excited about the launch of the all-new Outlander, which is due to hit our shores later in the year,” says Reece Congdon, head of marketing and communications for Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand.

As for what variants we can expect to see? “Our local line-up will be announced in the coming months.”

Back to the car. External styling is by its actual maker, taking cues from a 2019 concept called the Engelberg Tourer. Likeswise, there’s continuation of core elements such as seven seats and the make’s Super Select all-wheel-drive system. However, the engine, transmission and platform are already used by the Nissan X-Trail.

The platform change to the first all-new Outlander in nine years, and the fourth generation to hold that nameplate, enhances the general dimension and likely will deliver dynamic and safety benefit.

Featuring ultra-high tensile steel for the first time, Mitsubishi claims the new platform offers greater body stiffness, while saving weight thanks to an aluminium bonnet and plastic front quarterpanels.

Measuring 4709mm long, 1862mm wide and 1748mm high, with a 2705mm wheelbase, the new family SUV is 15mm longer in overall length, 51mm wider, 38mm taller and 36mm longer in overall wheelbase – translating into 25mm of additional front and 28mm of rear legroom, and 35mm of additional shoulder room.

The only engine at launch is a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol, developing 135kW of power and 245Nm of torque – a lift of 9kW and 9Nm over cited outputs for the X-Trail version. The current Outlander makes 124kW and 220Nm.

A plug-in hybrid model is expected to debut later in 2021 or early in 2022, expected to mate a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an array of electric motors. No outputs are given, but the current one generates 94kW and 199Nm.

The new engine is mated to a CVT automatic transmission as standard – with eight stepped 'ratios' and a shift-by-wire set-up – sending drive to either the front or all four wheels.

The all-wheel-drive is Mitsubishi's latest Super-All Wheel Control (S-AWC), with improved torque vectoring and a new clutch-based centre coupling.

Eco, Normal, Tarmac, Snow and Gravel modes feature with front- and AWD models, but the latter also has a Mud mode.

The styling delivers Mitsubishi's 'Dynamic Shield' corporate face with split LED headlights containing upper daytime-running lights plus LED tail-lights.

 The primary feature of the interior is a tablet-style 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and satellite navigation. This restricts to the high grades and overseas’ media say it’s identical to a display used by the Nissan. They also believe the 12.3-inch configurable digital instrument cluster and 10.8-inch head-up display – the latter pair both firsts for the Mitsubishi brand – are lifted from the X-Trail.

Lower grades lack the head-up display and have 8.0-inch infotainment and 7.0-inch instrument cluster screens.

Available active safety technologies include adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist, traffic-sign recognition, auto high-beam, forward and reverse autonomous emergency braking, hill descent control and driver attention alert.

There's also blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert – both capable of detecting and braking for obstacles – plus a 360-degree camera on higher grades. 

Upholstery options comprise fabric, suede, semi-aniline leather and quilted genuine leather depending on variant.

Equipment at flagship level includes a 10-speaker Bose premium sound system, heated seats, tri-zone automatic climate control, a panoramic glass sunroof, an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat, 15-watt wireless smartphone charging, first- and second-row USB-A and USB-C ports, and rear window sun blinds.

The first market for Outlander is the United States.

More dirt on new Outlander

Video of car undergoing off-road testing reminds that this family model has serious beyond-seal mettle.

 ANOTHER teaser has come from Mitsubishi in respect to the next Outlander, a car that has already been spotted in uncovered format.

This time the brand has issued a video showing the new model being put through its paces off-road; the primary objective being to show the abilities delivered by the latest version of the brand’s Super-All Wheel Control all-wheel-drive system.

The maker promises the latest generation of the S-AWC provides “driver confidence and security in all weather and road conditions.”

The movie follows last month’s release of photographs hinting at the car’s design – images that, unfortunately for Mitsubishi, were issued several days after a Japanese web site shared photos of the model without any of the camouflage it wears in the video.

Knowing that the car’s cover has been blown has apparently not dissuaded Mitsubishi Japan from continuing with a pre-release media campaign that culminates with the car’s global unveiling, timed for midday NZT on February 17.

The current Outlander sells mainly as a family on-road runabout but the gist of information released by the brand seems to suggest restricting to that role will be selling the new one seriously short.

The make says the video reminds that the incoming car has “serious” off-road abilities. It says the S-AWC’s final calibrations were developed in severe weather and road conditions. So Outlander is now actually more like an Outback?

Apparently so. It also reinforces that this Outlander’s development is affected by a knowledge base proven over years of competitions in the deserts of Dakar and on the slippery dirt-covered and snow-packed roads of the world’s rally circuits.

According to Mitsubishi: “ … the all-new Outlander builds on a heritage forged by the Pajero/ Pajero Sport cross-country SUV.”

It says engineers focused on building a crossover SUV that embodies the Mitsubishi Motors DNA and the product concept “I-Fu-Do-Do”, which means authentic and majestic. The all-new Outlander is set to deliver the highest level of maneuverability and superb driving performance.

“We took everything we know about on- and off-road driving from the rally experiences to apply the latest Super All-Wheel Control technology in our newly developed platform,” says Kentaro Honda, the lead engineer for the car.

“We also specifically developed a new drive mode selector to provide confident driving at all times and in all weather conditions. We hope that many customers will have great experiences with the enhanced driving performance of the all-new Outlander.” 

Outlander’s official unveiling less revealing

Days after images of the next-gen edition without disguise hit the internet, Mitsubishi sends out a shadowy sneak preview that reveals little.

This and other images of what appears to be the next Outlander were posted on the web days ago.

INTENT by Mitsubishi to maintain an air of mystery with the next Outlander that is expected to come on sale here in 2021 seems set to proceed, regardless that unexpurgated images of the model have already hit the web.

Today distributors, included Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand, sent out an official shadowy image, that of course discloses little detail, as part of a build-up to the car’s full official unveiling, timed for February.

There’s just one catch to keeping the suspense up – the cover asppears to have been completely blown.

Images of a car without any camouflage have been racing around the internet for most of this week.

Mitsubishi distributors sent this extremely shadowy image out today.

Those pictures, seen here, purport to show a car in a public area and were posted first on Instagram account @allcarnews, then subsequently picked up by other websites, including Australia’s CarAdvice.

 The account claims the car was snapped while sitting in an open car park.

The new Outlander looks to share the bulk of its design with the Engelberg Tourer, a concept that was revealed at the 2019 Geneva motor show.

The ‘caught-out’ car carries the brand's current design language, showcasing slim headlights and pointed front facia.

It's expected the vehicle will share its underpinnings with the upcoming Nissan X-Trail, a result of platform-sharing within the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance. Some sites suggest an uncanny resemblance to the Nissan at the D-pillar.

According to a report from a US website, CarBuzz, the new Outlander will be powered by the X-Trail's 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder engine, producing 135kW and 245Nm in its American tuning.

There will also be a replacement for the Outlander PHEV, but that comes later. The present model uses a 2.4-litre petrol four-cylinder mated to two electric motors mounted on each axle, with 60kW at the front and 70kW at the rear, and powered by a 13.8kWh battery pack.

Last year’s Engelberg Tourer concept