Mitsubishi Xpander

A cash cow for Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation in recent years, the Mitsubishi Xpander multipurpose vehicle (MPV) has put the Japanese automaker in the Philippine automotive spotlight.

This was due to a sub-Php one million admittance price at the original 2018 launch. Another reason for the Xpander’s popularity could be the MPV being a then-option for the seven-seater, gas-fed entry-level utility market other than the Suzuki Ertiga, the Toyota Rush and Avanza, the Honda BR-V, and the [now-discontinued] Mobilio and the SsangYong Rodius. A third reason was the Japanese triple diamond star tapping famous volleyball players (and de facto social media influencers) Mika Reyes and Carmela Tunay as endorsers. Last, Mitsubishi realized that most Philippine cities are flood-prone and unveiled a range-topping Xpander Cross model (with added 100 mm ground clearance) as an option for city dwellers concerned with MPV ground clearance in shin-deep urban inundation.

Fast forward to 2022, and the entry-level Mitsubishi utility runner has seen one competitor get put out to stud (the Mobilio mentioned above), has seen a few competitors join the party (like the Geely Azkarra and Nissan Livina), and has seen its suggested retail tag jump up a bit.

Price and Variant

Exterior (front)

Taking a page from its larger Montero Sport relative, the exterior of Xpander toted a sharply angled front fascia, full of lines and acute angles. The grille had a large trapezoidal “maw” similar to the one on most Lexus autos.

However, the Japanese triple diamond star logo was placed at the upper area (on the central edge of the hood, to be exact), and used a glossy black honeycomb pattern for the middle front bumper and lower front bumper air inlets.

Lighting

Bi-LED headlights, halogen positioning lights and fog lamps. Round the back there’s a set of L-shaped LED-combination rear lights and a rear fog light.

Headlights

T-shaped headlights with light emitting diode (LED) bulbs were a distinct feature of the XPander. More function than form, the headlights seem to form the cheeks of the unit, with the left and right edges of the bonnet forming the XPander’s “eyes.” Frankly, Mitsubishi’s signature Dynamic Shield front end is a great take on automotive design, and makes the look similar, yet separate, from its fellow Montero Sport and ASX runners.

Side and rear

Like most seven-seater utility vehicles, the Xpander has three-box body sections – the engine bay, the first two rows of occupant seats, and the third row/cargo hold.

The latter two body sections seemed like full-on rectangular cylinders. However, Mitsubishi put some deep, gouged lines along the beltline flanks to display a dint of telltale character to the unit. The fenders seemed more like squares fitted over the 17-inch rims, and gave the unit a three-quarter profile reminiscent of bodybuilders with standout shoulders.

With regard to the back profile, the MPV’s telltale mark is the L-shaped LED taillights and skid plates that should prevent the undercarriage from getting dented whenever the MPV goes through humps.

Dimensions

The Mitsubishi Xpander Philippines measures 4,595 x 1,750 x 1,750 mm (length x width x height). Its wheelbase is 2,775 mm. The top-tier, Php 1.27 million to Php 1.28 million Xpander Cross model has some 320 mm of ground clearance, which can be discerned from the raised stance and the seemingly increased gap between tires and fenders.

This makes it look like a sport utility vehicle, and an owner is confident that wading through ankle-deep urban water won’t be an issue. 

Wheels

In the Phlipines, the Mitsubishi Xpander uses wheels a 17-inch alloy.

The interior of the Mitsubishi Xpander, the cabin could arguably be described as a paradox of simplicity and complexity.

Simplicity in the case that most of the controls and readouts (well, for the in-car infotainment, the gauge cluster and the use of the transmission stick anyway) were within easy read and reach of the driver.

Adding to that simplicity was the storage ability. With both rear rows upright, one can fit some three to four large travel bags, but they will be slightly blocking the rear hatch glass. Fold flat both aforementioned rows, and you can shoehorn even a mountain bike (albeit lying on its side) or three golf bags. Another matter of simplified note when it comes to this MPV’s loading trait is an abundance of storage areas throughout the inside confines (including an undertray for wet items within the cargo bay floor).

Speaking of the infotainment system, the presence of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity is a major plus. Since an MPV of this sort spends most of its time in urbanity, traffic jams are a given. Thus, whiling away the hours stuck in traffic with something to do is important, to take away road rage and put the driver in a more relaxed mood.

The Mitsubishi Xpander’s audio system gives a wider range of music to listen to during traffic jams, and provides a wider scope of roads, places of interest, speed traps, and vehicle queues to avoid. Plus, the audio entertainment and satellite navigation setups are updated quickly via your smartphone. The range-topping Mitsubishi Xpander Cross has six speakers (one for each door, plus two tweeters at the base of the front windshield), while the rest of the Xpander variants have only four speakers.

The complexity aspect was most evident in the air conditioning (A/C) controls and the aforementioned infotainment system.

With regard to the former, the touch panel items for temperature, blower speed, blower direction, and recirculation/defogging require either an acute memory as to where those items are located, or that one must stop the Mitsubishi Xpander to fiddle with the A/C. Another option would be to ask the fellow riding shotgun to adjust those A/C aspects.

With the sound system, some reviews and Mitsubishi Xpander driving anecdotes discovered that its usage could be overwhelming for the senior citizen Xpander owner and driver. That complexity could be remedied, however, by taking stationary time to go through the menu and sub-menus to maximize music sourcing and satellite navigation.

Safety features

Probably the biggest issue regarding the Mitsubishi most recent seller is discerning with what’s in front. The sharp front end and a steeply angled windshield played a little havoc on depth perspective. Combine that with the lack of front bumper parking sensors, and one must take extra care when parallel parking or shoehorning the MPV in a garage. Given the issues above, a toddler, or a four-legged loved one suddenly crossing in front of the unit, has higher chances of getting hit.

Beyond that, the Mitsubishi Xpander has multiple safety aids to protect occupants. A disc/drum setup for the front/rear wheels comes standard, along with anti-lock braking, deceleration distribution, bright headlight beams at the dim setting (whether halogen for the base model or LED lighting for the upper tier variants), airbags for front occupants, ISOFIX tethers for child seat attachment at the second row and a reverse gear-activated camera (with viewing and color coded line guides via the ICI head unit) are standard safety stuff for the entire range. The Xpander Cross, however, gets the following upgrade features:

• Electronic assist parking brake or e-brake
• Stability and traction control
• Hill hold function that keeps the unit stationary on inclines when the brake pedal or e-brake is disengaged

Comfort features

Standard leather seats, four air-cond vents for rear passengers, electric folding rear view mirror, adjustable seats, multi-function steering wheel, cup holders-front&rear and storage spaces etc.

Infotainment features

9-inch touchscreen headunit with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, blaring music through 6-speakers. in addition, Mitsubishi Xpander has two types of head units. The first is a double din with a 6.2-inch touch screen for the Ultimate variant. Second, double din without a touch screen for the Sport, Exceed, and GLS variants. For head units, all head units in all variants are equipped with MP3/CD Player, USB Connector, Radio, and Aux-In. In the Ultimate variant, the audio features are more complete, because it is also equipped with a DVD Player and reverse camera.

Engine

Even with a 104 ps-141 nm 1.5-liter straight four, the Mitsubishi Xpander's engine response is a love/hate matter. Some takes lauded the peppy forward motion, with the understanding that the mill exhibited decent to good scoot around the city and the occasional provincial trip. Other reviews and owner takes were disappointed. These sad statements on the Mitsubishi XPander Cross’ engine felt that the MPV dawdled a lot on forward motion, especially when going up steep inclines.

Transmission

The four-speed automatic transmission (A/T) didn’t help much, too. Some reviewers felt that the forward gears weren’t balanced. That resulted in either a lot of rev-happy situations that increased fuel consumption, or the A/T upshifting way too early. There is a Php 1.050 million five-speed manual transmission version, but certain cabin and safety features were non-existent.

Suspension and steering

With regard to the suspension damping, “car-like” was the closest adjective used often to describe the MPV’s ride. The takes on this aspect of the Xpander could be that the coilsprings, shock absorbers and thick seats do a very good job in preventing backsides, hips and spines from being pummeled. Given that most people carriers spend their time on urban tarmac and most of the country’s city roads aren’t quite up to international build metrics, that praise of road comfort is a good thing.

The steering is at a level of light feel wherein your upper appendages aren’t given a workout on long backing and parallel parking. On the other hand, the said steering has a level of resistance enough to make you discern easily if the front rollers are pointed in a certain degree of lateral direction.

The Mitsubishi Xpander Philippines is bigger than its segment rivals, and with a healthy amount of kit, it is worth looking at for people looking to start a family or for those who prefer a bigger car as a daily. No doubt, the Mitsubishi Xpander line of starter utility vehicles has some forward motion and safety issues. However, the MPV’s passenger car levels of shock absorption, the ability to haul six to seven Filipinos and their luggage, in-car infotainment that can last for days, and badging from a Japanese manufacturer of great repute (i.e., assurance of build and spare parts quality) shows that the Mitsubishi Xpander is a top-of-mind option for its segment.