2020 Mitsubishi ASX gets new engine

In what must be a record for a small SUV, Mitsubishi's ageing ASX will receive yet another facelift.

Arriving in Australia from October 2019, it will be offered with a new engine as it approaches its tenth year on the local market.

While it arrives in local dealerships in mid-October, the refreshed 2020 Mitsubishi ASX was first seen at its global premiere at the 2019 Geneva motor show in March.

Key cosmetic changes include a new nose, which includes a bold satin chrome grille, stacked indicator and fog lights surrounded by more colour-coded body work than before and with more aggressive vertical lines.

The headlights are now LEDs while skid plate styling under the front bumper is meant to add a little more ruggedness to the design.

At the rear, the 2020 Mitsubishi ASX also gets new LED tail-lights and sharper rear-end styling.

As the existing 110kW/197Nm 2.0-litre engine continues on entry-level model grades, it’s likely only the top-shelf Exceed will be offered with the 2.4-litre as used in Outlander.

The 2.4-litre engine is already offered in ASX in other markets such as the US where it is sold as the Outlander Sport. It develops 124kW of power at 6000rpm, and 220Nm of torque at 4200rpm.

The 2.4-litre four-banger will be offered with CVT transmission only, while the 2.0-litre continues with both five-speed manual and optional CVT.

As well as a new Red Diamond exterior colour, Sunshine Orange and Oak Brown are also added to the existing seven-colour paint palette.

The interior has been mostly left alone, with just one key change: a larger touch-screen. The infotainment system screen grows from 7.0- to 8.0-inches and will retain its Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

It will also gain the ability to play videos via USB stick.

While European markets offer the top-spec 2020 ASX with a Tom Tom navigation system with real-time traffic information, Mitsubishi Australia spokesman Karl Gehling couldn’t confirm if the feature will arrive in Oz-spec cars.

The ASX remains the top-selling small SUV in Australia, with 13,752 sales to the end of August, followed by Mazda’s CX-3 with 10,138 units sold.

It appears that Mitsubishi is in no rush to replace its popular ASX, with the company’s global boss Ashwani Gupta saying that customers are happy with the existing model.

"It is not a question of old and new. When we look at the ASX sales, nowhere is customers giving us feedback that this model is old.

"In fact, this is becoming more and more an important asset for us, then the question comes to mind, why should we change?

"What is the confidence in ourselves to come up with something the customer may not give the same appreciation as before. But on the other side, we need to keep the freshness in the product, and so that why we will introduce the 2.4-litre engine."