Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SUV heads for SA in January

Mitsubishi Motors will launch the Outlander Sport as the brand’s new compact SUV in SA early next year.

Known in some countries as the Xforce, it will replace the Mitsubishi ASX that has been on sale here since 2011. It is much smaller than the Mitsubishi Outlander midsize SUV, which was launched here in June 2023, and with a length of 4,390mm the Outlander Sport competes against B-segment crossovers such as the Toyota Urban Cruiser and Kia Seltos.

The detailed model line-up and pricing will be confirmed when the Indonesian-built car goes on local sale in January, but the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is powered by a normally aspirated 1.5l petrol engine with outputs of 77kW and 141Nm feeding the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

It is a two-wheel drive but should be capable of mild off-road work due to its higher-than-average 222mm ground clearance and four drive modes, namely Normal, Gravel, Mud and Wet.

The Outlander Sport is part of a busy programme of new-vehicle introductions for the Japanese brand over the next two years, spearheaded by the new-generation Triton one-tonne bakkie range that went on local sale this week. Speaking at the Triton media launch in Johannesburg, Mitsubishi Motors SA MD Thato Magasa announced several other vehicles headed our way:

• The Xpander Cross seven-seat SUV will arrive in the first quarter of 2025. It is based on the standard Xpander that was launched here in 2021 but has SUV-inspired styling and is slightly wider with a higher ground clearance.

• A midsize SUV called the DST is earmarked for a local launch in 2025 or 2026. The DST Concept had its global unveiling in October at the Philippine International Motor Show as a spacious seven-seater SUV with futuristic styling and a hi-tech interior. In SA it is likely to replace the Eclipse Cross, which was launched here in early 2019.
• In SA the ageing Pajero Sport will be given a final facelift in the second quarter of 2025 with cosmetic tweaks to the exterior and interior. The following year it will be replaced globally by a new large 4x4 SUV with a more premium feel, and possibly adopt a name change. While details are yet to be announced, it is expected to be a seven-seat SUV perched on the Triton bakkie’s ladder frame chassis, competing against the Ford Everest and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
• The Delica all-wheel-drive D:5 eight-seater MPV has been undergoing a feasibility study for a local launch and was shown at the Nampo Agricultural Expo in Bothaville in May. Mitsubishi hasn’t confirmed details but said if it went on sale locally it would be as a low-volume niche vehicle.