The Mitsubishi Xpander first made its
debut in Indonesia way back in 2017, and it was reported at the time that the
seven-seater would make its way to Malaysia in 2018. Unfortunately, that didn’t
happen, but it looks like we are finally set to welcome the “crossover MPV,” as
a unit has been sighted on Malaysian soil recently by reader Jamaan Abd Rahman.
Unlike the previous sighting back in 2019,
the one you see here is the facelifted model, which has already been launched
in Indonesia earlier this year. A dead giveaway is the tweaked Dynamic Shield
grille, which sports two louvres instead of the previous three, leading into
the slim daytime running lights.
We don’t have detailed specifications of
the Malaysian-spec Xpander just yet, but in Indonesia, the model is equipped
with a 4A91 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine that
makes 104 PS at 6,000 rpm and 141 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. The MIVEC
powerplant is mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic, with
drive going to the front wheels.
Available equipment for the Indonesian
market includes 16-inch two-tone alloys, LED headlamps, a touchscreen head
unit, manual air-conditioning, keyless engine start, a multi-info instrument
cluster display, fabric seats and steering wheel audio controls. There’s also
an Xpander Cross variant available there, which gets several aesthetic and
suspension changes to make it more SUV-like.
When (and if) the Xpander is launched
here, the model will compete against the popular Honda BR-V and Perodua Aruz.
In terms of dimensions, the Mitsubishi model is 4,475 mm long and 1,750 mm
wide, which is 18 mm longer and 15 mm wider than the BR-V, while its 2,775 mm
wheelbase is 113 mm longer than the Honda’s. The Xpander also has larger
dimensions compared to the Aruz, which measures 4,435 mm long, 1,695 mm wide
and has a wheelbase spanning 2,685 mm.
Expanding the comparison to engines, the
BR-V and Aruz both use 1.5 litre engines, but the former beats the rest with
120 PS and 145 Nm, while the Aruz serves up 102 PS and 133 Nm. Of the three,
only the BR-V features a CVT, with the Xpander and Aruz being equipped with
four-speed automatics.
