Popular small SUV will soldier on for three more years: 2027 Mitsubishi ASX to be Xforce-based small SUV known as Outlander Sport to rival Toyota Corolla Cross: Reports

Mitsubishi has spent a lot of energy talking about its ‘Momentum 2030’ business plan, with a pivot to more profitable markets such as the United States. Talk is all well and good but the only way for a carmaker to turn its fortunes around is with new, exciting and relevant products. 

The Mitsubishi Outlander has proven a smash hit in the United States and Australia, yet the carmaker has dragged its heels on replacing the ASX small SUV — a very popular product in both markets. 

A report from US-based Automotive News claims that there will not be a true replacement for the ASX we know (and they know as the Outlander Sport) until 2027. 

The eventual model will be based on a modified version of the Xforce crossover, which is built in Indonesia and has its sights on other nearby markets such as Malaysia, India and Thailand.

The Xforce is set to make a debut in South Africa — a similarly dual-cab loving market to Australia — in early 2025 but has been ruled out of Australia in its current state. 

This is the first we’ve heard of the Xforce, or derivatives, making its way to the United States, though the story suggests it will be in a modified form. 

The ASEAN-market Xforce employs a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder developing 77kW and 141Nm paired with a CVT automatic driving the front wheels. 

It is also missing the latest safety features, such as driver-attention monitoring, child presence detection, pedestrian recognition for the auto emergency braking system and lane departure warning needed for a five-star ANCAP safety rating. 

Speaking on the Xforce’s potential for Australia in December last year, Mitsubishi Australia president and CEO Shaun Westcott said: “An option is to invest very significantly in the Xforce and redesign that vehicle, which is one of the options that our global CEO has (publicly) put on the table.”

With the added information from the United States reports, it sounds like that process will take at least two years. 

A Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide the process to find a replacement for the 14 year old ASX remains in progress though it would seem there isn’t much rush as the ageing existing car's sales are up more than 45 per cent compared to last year. 

The Xforce sits at one end of the spectrum with the currently left-hand-drive-only Renault Captur-based European ASX being at the other extreme, says Mitsubishi. 

Aside from the current ASX selling well, its real issue is emissions with the impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) starting to really bite after 2025. 

The figure is 141g/km for passenger cars by next year — the ASX is at 176g/km in its current state. By 2029, the fleet average needs to be down to 58g/km of CO2 emissions if carmakers are to avoid fines. 

Mitsubishi USA also has a sub-ASX SUV as a price leader to replace the Mirage by 2026 in its plans along with a Nissan-derived all-electric SUV. The Delica rugged off-road plug-in hybrid van looks set to debut before the decade is out, too.