Mitsubishi 3000 Reviews

Mitsubishi could have a genuine rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor in coming years.The carmaker has been toying with the idea of bringing back the Ralliart brand in Australia, and if it does it wouldn’t just be a sticker pack according to Mitsubishi Australia's GM of product strategy and PR, Bruce Hampel.When asked if a proper Ralliart vehicle can happen, Hampel’s answer was simple: “Yes”.“We are working closely with MMC (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation) on opportunities to utilise the brand in the Australian market,” he said.“We want to do it right, if we are going to do it.”“It is a very valuable brand for MMC, and they are very cautious around utilising the brand on the right products with the right execution.“We are in ongoing discussions with them at this point in terms of the potential opportunities in the future to create a product that would be suitable, and earn the right, to the Ralliart branding,” said Hampel.The Ralliart brand has a rich history in the World Rally Championship with Lancer but also in the Dakar Rally with Pajero.Neither of those vehicles exist anymore. There have been rumours of a Pajero return but Mitsubishi has been silent on if that would happen.There are several models that would suit the Ralliart brand such as Triton or the Pajero Sport replacement, but Hampel said the local arm is still in discussion with head office about what would work best.“So what fits best for the Australian market and Australian customers we are still working through exactly the right vehicle line to apply it, if we were able to convince ourselves that it’s the right thing to do.”“It could well be a transition path over time, as well. Rather than just coming out with a Raptor beater for example. A Raptor didn’t happen overnight. That was a dedicated effort based on the foundation of the F-150 Raptors, for example, in the US.“Triton is the obvious one at this stage, right, but in the Australian market it’s very easy to fall into a me too type product everyone’s done.“So whether the right thing is to follow or to try and shake up the industry a little bit by bringing something new to market is the conjecture at this point in time,” he said.Mitsubishi has a Ralliart Triton that competes in the Asia Cross Country Rally, so the pedigree and engineering know-how is already there to create a genuine alternative to the Ranger Raptor.Hampel also said the Eclipse Cross and Pajero Sport models would be replaced in coming years and the new products give the brand the opportunity to use the Ralliart brand as a hero product within those vehicle lines, too.

New regulations are about to blast a big hole in Mitsubishi’s Australian line-up.The popular brand has announced the Pajero Sport four-wheel drive and Eclipse Cross compact SUV will be deleted from its range this year.Changes to Australian Design Rules (ADR) from March 1 this year meant the vehicles needed expensive upgrades to its auto emergency braking technology. Mitsubishi Australia boss, Shaun Westcott, said the investment in re-engineering the vehicles to comply with the new ADR was not viable considering the advanced age of the vehicles.A similar issue has caused the retirement of the current ASX small SUV. Mitsubishi Australia has announced a replacement for the ASX is due this year, in the form of the Renault Captur-based European ASX, but there are no imminent replacements for the other two models.Westcott said production of all those vehicles had already ended and the company had ordered significant stock ahead of time to make vehicles available to customers throughout 2025.All three models experienced significant growth in 2024: ASX sales were up more than 34 per cent to 12,330, Eclipse Cross sales were up about 18 per cent to 9221 and Pajero Sport had a stellar year with 7306 sales up more than 31 per cent on the previous year.The three models accounted for more than a third of the company’s sales in 2024, which will make it a challenging year for Mitsubishi in 2025.The new ASX is unlikely to be the same price leader as the current version, with the new model imported from Europe and fitted with improved safety and in-car tech, heavily reworked design and hybrid power. Progress comes at a cost.Westcott said the company would eventually fill the void left by the two models as shown in its 'Momentum 2030' plan.“We have a lot of good product coming, there are a number of significant new models and products in that plan. So we are actually quite excited about the next couple of years.”This was echoed by Mitsubishi Australia's GM of product strategy and PR, Bruce Hampel."These nameplates will be replaced by equivalent — if you want to call it that — vehicles in the coming years," said Hampel."We will continue in those medium, large SUV spaces going forward. It's really the core business here in Australia along with other electrified vehicles in the small, medium SUV spaces."This vehicle won't necessarily be called the Eclipse Cross or Pajero Sport, with the names still up for debate.Westcott said Mitsubishi’s intention was to provide people with vehicles that will help them explore Australia.“The future is very much focused towards off road adventure, four-wheel drive, SUV, large SUV in the portfolio. We’d like to see all of them.”“So in that 2030 plan you’ll see the outline or the silhouette of a large SUV. And I know there have been some spy photos, some of you guys have picked them up, of the Pajero Sport replacements running around in mule form.“We are doing a lot of work on a lot of platforms and a lot of models, so that 2030 Momentum plan includes a number of new products that you’ve seen the silhouette of that we are working on. There’s a lot happening at the moment,” he said.Westcott said electrification for those vehicles was “absolutely” in the brand’s future.The company’s global CEO has previously announced some form of electrification, which includes mild-hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric, in 50 per cent of all models by 2030 and all of its vehicles by 2035.

After 15 years on sale the current Mitsubishi ASX is headed for retirement.Mitsubishi Australia has been searching for a replacement for its ageing small SUV, and has found it in the form of the new ASX available in Europe that is based on the Renault Captur.The writing was on the wall of the current ASX with changes to Australian Design Rules (ADRs) from March 1 this year meant it needed expensive upgrades to its auto emergency braking technology. The sums didn’t add up and the Captur-based alternative became the go-to option.The same issues has resulted in the ending of the current Eclipse Cross compact SUV, and Pajero Sport off-roader.Production has already wound up, but Mitsubishi has secured enough stock to see the brand through most of 2025 according to Mitsubishi Australia boss Shaun Westcott.The new ASX is going to spearhead a massive range overhaul for Mitsubishi as part of its Momentum 2030 plan, said Westcott.“We have a lot of good product coming, there are a number of significant new models and products in that plan. So we are actually quite excited about the next couple of years.”“The new Mitsubishi ASX blends thoroughly modern design and a dynamic driving experience to the next generation of ASX customers,” said Westcott.“We look forward to sharing more details of this intriguing new SUV as we move closer to its market launch in 2025,” he said.The update brings significant upgrades to the fast-selling small SUV.Mitsubishi Australia hasn’t confirmed the model line-up, but in Europe the vehicle comes with the choice of hybrid, mild hybrid or petrol power.The hybrid variant uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine paired with two electric motors — one for the alternator-starter and the other to drive the wheels — to make 143kW and drink about 4.7L/100km.Importantly, emissions are about 106 grams of CO2 every km, which is well below the threshold set by the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) that came into effect this year.The NVES will penalise carmakers $100 for every gram of CO2, per vehicle, a car emits over a certain threshold. This threshold lowers every year until 2030.Its hybrid set-up is likely to bring improved responsiveness and polish to its performance compared to the 2.0-litre unit found in the current versions. Fuel use is a massive drop from the current model’s claimed 7.6L/100km.The mild-hybrid version uses a 1.3-litre turbocharged engine with a small electric motor to power the started motor and some electric systems. It drinks 5.9L/100km and emits 134g/km of CO2 and is unlikely to be a long term solution to NVES.The other option is a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that makes 91kW, drinks 5.9L/100km and emits 134g/km of CO2.It’ll also have improved in-car tech and safety equipment and thoroughly modern styling compared to the outgoing version.It is unlikely the European-sourced and hybrid-powered ASX will remain the same price leader the current ASX has been in the company’s showrooms.Westcott said the brand’s products are more than just a sticker price with the total value Mitsubishi provides in its products an important factor.“So part of the strategy we have is to demonstrate the value that you get in our product,” said Westcott.“We want to definitely make sure that people understand that we are a value for money brand, and that value is more than just price."That’s the quality of the build, the quality of the products, the reliability of the products and that’s where we are going to focus," he said.Westcott also pointed to the brand’s 10-year warranty and capped price servicing program and that it has the second largest dealer network in the country, which adds value and reassurance for customers.

We already know the rumoured all-new fifth-generation Mitsubishi Pajero is set to shift a little further upmarket (to ‘Japanese Range Rover’ status) when it makes its scheduled debut in 2026.

Australia clocked a record number of new-car sales in 2024, proving once again how diverse our new-car market really is.

The car industry is based on constant model renewal. Cycles have been getting shorter and shorter, with the main industry settling on between six and eight years as the norm. 

In recent years the pointy end of the Australian new vehicle sales race has reflected our seemingly insatiable appetite for dual cab utes, with the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux locked in a fierce arm wrestle to determine the annual winner.

The Australian new car market is more competitive than ever before and the 2024 sales charts proved exactly that.It doesn't matter whether you're a legacy brand or a new kid on the block, the electric transition has created ample opportunities for carmakers to thrive – and a considerable number did so this year.So, without further ado, here they are...GWM’s rise to a top-ten brand in 2024 caught many by surprise, though people are quick to forget that this has been a long time coming.As the first Chinese car brand to reach Australian shores in 2009, GWM has evolved considerably from its early ute foundations, with its SUV range now comprising the vast majority of its sales.Specifically, the Haval Jolion, which GWM sold 14,238 of last year – a record for the brand for what is Australia’s second-cheapest hybrid car and 10th most popular in December. We knew BYD was coming, but who expected this?The Chinese Tesla-challenger came big in 2024 with a sales uptick of 64.5 per cent, primarily off the back of the fully-electric Seal and plug-in hybrid Sealion 6 models – which sold 6393 and 6198 units, respectively, in their first year.With the Shark 6 ute and Sealion 7 on its way, who knows, by this time next year we could be calling it a top-ten brand.It was another strong year for Ford which maintained the title of Australia's best-selling vehicle with the Ranger ute. It clocked 62,593 sales in total.Second to it, albeit much further behind, was the Ranger-based Everest SUV, which clocked 26,494 sales for the year – a 75.8 per cent increase on last year.Together they accounted for nearly 90 per cent of Ford's sales, which puts them in a precarious position in 2025 with New Vehicle Efficiency Standards and stiff competition from BYD and GWM on the plug-in hybrid ute front.Australia’s love of Mitsubishi clearly isn’t waning despite the brand lacking an EV.Sales of the Outlander SUV, which is offered in plug-in hybrid guise, skyrocketed in 2024, with 27,613 sales making it the second-best selling medium SUV in the country behind the Toyota RAV4.It is also worth noting that the new-gen Triton had a strong year, with sales up a further 7.6 per cent to 14,737 for the year.There are few things Australians love more than a Toyota.  The Japanese powerhouse grew its sales by 26,056 on last year, with the final tally of 241,296 sales exceeding the volume of both second (Ford) and third (Mazda) places combined. A big chunk of that was off the back of the RAV4, which nearly doubled its sales from 29,627 last year to 58,718. Toyota expects that to grow even further in 2025.HiLux sales retracted by 14.2 per cent in 2024 and are likely to do so again in 2025, but it still performed strongly with 53,499 total sales. Expect some of the slack to be picked up by the brand new Prado this year.The South Korean powerhouse continues its march as one of Australia’s best-selling car brands, increasing its slice of the pie by a further 7.4 per cent in 2024 to 81,787 total sales.Leading its sales was the Kia Sportage with 22,210 sales, a 41.0 per cent increase on the previous year.The Cerato and Carnival models weren’t too far behind at 15,502 and 10,080 sales, respectively.Regardless of challenging times for the brand globally, Nissan had a strong year in Australia, clocking up nearly 6000 more sales this year compared to last.Those were greatly helped by the X-Trail, which had a huge 36 per cent increase in sales year-on-year.Though it's far from the most compelling ute in Australia, the Navara continued to sell relatively well, clocking up 10,063 sales for 2024, a 15.5 per cent increase.So apparently selling super-affordable cars during a cost-of-living crisis was a winning ticket, who would’ve thought?Chery shook things up in 2024 with its very affordable range, which doubled in size. The Omoda 5 reigned supreme, growing its sales from 5370 to 6162.It wasn’t without help from the Tiggo 7 Pro (2734) and the brand new Tiggo 4 Pro (1918) and Tiggo 8 Pro (1789) models, though.Suzuki is proving that you don’t necessarily need a brand new line-up to achieve sales success.As the brand’s most popular model, the Jimny (9697 sales), enters its seventh year, it shows no signs of slowing down, with sales up 93.9 per cent from 2023.The same can be said for the Vitara (2456 sales), which enters its 10th year this year with a 45.6 per cent sales increase on last year.Porsche’s strong year was largely off the back of its petrol Macan model, which is now out of production as the brand transitions to an electric-only Macan range.Expect sales to dip strongly next year.The second- and third-most popular models were the Cayenne and 911, which remain strong market favourites with respective sales increases of 15.5 and 40.3 per cent.While recording a modest sales increase, BMW retained its title as Australia’s best-selling premium brand for the second year running.With 26,341 total sales, BMW saw strong results across its very dynamic line-up, which consists of EVs, plug-in hybrids, mild-hybrids, petrol and diesel.Notable models were the electric i4 sedan, which saw a staggering 484.1 per cent increase on last year, along with the new X2, which saw a 565 per cent increase.It sounds big on paper, but the 16.1 per cent increase only equates to 600 sales from 3703 in 2023 to 4303 in 2024.Not to downplay it, though, it's a strong result for Chevrolet which sells its cheapest car in Australia – the Silverado LTZ 1500 premium – for $130,500, before on-road costs.

Australia’s top-selling car and the top-selling brands for 2024 have been revealed and it’s been yet another record year of sales.Last year, Australians bought 1,237,287 new vehicles, which represented a modest 1.7 per cent upswing compared with 2023 sales. It was enough to make it the biggest year of sales in Australian history.Utes and SUVs continued to dominate with just one passenger car - the Toyota Corolla - managing to remain in the top 10 best-selling models list.Almost 700,000 SUVs were sold in the calendar year compared with 270,000 light-commercial vehicles and just over 203,000 passenger cars (hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, sports cars and people movers).The top-selling model for 2024 was the Ford Ranger, repeating its 2023 win, despite a slight dip in sales to 62,593 (-1.2%).The Toyota RAV4 had its best sales year and came pretty close to toppling the Ranger, but had to settle for a still-impressive second place with 58,718 units, closely followed by its HiLux stablemate on 53,499.The Isuzu D-Max was the only other ute in the top 10, landing in fourth place with 30,194, and rounding out the top-five models was the Mitsubishi Outlander.Making up the rest of the top-10 models were Ford’s Everest, the Corolla, Mazda CX-5, MG ZS and the Kia Sportage. Check the tables below for all the figures.Toyota maintained its dominance in the industry, leading the charge with 241,296 sales, which is 12.1 per cent ahead of last year’s total.As expected, Ford leapfrogged Mazda to nab second place with a healthy 100,170 units, helped mostly by those solid Ranger and Everest numbers.Mazda dipped a little in 2024 (95,987) but remained well ahead of fourth-placed Kia on 81,787, while Mitsubishi (74,547) capped off the top-five brands.Hyundai (71,664) only just missed out on a top-five position, trailing Mitsubishi by 2883 units.MG also took a sales tumble but still stayed firm with 50,592 (-13.3%) for seventh place, while Isuzu continued to punch above its weight in eighth spot, recording 48,172 sales with just two models on sale.Nissan managed to make some gains in 2024, landing in ninth place with 45,284, and China’s GWM is now firmly a top-10 player having grabbed tenth spot with 42,782.The Chinese giant kept Subaru and Tesla out of the top list, with Subaru collecting 40,604 sales and Tesla sliding by 17 per cent to 38,347.The Model Y also just missed out on a top-10 spot for model sales, with 21,253 finding homes, a drop of 26 per cent.Despite the bumper sales year, the automotive industry’s peak body is forecasting a gloomy outlook and taking a swipe at the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Emissions Standards that kicked in on January 1.“While overall consumer preferences remain clear with SUVs and Light Commercial vehicles continuing to dominate the market and especially the top ten sales, many vehicles in these segments are either difficult or expensive to decarbonise. This will prove to be a significant challenge in meeting the extremely ambitious targets of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) which began on 1 January 2025,” Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Tony Weber said in a media release.“The industry is responding to NVES by increasing the range of zero and low emission vehicles on offer. However, a continuation of current customer buying preferences will inevitably lead to the accrual of substantial penalties under the Government’s new scheme, which will create price inflation within the new vehicle market.”

What have been the most significant Australian cars since January 1, 2000 so far? With the first 25 years of the 21st century now out of the way, we rate the 10 most important models that left their mark, or came into their own afterwards.