2017 Mitsubishi ASX vs Subaru XV

What's the difference?

Tim Robson road tests and reviews the new Mitsubishi ASX with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The Mitsubishi ASX small SUV has been a mainstay of the local Mitsubishi lineup since 2010, and the range underwent a minor update in late 2016 for the 2017 model year.

The five-seat, four-door SUV competes in the same segment of the new car market as the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V, with the three cars representing the most popular vehicles in the burgeoning sector.

With the recent purchase of Mitsubishi by the Nissan Renault Alliance, the ASX is likely to soldier on in largely the same form until at least 2019, when it’s likely to be replaced by a vehicle that will share a platform and engines across all three brands.

Subaru is a small SUV in the same way that I'm Usain Bolt; we both technically belong to the same species, sure, but there are a couple of sizeable differences. The ability to run 100m without a single rest stop, for example.

And so it is with the Subaru's XV, which stands light years apart from the regular small SUV crowd. For one, it's bloody massive, trending closer to a mid-size SUV than it does a tiny Mazda CX-3. Plus, it's not really an SUV at all, looking much more like a high-riding wagon than a traditionally shaped urban warrior.

Clearly Subaru is onto something; the XV has been a monster hit, sitting fifth outright in small SUV sales this year, and cementing itself as the brand's outright best seller in Australia.

All of which goes some way to explaining why this all-new 2018 model appears - looks-wise, at least - near-identical to the outgoing car. If it ain't broke and all that.

But we figure there must be some new stuff going on under the surface, so we climbed behind the wheel of the top-spec 2.0i-S to take a closer look.