Mitsubishi Express vs Holden Astra

What's the difference?

It has been a while since we’ve seen a Mitsubishi Express van on sale in Australia, and the one that has just launched here is a very different offering to its predecessor.

That’s because you could cover the tri-diamond badges on the grille or back door of the new 2020 Mitsubishi Express and be fooled into thinking that you’re looking at a Renault Trafic. Because you are.

The Express is a direct bi-product of the Alliance between Renault and Mitsubishi, and just like the Trafic, it’s made in France, at Renault’s Sandouville plant. 

This isn’t a comparison - the headline isn’t Mitsubishi Express vs Renault Trafic - but the question is: why would you choose one over the other?

You’d be correct in assessing this as an exercise in badge engineering - Mitsubishi calls it “branded product” - but it could well be that you’d choose an Express because Mitsubishi has a broader network of dealers (186 at the time of writing, versus Renault’s 56), not to mention the potential for major fleet discounts and an upstream ute alternative in the Triton that helps the brand “offer the complete LCV solution”. Renault, you could counter, has a smaller and larger van for its own “LCV solution”. 

There’s more to consider, including ownership, safety and value for money - read on for all the details.

Holden's current Astra is the second go the car has had in this country, after first being badged an Opel to the sounds of crickets from the buying public. That hubristic exercise was followed by a brief withdrawal from the Australian market before returning, rather more sensibly badged (and sensibly-priced) as a Holden.

It chugged along quite nicely in 2017. It didn't break any records, no, but regularly broke the 1000 units per month mark to end up with about five percent of the small car market, which it shares with some serious competition from Europe and Japan.

The + in R+ means more safety, but also more money. Safety is good, but do you get anything else for your money?