The 2022 Mitsubishi Xpander has just been revealed in the Philippines. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) planned a media day where various personalities celebrated the release of the all-new iteration of their best-selling vehicle with an event and a special test drive.
Looking at the new Xpander and the styling is still striking as ever. The MPV’s front fascia demands attention on the street, its angular design elements emanating aggression with every corner.
On the inside, rectangles seem to be the theme here. Everything is clean and ergonomically within reach. When you do stretch out your arms, most touchpoints are soft and wrapped in some kind of leather-feeling material.
Expectedly, plastics (and their fearsome shiny siblings) can still be found in the cabin, but they’re placed in locations you won’t usually keep your arms on. Spending hours of EDSA traffic in this cabin should be A-OK.
Headroom for front and rear passengers is also not an issue. Rear passengers should be able to stretch out their legs in comfort while topping up their smartphones via the USB ports in the center.
The third row in an MPV seems to always be a topic of interest. Based on a visual inspection, smaller adults and children should be able to fit into this space. Cupholders are also made available for these passengers, although a lengthy road trip might need a few more stopovers for these people specifically to stretch and walk around.
Putting these third-row seats down reveals additional room for cargo.
Moving on to the test drive revealed some more strong points for the new 2022 Mitsubishi Xpander. The area was not just a walk in the park – it simulated harsh conditions such as steep climbs, large bumps in the road for suspension testing, water wading, maximum turns, and even an acceleration test ended with hard braking.
The Xpander’s chassis took all these in stride. There was minimal chassis flex and no sign of interior creaking, even with two of the car’s wheels suspended in midair. It suddenly started raining hard right before our turn tackling the course. Shockingly, the car still cleared the steep climb tests on slippery steel surfaces with absolute ease – the traction control system performed superbly in detecting slip and reallocating power accordingly. We were comfortable and confident. The car, in turn, rewarded us for our faith.
“2022 may still be a challenging year for the automotive industry but Mitsubishi Motors remains optimistic for better sales results. We are confident that we will be able to re-excite the market with New Xpander that has received major improvements that we are sure will be very much appreciated,” according to Mr. Takeshi Hara, President and CEO of MMPC. “With this latest iteration, Filipinos are surely to fall in love with the Xpander all over again. We have further enhanced the qualities that have made it the number 1 7-seater MPV in the country turning into a reimagined ride that will truly awaken anyone’s adventurous spirit”.
The new 2022 Mitsubishi Xpander has reintroduced itself as an MPV for the outdoors, yet is still stylish around the city. Learn more about the Xpander on the official page of MMPC.
2022 Mitsubishi Xpander Price Philippines
The 2022 Mitsubishi Xpander will be made available in 3 variants: GLX 1.5 G M/T, GLX 1.5G A/T, and GLS 1.5G A/T. The price starts at PHP 958,000 while the range-topping variant with all the bells and whistles tops out at PHP 1,078,000.
