Fiat 500X VS Mitsubishi ASX
Fiat 500X
Likes
- Fun looks
- Good interior
- Great safety package
Dislikes
- Iffy transmission
- Oddball ride
- Slow
Mitsubishi ASX
Likes
- Dead simple to operate
- Still looks neat and tidy for styling
- Spacious cabin space for class
Dislikes
- Bloody old tech compared to rivals
- Missing important safety features
- More expensive for very little gain
Summary
Fiat 500X
Fiat's indomitable 500 is one of the great survivors - not even VW's recently deceased New Beetle could keep riding the nostalgia wave, partly because it made itself just that little bit out-of-touch by not being a car anyone can buy. The 500 avoided that, particularly in its home market, and is still going strong.
Fiat added the 500X compact SUV a few years ago and at first I thought it was a daft idea. It's a polarising car, partly because some people complain it's capitalising on the 500's history. Well, duh. It's worked out well for Mini, so why not?
I've driven one every year for the last couple so I was keen to see what's up and whether it's still one of the weirdest cars on the road.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 1.4L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Premium Unleaded Petrol |
| Fuel Efficiency | 5.7L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Mitsubishi ASX
While the Mitsubishi ASX has long established itself as a compact SUV fan-favourite, its rivals are becoming better specified and even more affordable, like the Kia Seltos, GWM Haval Jolion and MG ZST.
There's a long-running joke that the Mitsubishi ASX is the oldest 'new car' on the market with technology that hasn't had a makeover in close to a decade.
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Is the cool new Street package for the ES base model enough to lift its competitive edge?
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L |
| Fuel Type | — |
| Fuel Efficiency | 7.6L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Verdict
Fiat 500X6.8/10
The 500X is a fun-looking alternative to the various options available from everyone else and is - overall - better to drive than its Renegade twin.Â
It packs a very good safety package which you can't ignore but does lose points on the warranty and servicing regime. But it's also built to take four adults in comfort, which not every car in the segment can boast.
Would you choose the Fiat 500X over one its better-known competitors? Tell us in the comments section below.
Mitsubishi ASX6/10
The Mitsubishi ASX ES Street can more than handle being an urban dweller. The Street style pack makes this model stand out and the cabin is practical enough that it’s a good alternative for smaller families in the city. I get why the ASX is popular and I like the basic and traditional nature of this model on most fronts but not for the safety and tech. Not in this day and age against all of the well-equipped rivals it faces.
Design
Fiat 500X7/10
Look, I like the 500X, but I know why people don't. It's clearly a 500X in the way a Mini Countryman is a Mini. It looks like a 500, but get closer and you see the difference. It's chubby like a $10 weekend market Bhudda statue and has great big googly eyes like Mr Magoo. I find this endearing, my wife does not. The looks aren't the only thing she doesn't like.
The cabin is a bit more restrained and I quite like the band of colour stretching across the dash. The 500X is meant to be a bit more grown up than the 500, so there's a proper dash, more sensible design choices but it still has the big buttons, perfect for the meaty fingers of people who won't be buying this car.
Mitsubishi ASX
The ES Street doesn’t change the ASX fundamentals but it is styled differently and the Street package adds a black front spoiler and tailgate protector with red accents, black door handles, stainless steel door scuff plates, and decals across the side panels and rear.Â
The interior sees almost no changes from the ES grade but the traditional plastic gear shifter and steering wheel are swapped out for an aluminium and leather-trimmed gear shifter and leather-wrapped steering wheel, which is a nice upgrade.
The dashboard is headlined by the tried and true (and old) 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system but this is a vehicle that likes tradition.
You have lots of physical buttons, dials and even a handbrake. There’s no push-button starter or digital instrument panel. If you want to move or change something, it’s going to be manual adjustment. It’s basic but there is something charming about that.
Practicality
Fiat 500X7/10
At just 4.25 metres, the 500X isn't big, but makes the most of what it's got. The boot impresses at 350 litres and with the seats down, I think you could reasonably expect to triple that figure, though Fiat doesn't have an official number that I can find. For added Italian feel, you can tip the passenger seat forward to get really long things in, like a Billy bookshelf flat pack from Ikea.
Rear seat passengers sit high and upright meaning leg and kneeroom are maximised and with that tall roof, you won't scrape your head.Â
The doors each have a small bottle holder for a total of four and Fiat has got serious about cupholders - the 500X now has four.
Mitsubishi ASX
The size of the cabin is the most practical aspect of it and it is spacious for the class. Both rows enjoy decent head- and legroom and it's fairly easy to get in and out of from the front row but the back row has narrow door apertures.
The cloth seat upholstery on the seats looks nice but fatigue can set in early on a long trip due to a lack of lumbar support for the front and a lack of heavy padding overall.
The individual storage up front is great for the class with a deep middle console and glove box, two big cupholders, as well as a large drink bottle holder in each door. There is also a storage tray in front of the gear shifter for smaller items like a phone or sunnies.
Storage is minimal in the rear with two cupholders in a fold-down armrest and one single map pocket... and that's it for amenities in general. There's no directional air vents or USB ports in the back.
However, there is plenty of room for two car seats, if you had a couple of kids in tow.
Technology feels and looks outdated with the only charging options being two USB-A ports and two 12-volt sockets up front. It would be nice to see faster USB-C ports and a charging pad for the price.
The 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system hasn’t changed. It’s simple to look at and operate. It can catch the light, which makes it hard to see at times while on the go but is otherwise responsive.
It’s easy to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth but the phone call quality was hit and miss. Sometimes it sounded tinny and sometimes it crackled.
Rounding out the cabin, the boot offers good capacity for the class at 393L and you can bump it up to 1193L if you fold the rear row. The boot aperture is wide and the level loading space means it’s super easy to fit larger items in.
The rear row also has a 60/40 split and there’s a space-saver spare tyre underneath the floor. While the ES Street doesn’t get a powered tailgate, the lid isn’t heavy to operate.
Price and features
Fiat 500X7/10
I drove the Pop Star, which is the second of the now-two model "regular" range, the other being the, er, Pop. I drove a Special Edition in 2018 and it's not clear if it is Special as there's also an Amalfi Special edition. Anyway.
The $30,990 (plus on-road costs) Pop Star has 17-inch alloys, six-speaker Beats-branded stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, sat nav, auto headlights and wipers, leather shifter and steering wheel and a space-saver spare.
The Beats-branded stereo speakers are supplied with noise from FCA's UConnect on a 7.0-inch touchscreen. The same system is in a Maserati, don't you know. Offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, UConnect loses points by shrinking the Apple interface into a lurid red frame. Android Auto properly fills the screen, for some reason which is ironic given Apple owns the Beats brand.
Mitsubishi ASX
There are six grades for the ASX and our test model is the ES with the Street accessory pack which makes it $30,490 before on-roads costs. That’s $2500 more than the standard ES and you’re only getting styling changes on a grade that sits second from the entry-level model.
The ES Street is more affordable than the better-specced Kia Seltos Sport (FWD) which sits at $33,050 MSRP but compared to its Chinese rivals, it’s starting to feel pricey. The MG ZST Vibe is priced from $26,490 MSRP and the GWM Haval Jolion Lux from $28,790 MSRP - both of which have more features and safety equipment installed.
Standard equipment for the ES Street includes an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth as well as AM/FM and digital radio.
The ES Street also features a reversing camera, LED headlights and daytime running lights, LED front fog lights, 18-inch alloy wheels, and a space-saver spare wheel. There are two USB-A ports, manual air-conditioning, and black cloth upholstery.
The Street package adds a black front spoiler and tailgate protector with red accents, black door handles, stainless steel door scuff plates, aluminium and leather-trimmed gear shifter and leather-wrapped steering wheel instead of plastic.
The ES now comes with lane departure warning.
Under the bonnet
Fiat 500X7/10
Fiat's rather excellent 1.4-litre turbo MultiAir does duty under the stubby bonnet, making 103kW and 230Nm. Rather less excellent is the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which sends power through the front wheels only.
It's rated to tow a 1200kg braked trailer and 600kg unbraked.
Mitsubishi ASX
The ES has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 110kW of power and 197Nm of torque.
That's plenty enough for urban driving but don’t expect any feeling of zippiness.
The ES Street is a front-wheel drive and has a continuously variable transmission (CVT) but you can option a manual transmission on the base GS grade, if that’s your vibe.
Efficiency
Fiat 500X6/10
Fiat rather optimistically suggest you'll get a combined cycle figure of 5.7L/100km but try as I might, I couldn't do better than 11.2L/100km. What's worse, it demands 98RON fuel, so it's not the cheapest car to run. This figure us consistent with past weeks in the 500X and no, I wasn't thrashing it.
Mitsubishi ASX
The official combined cycle fuel consumption figure is a low 7.6/100km and my real-world use came out at 9.1L after a fair mix of urban and open-road driving. While not super surprised with the outcome, I was hoping for better efficiency.
Based on the official combined fuel cycle and 63L fuel tank, expect a theoretical driving range of up 829km – which is great for such a small SUV.
Driving
Fiat 500X6/10
Again, I shouldn't like the 500X but I really don't mind it. It's flawed, which might be why.
The dual-clutch transmission is dumber than a box of loose cogs, lurching from start and looking the other way when you expect it to shift. We know the engine is a good one and I think part of the reason it's so thirsty is the confused way the transmission goes about its business. I'd love to drive a manual to see what it's like.
The 500X initially feels worse than its Jeep Renegade sibling-under-the-skin, which is quite an achievement. Part of that is to do with the ride, which is very choppy below 60km/h. The first 500X I drove wallowed about but this one is a bit tauter, which would be good if you weren't punished with this bounciness.
The seats themselves comfortable and the interior is a good place to hang out. It's reasonably quiet, too, which is at odds with the old-school silliness of its conduct. It feels like Labrador let out of after day kept inside.
And that's where the car I shouldn't like is a car I do like - I really like that it feels like you're on Roman cobblestones, the type that make your knees hurt when you walk on them for a day. The steering wheel is too fat and is at a weird angle, but you kind of square up to it and drive the car like your life depends on it. You have to take it by the scruff, correct the shifts with the paddles and show it who's boss.
Obviously, that's not for everyone. If you drive it really gently, it's a very different experience, but that means going slowly everywhere, which is no fun at all and not at all Italian.
Mitsubishi ASX
The ES Street delivers adequate power to make it feel within the realm of fun in the city but it starts to feel lacklustre once you hit the open road. Put your foot down and the engine whines pitifully but you never worry about not getting there - it just likes to complain.
The suspension is on the right side of firm to get road feedback but not be bothered by it. You will feel bumps but not wince when you go over them.Â
However, the ASX feels very light when you have heavy winds and the car moves around a lot at higher speeds, which I found to be unnerving at times.
Surprisingly, the ASX offers a pretty refined cabin experience in terms of noise. There is a constant low hum from the engine but wind and road noise aren't too bad and you can easily chat and listen to music without feeling like your senses are battered at the end of a trip.Â
The ES Street is a fairly comfortable cruiser in tight city streets with responsive steering and a small footprint. This makes it easy to park and while the reversing camera isn’t the best quality, you know where this car starts and ends, so it’s not a big deal.
Safety
Fiat 500X8/10
Out of the box, you get seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, high and low speed AEB, active cruise control, rollover stability, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind spot sensor and rear cross traffic alert. That's not bad for a $30,000 car full stop, let alone a Fiat.
There are two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors for baby seats.Â
The 500X scored a five-star ANCAP rating in December 2016.
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Mitsubishi ASX
At the time of this review, the current model year Mitsubishi ASX has not been tested with ANCAP and is unrated, but all pre-2023 models achieved a five-star rating under the 2016 protocol.
The ES Street has seven airbags, including a driver’s knee airbag, but misses out on the newer front centre airbag we're seeing on newer models.
Standard safety equipment for the ASX ES Street includes forward collision warning, DRLs, hill-start assist, ABS, lane departure alert, cruise control, engine immobiliser, child-proof locking on rear doors, and a reversing camera.
Unfortunately, all of its rivals outclass the ASX on standard safety equipment and this model misses out on biggies like lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
The ASX has ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top tether points but two seats will fit best.
Ownership
Fiat 500X6/10
Fiat offers a three-year/150,000km warranty, along with roadside assist for the same period. It's not great as more manufacturers shift to five years.Â
Service intervals arrive once a year or 15,000km. There is no fixed or capped-price servicing program for the 500X.
Mitsubishi ASX
The ASX comes with a five-year/100,000km warranty, which can be extended to 10 years/200,000km, provided the vehicle is exclusively serviced by Mitsubishi dealers and on schedule. It's a warranty that is hard to beat, although MG just announced a 10-year/250,000km warranty and that's not conditional on where it is serviced.
The ASX also comes with 10 years of capped-priced servicing and the average cost is $502 per service.
Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.