Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV or ASX?

Dec 5, 2022 | Buying advice | 0 comments

Due to the shortage of chips, among other things, fewer cars are being produced. Car dealers often face model shortages in 2022, which means consumers sometimes have to wait months before they can actually drive a car they have bought.

We were recently alerted to the new platform Mitsubishi-kopen.co.uk from Mitsubishi Netherlands which lists cars available directly from stock. This "Direct drive"models from different Mitsubishi dealers are collected together on the website. This gives you, the buyer, a nice overview of where which model is ready to go immediately. Handy anyway!

Instantly drive a new Mitsubishi

It will also provide space for models that are in stock as standard. For now, that is the Eclipse Cross PHEV, but here very soon the new Mitsubishi ASX added.

What about these models again? Here we will briefly discuss:

Eclipse Cross PHEV

The Eclipse Cross PHEV offers the best of 2 worlds. On the one hand, you can drive fully electric (for daily commutes), with the flexibility of a petrol engine for longer journeys. Unlike most hybrid vehicles, the Eclipse Cross PHEV has no less than two electric motors and all-wheel drive as standard. This ensures a quiet, comfortable driving experience with smooth acceleration and optimum traction and grip in all conditions.

A calculation example to get a better idea. Paris is only 475 km away from Utrecht, well within reach of the Eclipse Cross PHEV with a full drive battery and a full tank. On the way back, you only fill up once and, if you wish, you can fully recharge the drive battery at one of the many charging points you can find along the road these days.

Mitsubishi ASX

The ASX is available with a traditional petrol engine, as a parallel hybrid and as a plug-in hybrid. The standard petrol engine is already good for fine performance and is even lively when the sport mode is chosen. The hybrids not only provide lower consumption, but also better performance. This is because the electric motor's contribution provides more agility at low speeds and more power at high speeds (faster intermediate sprints). The plug-in hybrid is the most expensive version because of its large battery, but it is by far the most fuel-efficient and therefore the most economical per kilometre.

The new generation has a more mature character and more modern equipment (luxury and safety). Moreover, the hybrid engines provide lower consumption, better performance and more comfort.

Renault Austral: price, specifications and release date

Dec 5, 2022 | Buying advice | 0 comments

Renault's all-new SUV is the Renault Austral, a family SUV with full hybrid system and packed with tech gadgets. Is it enough to compete with rivals? And is the Buy Austral a good idea?

In the Netherlands, the Austral is available as a so-called 'mild-hybrid' with a new 1.2 three-cylinder turbo engine with 130 hp and 48-volt support, and a full-hybrid engine with an output of 200 hp. Interestingly, a plug-in hybrid version has not been chosen.

Specifications Renault Austral

A look at the figures shows that the Austral is right in the middle of the family SUV landscape in terms of performance. With a total power output (petrol and electric) of 199 hp and a 0-100 km/h time of 8.4 seconds, the Austral lags behind, say, the more powerful Kia Sportage hybrid, but it will be faster than, say, the Ford Kuga hybrid.

It also comes with a hefty 2 kWh battery pack to power the hybrid system's electric motor; this is larger than the batteries used by the competition, and should allow you to drive longer on electric power at city speeds.

Consumption Austral

Thanks to the electric motor and large battery pack, the Hybrid achieves consumption of 4.6 l/100 km (1 on 21.7), while the mild hybrid does 5.2 l/100 km (1 on 19.2).

The Austral always starts from standstill electrically and can (in theory) drive without engaging the petrol engine. However, this depends on whether you go easy on the throttle and whether there is enough charge in the battery. Most of the time, however, you notice that after a solid wave of initial electric acceleration, the engine kicks in to provide more power to keep up with traffic.

If you want some extra power on the go, such as when overtaking or merging on the motorway, the Australian's gearbox unfortunately takes a bit too long to shift into a gear, leaving a gap between your demand for power and speed. The Sportage hybrid does respond a lot faster in such situations.

Steering and handling

The steering seems nicely weighted and pleasantly precise for family SUVs, but the Renault Austral goes one step further by offering the option of all-wheel steering (4Control). This drastically reduces the turning circle to 10.1m (the much smaller Captur requires 11.1m), making the Austral easy to manoeuvre in city traffic.

The Austral's suspension is soft, making it comfortable. In sport mode, sporty drivers can indulge themselves because then the car shows a surprisingly dynamic side. You can choose from a drop-down menu how much room you want from the assistance systems to bang through corners hard. Our advice would be to avoid the larger 20-inch wheels, though, as they transmit the impact of potholes and rough roads at low speed. The smaller 18-inch wheels should solve this problem and should also cause less road noise.

Interior and technical gadgets

If you like big screens, you will no doubt have a fondness for the Austral. You get a 12-inch digital multimedia screen in the centre console. The design of the dashboard resembles that of the Megane E-Tech Electric. Fortunately, Renault opted for real buttons for the main functions, which makes the controls more logical. Think of various climate functions.

Of course, using a Google-based voice control system, you don't have to touch the screen itself. You can give the Austral voice commands to adjust the air conditioning, control the navigation or even change the driving mode, for example, if you want. This would even be our preference for convenience and safety while driving.

The same compliment can be used to describe the rest of the interior, which has many soft finishes, with cheaper plastics well hidden from the driver's field of vision. The plastics used in the rear do tend to be of the harder variety but that is also common among competitors and not distracting.

The driver's seat is widely adjustable and there is plenty of head and legroom in the front for occupants. Helped by the sliding rear seats, there is more legroom in the back than in the rear than, say, the Sportage. The boot is quite spacious, holding 499-1525 litres (Nissan Qashqai: 504-1447 litres).

Conclusion

The 130 hp version of the Renault Austral will be on showrooms from this month (December 2022) and starts with prices starting from 36,480 euros. For 2000,- more, you have the Esprit Alpine model (the new name for R.S. Line), equipped with choice extras such as all-wheel steering and the fine Harmon Kardon sound system. For now, no electric version of the Austral is planned.

All in all, according to connoisseurs and various test reports, it is a quiet and comfortable SUV with very few downsides. Will this kick-start the Renaulution for Renault? Or will it only happen once the electric versions of the Renault 4 and 5 appear? We will keep an eye on it.

List! Most fuel-efficient petrol cars

Nov 28, 2022 | Buying advice | 0 comments

While petrol and diesel prices shoot through the roof, we still continue to enjoy driving on the road together. It is therefore not an unnecessary luxury to take a critical look at your car's consumption. Here is a list of the 10 most fuel-efficient cars currently available. These are petrol cars without a charging port (but often with a mild hybrid electric motor).

Remember that this is the fuel consumption as given by the factory, so this may be different when you tear through the streets like a Schumacher. But however you look at it then the following cars will still be the most economical choices:

Most fuel-efficient cars, overview of petrol consumption and CO2 emissions

Consumers' Association investigates: what is the most reliable car brand?

Nov 25, 2022 | Buying advice | 0 comments

Every year, the Consumers' Association does a survey on what the most reliable car brands are. Of course, this is a nice list to have to hand when you are looking for a new car! These days, cars are brimming with electronics and, unfortunately, this can also often result in dashboard lights starting to come on (or, of course, an icon on your all-digital dasboard).

Read on quickly about what came out of the Consumer Association survey.

Most reliable brand

As you are no doubt often told at your uncles' and aunts' birthdays, Japanese or South Korean cars are solid buckets. And they are right! In the top 10, there are no fewer than 9 brands from Japan or South Korea, not bad!

By 2021, Mitsubishi still the frontrunner now is that Suzuki (stood at 2 last year). Suzuki has 5 models on the road that score higher than 7.4, most notably the Celerio, Ignis, Swift, SX4 and Vitara. Here is the complete list:

Which car comes out best in the survey?

If we look at which car is the most reliable, it comes down to the Mitsubishi ASX. A fine car to look at but therefore also very reliable according to those surveyed. This is a compact SUV from the Japanese brand and has been on the road since 2012. According to the Consumers' Association, only 1 per cent of ASX drivers broke down last year, other less urgent repairs were also almost non-existent.

The conclusion?

Want a nice reliable car? Then go for a Japanese or South Korean model! For years, these cars have proven to cause few problems that allow you to hit the road without any worries. Want to read more or take part in next year's survey? Then visit the site of the consumer association.