The Mitsubishi ASX is a solid enough effort, but isn’t special enough to challenge the best cars in this class.
The ASX earns middling scores pretty much across the board. The 1.8-litre diesel has 221lb ft of torque – enough muscle to pull car and caravan from 30-60mph in 16.8 seconds – and happily pulled up to 70mph. There is an intrusive whistle from the turbo at times, though.
Better-controlled suspension would make the ASX a more relaxing car to tow with. The lack of finesse was noticeable in the lane-change test, although the ASX was untidy rather than ragged.
The handbrake struggled to hold the outfit on a 1-in-6 slope. It took a really firm pull to stop car and caravan slowly sliding backwards. The ASX pulled up the slope cleanly enough in first gear, although some judges found the clutch began to whiff after reversing up the hill.
Driven solo, the ASX puts the emphasis on comfort rather than alert handling. Keen drivers should look elsewhere. There’s enough head- and legroom, front and rear, and luggage space is reasonable. Our practicality judge found room for most, but not all, our holiday luggage, and also noted the towing electrics were fiddly to connect.