Mitsubishi UK Releases Prices for ASX Small Crossover

Mitsubishi's UK arm has announced pricing and specification of its all-new urban crossover vehicle, the ASX. Set to go on sale on July 1, the Japanese automaker's Nissan Qashqai rival will be offered with a choice of two engines, a 115HP 1.6-liter petrol matted to a 5-speed manual, and a 147HP 1.8-liter turbo diesel linked to a 6-speed manual transmission.

The petrol model is available exclusively with front-wheel drive while the diesel can also be specified with an AWC electronically controlled 4x4 system. Pricing ranges from £14,999 to £22,049 (see list for details).

Standard equipment on all variants includes alloy wheels, air conditioning, Automatic Stop & Go, Active Stability Control and Traction Control, aux-in jack, keyless entry, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, dual stage front side and curtain airbags, driver's knee airbag, tilt and telescopic steering column.

"We're targeting customers who would traditionally buy a C-segment car, such as the VW Golf and Ford Focus, but also people looking to down-size from their SUV or family estate car," said Mitsubishi's Managing Director, Lance Bradley. "With the ASX you really do get the best of every world."

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Peugeot and Citroen to Rebadge Mitsubishi's ASX / RVR, Sales Start in 2012

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors and France's PSA Peugeot- Citroën are deepening their industrial ties in Europe by announcing yet another collaborative project, this time regarding Mitsubishi's ASX compact SUV.

Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will supply its new ASX crossover (named RVR in Japan) to the PSA group that will make two visually different vehicles for its Citroën and Peugeot brands with sales set to begin in early 2012.

The French variants of the ASX will be available in both four- and two-wheel drive versions, and will use PSA's 1.6 HDi diesel engine with the company claiming that the 2WD model will return less than 4.7lt/100km.

The projected volume for Peugeot and Citroën will reach 50,000 units per year for both brands.

This is the fourth consecutive project between the PSA Group and Mitshubishi, after the Mitsubishi Outlander, Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosser SUV agreement in 2005, the construction of a joint plant in Russia that has just been inaugurated, and the European launch in late 2010 of the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-zero electric vehicles, based on MMC's Japanese i-MiEV model.

*The opening photo is a Carscoop photoshop

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What if Citroen Made a C3 Crosser out of the Mitsubishi ASX?

Given the close relationship between the Peugeot Citroen PSA group and Mitsubishi that has already given birth to the Outlander-based Citroen C Crosser and Peugeot 4007 SUVs, we wouldn't be surprised if Theophilus Chin's photoshop proposal for a Citroen C3 Crosser model based on Mitsubishi's 'baby' crossover model, the all-new ASX, becomes a reality in a couple of years.

'ASX' is the name that Mitsubishi chose for the European version of the JDM RVR that will have its world premiere at this year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Via: Theophilus Chin

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Peugeot Begins Accepting Pre-Orders for All-Electric i0n Mini

Even though we're still a full year away from the European market launch of the iOn, Peugeot has already started to take pre-reservations for the all-electric car in the UK. Revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the i0n is actually a rebadged Mitsubishi i-MiEV. As part of the PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Mitsubishi deal, Citroen will also launch its own version of the i-MiEV called the C-Zero.

With four doors and four seats, and a compact length of 3.48 m, the i0n is powered by a 64bhp electric motor that allows it to reach a top speed of 80mph or 129 km/h.

The small city car has a driving range of 80 miles (129 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion batteries which can be recharged in six hours through a conventional mains power supply or recharged to 80% capacity within thirty minutes with a fast charging system.

Peugeot has not disclosed prices for the i0n. However, we do know that in Japan, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is priced from 4,599,000 Yen (that's €34,500 or $51,300 at today's exchange rates), which is more than twice the cost of a Toyota Prius.

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Classic Japanese Cars at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show

Together with their new production cars and concept studies, some domestic automakers also brought along with them a handful of Japanese classics to display at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show floors. First up is the 1980 Mazda Familia hatchback which was essentially the Mazda3's forefather. Toyota had a 1981 Toyota Soarer Coupe and the GT HYBD, a gas-turbine hybrid concept version of its first production sports car, the Sports 800 that went on sale in 1965.

Mazda displayed the 1970 500cc rotary-powered RX-500 Concept while Mitsubishi exhibited Japan's first series production automobile, the 1917 A Model which was based on the Fiat Tipo 3. Finally, Honda showed off a first generation (1976-1981) Honda Accord CVCC three-door hatchback.

Photos shot by our Tokyo Motor Show reporter, Phil Alex

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