Capsule x Mitsubishi
Where style and safety meet – here’s Capsule’s take on a honest car review that covers all the important stuff. Yup, strong focus on cup holders here, team. Kelly Bertrand takes the new Mitsubishi ASX Little Black for a spin.
How many little black dresses do you have hanging in the wardrobe right now?
There’s a reason you keep buying them even though they take up half the rack – they’re sleek, they’re sexy, they just work – and they never fail to make you feel damn good.
Makes sense Mitsubishi went with the LBD for inspiration for their new Mitsubishi ASX Little Black edition, then.
And I have to admit, as I’m cruising down State Highway 1 with the panoramic sunroof down, my favourite coffee snug in one of the plentiful cupholders (admit it, it’s the one of the first things we all look for) and my effortlessly connected Spotify blaring out Dolly Parton’s greatest hits (why not), I’m feeling good.
If you’re not too interested in cars for what’s under the engine, (the 112kW power and 2 litre petrol engine and the 200Nm torque – I mean, that all sounds lovely), then hello, welcome to this completely non-car-y car review.
I’m interested in how a car makes me feel. Not so much in a speed demon way, but in a strong confident woman kind of way.
I like a car that makes me feel put together when I’m on the way to a meeting; a car that I can have confidence in when I’m taxiing around my best friend’s kids; the car that fits all my netball gear bags and shopping hauls and those weird things you buy from Facebook Marketplace because you’re finally going to get into upcycling mid-century furniture.
In my humble opinion, cars should be an extension of you and a direct response to your life. I mean, if you live in the city, you’ll know how much time you spend in the blimmin’ things, so they might as well be as complementary to your lifestyle as possible.
And in my few days of driving around Auckland in the ASX Black, God, do I feel like I belong in this car.
There are three specific things I look for in a car – safety, because I’m not an idiot; style, because I like to think I have some of it, and economy, because I’m a journalist and fuel consumption is clutch for the weekly budget (and also, for the planet).
So first of all, safety. The ASX ticks all the boxes thanks to the jazzy features such as forward collision mitigation, which I got to experience first-hand when a young dude on his phone tried to merge into my lane on the motorway (trust me, it works) as well as lane departure warnings, seven airbags, daytime running lights, reversing camera and the hallowed five-star ANCAP safety rating.
Fuel economy also gets a big tick – the technical stuff says you get 7.6L per 100kms which I know is good – but I’m measuring success by the fact I drove around for three days and the level barely moved.
And finally the good stuff – the style. The ASX Black oozes it, from the black 18-inch alloy wheels, black grille with chrome accents to the other black accents such as the roof rails, mirrors and headlining, and of course the sumptuous synthetic leather interior that I would gladly have a handbag made of.
The display is sleek, with Apple Car Play easy to use, and the aforementioned cup holders are very much Capsule approved – those coffee runs aren’t going to do themselves, after all.
You just get the sense that everything is easy in the ASX Black, and for the times we’re living in, I’m all for making life as uncomplicated as possible.
If you’re a mum, the height of the car is perfect for car seats and capsules, and the back seat has enough space to separate squabbling kids. And depending on your stage of life, the boot has ample space for all of the stuff you seem to need when you have kids, or else you can fit half a camping store in there if you need to get away for a weekend and head into the country.
The wipers automatically turn on when it rains, the lights just know what brightness to be (how poetic), there’s keyless entry and a push button start that I know is pretty standard in new cars but still gives me a little thrill every time, and the Bluetooth connectivity is sharp and easy to pair because there is NOTHING MORE FRUSTRATING in life than Bluetooth devices that don’t pair. There just isn’t.
The ASX Black is a new timeless classic, and is a true LBD of the car world. Try one on soon.
