2024 Mitsubishi Xforce GT worth the wait
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
It’s a proverb that has endured for millennia because it encapsulates a struggle that humanity has faced for generations: the complex interplay of love, affection, distance and time. Sextus Propertius is credited with its earliest use in his seminal four-book Elegies, albeit worded far more excitingly when translated to English from the original Latin.
“Always toward absent lovers love’s tide stronger flows,” wrote ancient Rome’s greatest elegiac poet in Book II. Much of his early texts revolved around the protagonist’s relationship with a woman named Cynthia, reflecting Propertius’ real-life relationship with his mercurial mistress Hostia.
Perhaps someone that understands this better than others is the Mitsubishi crossover owner. Since the ASX long went the way of Propertius in 2017, there has been a gaping chasm in Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation’s (MMPC) model lineup between the nippy Mirage and the voluminous Montero Sport.
While some went for the Xpander and Xpander Cross seven-seat, multi-purpose vehicles, the only five-seat crossover that the Japanese carmaker sold locally for ages was the electrified Outlander PHEV, which had a pricetag that was worthy of its own elegy.
But MMPC came back to the Philippine crossover market with a bang in July 2024 with its wonderfully named Xforce. We find out if love’s tide stronger flows toward this absent lover.
Ravishing looks
Before the Xforce was launched, MMPC had exhibited the breath-taking XFC Concept crossover.
Happily, the company worked hard to keep as much of the concept car’s striking appearance as possible in the production model. These include the T-shaped LED headlights and taillights that make people know immediately that this is an Xforce.
The trapezoidal, gloss-black front grill and the foglights that are cleverly hidden in the lower bumper give the car a slightly menacing face – far removed from rivals like the elegant Honda HR-V or the sharp Toyota Yaris Cross.
The Xforce’s side profile is also easy to spot, particularly the black roof, large plastic cladding on the doors and the upward kink in the beltline near the C-pillar. The two-tone, 18-inch alloy wheels with 50-series tires suit the car well.
At the back, a large tailgate spoiler and colored lower-bumper trim make this crossover look classy, eschewing the boy-racer styling of the Geely Coolray or the GAC GS3 Emzoom.
Comfortable accommodation
Unlike the Honda, the Xforce has excellent room for five passengers.
This top-spec GT model comes with black synthetic leather upholstery that is supposedly heat-reflective, as well as plush fabric on the dashboard and door cards. However, I would have liked more soft-touch materials to really complete the premium vibe.
Other nice features include an electric tailgate, wireless charging pad, powerful dual-zone climate control with vents in the center armrest and rear seats, and an 8-inch digital gauge cluster. There’s also the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The latter is particularly notable because MMPC offerings have long had notoriously bad infotainment systems that seem to date back to when I had waistline that started with a 2. This new system is crisp, easy to navigate and offers above-average sound quality, thanks to the 8-speaker Yamaha surround-sound system.
However, if you’re looking for things like electrically adjustable and air-conditioned seats, a panoramic moonroof or a 360-degree camera, you will have to shop elsewhere (especially at offerings from the People’s Republic).
Class-leading refinement
What the Xforce lacks in toys, it easily makes up for in the driving experience.
Most subcompact crossovers generally feel like hopped-up subcompact sedans, jiggles and all. But Mitsubishi has once again shown its mastery in interior refinement with the Xforce, providing ride comfort that puts this crossover above its rivals (and even more expensive models).
This is helped greatly by the superb suspension – remember, this is the company that engineered the Xpander Cross and the Montero Sport to make its rivals feel like karitons over a cobbled calle. The Xforce absorbs even the largest ruts with aplomb, while the fairly stiff springs and the quick, albeit slightly numb steering provide good control even in hard cornering.
This new Xforce likewise shares the same platform and powerplant with the Xpander and Xpander Cross, so you get the familiar 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine pumping out 104 horsepower and 141 Newton-meters of torque.
Another 70 horsepower would have been nice, but the well-tuned continuously variable transmission compensates with eager response from idle to 2,000 rpm, then opening up the taps past 5,000 rpm. I really wish they would put this in the Xpander twins, instead of the archaic 4-speed automatic that those are saddled with now.
The Xforce also has powerful brakes, controlled by a slightly spongy pedal, as well as supportive seats and an excellent active safety suite that includes adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning. But what is most impressive is the fuel economy – 8 to 11 km/l and a whopping 19 to 22 km/l on the expressway out of a non-hybrid drivetrain.
Welcome back
At P1,541,000, this top-of-the-line Xforce GT is artfully priced to avoid similarly specified, but more powerful rivals like the Honda HR-V Turbo and the Kia Seltos SX.
But this does put MMPC’s comeback kid directly in the firing line of the highly fuel-efficient Toyota Yaris Cross HEV, the plush and cavernous Ford Territory Titanium X and the attractive GAC Emkoo. However, none of these look or drive quite as well as the Xforce GT.
And with word of an electrified model in the pipeline, this five-seat Mitsubishi crossover has the potential to really shake up the market, especially with all the incentives for hybrid-electric vehicles.
Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. And here’s hoping Mitsubishi stays put this time around.
