The Mitsubishi Express is back for 2020.
Discontinued in 2013, the badge is now being applied to a rebadged take on the Renault Trafic thanks to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
Pricing will start at $38,490 before on-road costs and extend to $44,490 before on-roads.
Two engines and two wheelbase options will be offered, but only one skimpy spec level is available at launch. Putting the Express’s standard equipment list alongside that of the new Toyota HiAce – which has a starting price just $200 higher and a full suite of standard safety and infotainment systems – doesn’t make for pretty reading.
Although they share an engine and body, the cheapest Renault Trafic undercuts the Express by $5500.
Pricing
- GLX SWB 1.6 manual: $38,490
- GLX LWB 1.6 manual: $40,490
- GLX SWB 2.0 auto: $42,490
- GLX LWB 2.0 turbo auto: $44,490
All prices exclude on-road costs.
Engines
Two engines are offered in the Express, starting with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel. It outputs 103kW of power and 340Nm of torque, sent to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission.
The other option is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 125kW of power and 380Nm of torque, mated exclusively with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy figures for the Express haven’t yet been revealed, but we can make an educated guess based on the Renault Trafic.
We expect the lower-power four-cylinder engine in the Mitsubishi Express to use a claimed 6.2L/100km, while the automatic 2.0-litre is likely to drink 7.3L/100km.
Dimensions
The smaller Express measures 4999mm long, 1971mm tall, and 1956mm wide. Load space
The long-wheelbase Mitsubishi Express is 5399mm long, but shares its other dimensions with the SWB model.
Gross combination mass is 4960kg and 5060kg for the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel manuals, respectively, and 4700kg for all automatic models.
Safety
Safety was never a strong suit of the old Mitsubishi Express, which had a one-star ANCAP rating when it went off sale in 2013.
Although the new model promises to be far safer, it still misses out on some key equipment. There’s no autonomous emergency braking, forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, or rear cross-traffic alert.
The Express also only features a reversing camera, mounted in the rear-view mirror, in 2.0-litre automatic models.
There are standard front and curtain airbags, however, plus a driver’s thorax airbag and the expected electronic brake force distribution, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control.
The related Trafic only scored three stars in Euro NCAP testing carried out in 2015.
Standard Equipment
The Express GLX 1.6 features the following equipment standard:
- DAB radio
- Bluetooth phone and audio streaming
- Smartphone docking station and USB connector
- 16-inch steel wheels
- Full-sized spare wheel
- Three-seat front bench
- Twin sliding side doors
- Twin barn doors
- Cruise control
- Start/stop
Moving to the GLX 2.0 automatic adds:
- Rear-view camera with screen in rear mirror
- Dusk-sensing headlights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Auto-dimming interior mirror
Long-wheelbase variants gain fog lamps.
Servicing
The Express is backed by a five-year, 100,000km warranty.
Capped-price servicing is offered for the first three years/45,000km. Owners will pay no more than $750 for the first three scheduled visits to the dealership.
