Small SUV Shootout

Damien O’carroll takes three small SUV’S, three test pilots, a mix of roads and stirs gently to see who wins.

It would come as no surprise to anyone to hear the phrase “SUVS are very popular these days”, because all we really need to do is look at local roads to understand that. What may come as a surprise to some despite that, however, is just how unrelentingly popular they are. They are so popular that last year SUV'S outsold all other passenger vehicles in New Zealand, the first time in history that has happened. While that boom has largely come from the medium SUV segment – as buyers move away from traditional medium and large sedans and wagons – one segment that is really starting to fire up is the small SUV segment. It wasn’t that long ago that the small SUV segment consisted of pretty much just the rugged and basic Suzuki Jimny – a serious off-roader with little in the way of comfort or convenience. But that has changed drastically over the last few years, with pretty much every major manufacturer either spinning a small SUV off an existing small car platform or creating an all-new one in order to get into the exploding segment, which is currently one of the fastest growing segments on a global, and local, level. Regardless of whether it has AWD and actual off-road ability or not, the small SUV has the unique ability to not just cover the role of the traditional city car urban runabout, but also take over the role of a car from the next segment up, thanks to its increased load carrying capabilities and practicality. To that end we decided to take a look at three cars from the burgeoning segment – a couple of established players in the form of the popular Mitsubishi ASX and the Honda HR-V, and a newcomer from a name that arguably invented the segment in the first place – the Suzuki Vitara Turbo.

Mitsubishi ASX VRX 2WD

The Mitsubishi has long been something of the value for money leader in the segment, due to Mitsubishi’s sharp standard pricing, remarkably good regular discount offers and by packing impressive amount of equipment into the ASX as standard. That last part is, however, due to the fact that the ASX is also one of the older contenders in the segment (having been around since 2007), so that is the best way to keep it competitive. Either way though, the ASX does remain competitive in the segment, and the top-spec $40,500 2WD VRX we test here comes standard with an impressive amount of equipment, including 18-inch alloy wheels, a reversing camera and backing sensors, paddle gear shifters, a panoramic sunroof, keyless entry and start, electrically adjustable heated leather seats, automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers. Our testers appreciated the amount of equipment jammed into the ASX, but the seats did prove divisive, with testers praising the electric adjustment, but not

all of them found the rather upright driving position to their liking. However, there was a general consensus that, in typical Mitsubishi fashion, they were too flat to be truly comfortable. The Mitsubishi ASX is unique in the “small” SUV segment by actually sharing a platform with a medium SUV, namely Mitsubishi’s larger Outlander. While the two share a wheelbase (2670mm), the ASX has considerably shorter overhangs and overall length, fitting it nicely into the small segment, albeit at the larger end of it. This fact didn’t really help it out as much as you would expect, however, with testers all commenting that rear leg room and boot space was adequate without being spectacular (that particular accolade goes to the Honda) and that the panoramic sunroof robbed far too much of the rear head room for adults. Out on the road, the ASX’S 112kw/200nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine attracted praise from some of the testers impressed by its top end power and cruising ability, but the continuously variable transmission attracted the usual complaints of reducing the engine to noisy and thrashy up higher in the revs, which is every time you plant the throttle. All testers did find the combination more than acceptable around town, however, where the ASX was smooth and relatively refined. Handling and ride proved to be a mixed bag, with the ASX’S ride quality attracting praise from all testers, with one particularly liking the Mitsubishi’s “big car feel” on the open road, but the intrusive tyre noise prompted a couple of complaints. The ASX’S steering was generally viewed as its weakest point, with words like “lifeless”, “wooden” and “dull” being used to describe it, although its safe, confident, sensibly understeer-biased handling was generally admired, without anyone actually getting too excited by it. Is “better than I expected it to be” considered praise? Well, if it is, then the Mitsubishi ASX came in for quite a bit of praise, as it was considered by most testers to be the surprise of the lineup, simply by not being as average as they expected. This still leaves the ASX as a competent, pleasant, well-equipped small SUV that, despite its advancing age (which is starting to get obvious when lined up alongside its competitors) offers a convincing package and an extremely good value for money proposition.

Honda HR-V Sport X

The HR-V is Honda’s recent entrant into the small SUV segment after it helped invent (along with Toyota) the car platform-based “softroader” concept back in the mid1990s with the Civic-based CR-V. The smaller HR-V is based on the Jazz