With Father’s day happening this weekend, there’s no better way to celebrate the man of the household than with a day out with the family. Chances are, many already have a destination in mind. For such a trip, it’s important to have a vehicle that can do it all: fit the entire family, make the drive as comfortable as possible, and is ready for any challenge that comes your way.
Few vehicles can meet all these requirements quite like these vehicles from Mitsubishi. We go through a few of them and their innovative features that help it stand out and make it perfect for a road trip.
Montero Sport Black Series Ralliart
This special sporty edition of the Montero Sport is unique from the start. It sports Ralliart additions like front and rear underbody garnish with red accents, visible decals, black fender arc moldings, and red mudflaps. The all-black 18-inch wheels are gorgeous and help project the proper Ralliart look. These take the Montero Sport’s already aggressive design to the next level.
Inside, the seven-seater cabin has leather upholstery with soft-touch surfaces in the cockpit. For entertainment, it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and two USB ports in front and two in the second row (plus a 220-volt outlet). The eight-inch smartphone-link display makes it easy to adjust settings and find the perfect road trip tunes.
Powering it is a 2.4-liter engine that sends drive to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission with Sports mode (accessible via one of the best paddle shifters in the segment). Compared to most SUVs, its acceleration is more direct yet does not lose its smooth demeanor. Even at speeds just under 120 km/h and a modest 141-PS and 430-Nm of torque, it maintains a relatively low cruising RPM, which makes it very efficient and quiet. It also does not need much prodding to keep climbing the speedometer. Average fuel consumption is 14.5-km/l
in mixed driving conditions.
The 2022 Mitsubishi Montero Sport Black Series Ralliart, priced at P2.122 million, has earned every letter of its variant name and all its aesthetic add-ons.
Xpander Cross
The Xpander Cross takes the already well-equipped, family-friendly Xpander and upgrades it with features that make it even more capable for road trips. Even though it can easily fit seven passengers, you can never have enough storage capacity. That’s why the Xpander Cross makes it easy to carry more with its standard roof rails. These functional additions (exclusive to the Xpander Cross), make it easy to fit accessories like a roof rack, basket, or even hard case. For those into car camping, that means this vehicle can even be fitted with a rooftop tent or side awning.
Fitting these rooftop accessories frees up even more room in the cabin for the passengers to enjoy while your items are safely stored above the vehicle.
The Xpander Cross was designed for more adventurous drivers, hence the addition of more rugged features like rocker panels and roof rails.
However one feature thrill-seekers will truly appreciate is its high ground clearance. Ground clearance is basically the distance from the ground all the way up to the underside of the vehicle. The higher the figure the better, and the more likely you are to clear any rocks when going through rough roads. The Xpander Cross is easily one of the highest in its class, boasting of 225-mm of ground clearance as opposed to the average of around 195-mm of its competitors. This means it’s more capable on rough roads or even floods, leaving the driver with very little to worry about.
What driver doesn’t go around with a number of devices these days? For those that always want to stay connected, the Xpander Cross has a
solution. On the dashboard is a power socket to connect the practically mandatory dashcam. There’s also a USB port to connect your smart phone or a thumb drive with MP3s. On the second row is another pair of USB ports that passengers behind can use to charge their gadgets.
Our usual drives have changed drastically, what with the advent of new normal as well as new cashless payment systems for expressways.
The Xpander Cross has thankfully adapted with the times with its new, smarter storage spaces. Nearly every car has a box of Kleenexes inside. For those that like to keep things tidy, the Xpander Cross integrates a handy storage for it under the center armrest. Have both Easytrip and Autosweep cars? There are storage spaces for these under the climate control system or on the front visors. There’s a shelf above the glove box to keep pens and clips handy. There are many more storage spaces around the car in various sizes to keep notebooks, vital documents and tumblers of various sizes.
With all these useful features fitted as standard in the vehicle, safe, comfortable, and enjoyable road trips are practically guaranteed.
Strada Athlete
Like the Montero Sport Rallirt, the Strada Athlete celebrates Mitsubishi’s stories reputation in off-road racing. As an Athlete variant, it gets the red decals at the rear, 18-inch black alloy wheels, the styling bar over the bed, and the black tailgate grip.
The interior gets silver highlights, a seven-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, and a couple of USB ports (front and rear). The infotainment
display shows large icons and fonts, and it already comes with a digital, dual-zone climate control system. The cockpit gets smooth lines over the
flowing surface of the hard-top dashboard.
The driver’s seat is electronically adjustable and the multi-function steering wheel has tilt and telescopic adjustments. The leather of the seats is nice; taut but feels very new and doesn’t have that vintage feel that premium leather seats have. The second row gets air vents above and a drop-down center armrest for rear passengers.
Powering it is a common-rail diesel engine with a 2.4-liter displacement. It puts out 181-PS and 430-Nm of torque, and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Average fuel consumption is 9.2 km/l in mixed driving conditions. Acceleration is brisk. It does not feel heavy, and steering feedback is deceivingly light for a pickup truck. The pull it has from a standstill is exhilarating, which makes the open road ahead always an enticing invitation.
The Strata Athlete gets all the bells and whistles (Hill Start Assist, Trailer Stability Assist, Active Stability and Traction Control, Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, and reverse camera), including the trimmings, without the added cost.