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fast »industry news motoring@manilatimes.net TUESDAY De cember 7, 2010 Times


DANTE F. M. ANG 2ND PRESIDENT AND CEO BRIAN AFUANG EDITOR VERNON B. SARNE EDITORIAL CONSULTANT


THE MO T ORING SECTION OF The Manila Times driven MITSUBISHI ASX GLX MT


■ Mitsubishi ASX is a looker. Cabin of GLX variant goes for function over luxury.


phone use, among other activities, if not fumble-free phone sex. Anyway, the same “Keep it simple, stupid” thinking applies to cars also. And Mitsubishi’s ASX, in base-model GLX trim, is proof that sticking to good, basic automotive stuff is as pleasurable as uninterrupted sex and fumble-free phone use. Locally, Mitsubishi sells the ASX in


BASIC PLEASURES


Sans some toys and techie gizmos, Mitsubishi’s ASX in base GLX trim is still a


compelling choice


motor sports


■ Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel on track to


Nations Cup title. At right is a view of the purpose-built stadium track. AFP PHOTOS


‘Unknown’ driver beat planet’s brightest motor sport stars in 2010 Race of Champions


THE 2010 edition of the Race of Champions (ROC), held recently in Dusseldorf, Germany, saw the likes of Michael Schumacher getting beat by newly crowned Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel in a fierce quarterfinal showdown, but with the two Germans taking the Nations Cup trophy, and reigning World Rally Champion Sebastien


Loeb losing in the grand final to a relative unknown—Filipe Albuquerque. The ROC pitted 16 of the biggest names in


motor sports against each other in head-to- head combat in a variety of racecars. This year’s running boasted of the finest field of champions assembled, which besides Schumacher, Vettel and Loeb, included F1


World Champion Alain Prost, 500cc motorcy- cle World Champion Mick Doohan, Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, British Touring Car Champion and Fifth Gear TV show presenter Jason Plato, X Games winner Travis Pastrana, and F1 driver and previous ROC winner Heikki Kovailanen.


The event was staged for the first time in


Germany and in an indoor track, run on a 1.2- kilometer course that consisted of an outside and an inside loop. Albuquerque delivered a thrilling perform-


ance to overcome Loeb 2 to 1 in the best-of- three final. On the way to the title, Albuquerque also disposed of Vettel. For his part, Loeb


reached the final courtesy of a quarterfinal win over Kristensen, followed by a victory against Priaulx. In the other quarter-final bout, an epic clash saw home favorites Vettel and Schumacher clash in KTM X-Bows. Meanwhile, Doohan and Pastrana lost to


Priaulx as did Prost to Schumacher. Plato missed out early in eliminations.


FAST TIMES BY BRIAN AFUANG MOTORING EDITOR


affluence. After all, if one can easily be accessed, then such person may not be as bossy or rich enough, the reasoning goes. So ditch the 10G, two-terrabyte smartphone. Better yet, don’t even go


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mobile. Or shut down the Twitter account, at least. Of course, “new elitism” crap or not, there really are pleasures to be derived from not being easily reached or from operating a phone that isn’t smarter than


you, where the alphanumeric buttons are only meant to make/get calls or send/ receive texts. Things are simpler, allowing one uninterrupted sex and fumble-free


ALL it “new elitism,” if you will. But in certain circles being constantly wired is no longer considered a sign of power and


three variants; the top-model GLS SE 4WD CVT, the mid-spec GLS 2WD CVT and the GLX 2WD MT—the subject of this review. As the base variant, the GLX doesn’t get the higher models’ continuously variable trans- missions that has Mitsubishi’s INVECS III system and which could be shifted through steering column-mounted paddles. Among other things, the GLX also eschews upscale kit like a start/stop function, HID lamps, power-operated liftgate and a snazzy knob that selects four-wheel drive. Nor does it have traction control. So the GLX misses out on some toys, but what it does have are nothing to scoff at. For starters, I’d take the GLX’s five-speed manual gearbox anytime over a fancy CVT. Because paddle shifters or not, an automatic transmission robs people—at least those who truly enjoy driving—the satisfaction of properly slotting a stick into gear, letting in and slipping out a clutch pedal, and generally controlling by themselves a car’s mechanical bits. The laundry, I’m happy to let a machine do it for me. But proper gear-shifting I’d rather do on my own, thank you. Besides, what else is there to do in traffic—a common justification for opting to use automat- ics—when you let the car do the shifting for you? Send mindless text messages? Now while four-wheel drive is an excellent feature to have, you won’t really miss it unless you truly rough things up. Otherwise, the ASX GLX can ably handle Metro Manila’s finest potholes and picturesque flashfloods. Also, the GLX isn’t exactly austere. In lieu of leather, nice, tough-looking (and more important, inoffensive) fabric wraps over the car’s seats. A multimedia player with a touch- screen LCD panel resides on its dash- board. It has all the power-operated niceties. It has leather on its steering wheel. Dual airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, check, check.


What the base ASX model also retains is the same power plant as that found on the higher variants; a twin-cam, 16-valve 2.0-


liter engine that’s fitted with the corporate variable valve timing system, and which makes 148 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 197 Newton-meters of torque at 4,200rpm. Those are pretty respectable numbers, and though they don’t make the ASX a scorcher, the car is nonetheless brisk and can sprint well in stop-and-go city traffic. At cruising speeds, the engine is relaxed, ticking shy of the 3,000rpm mark at around 80kph. Which means the GLX’s five-speed transmission is ideally matched to the engine. Regardless of variant, too, the ASX is suspended by MacPherson struts and multilinks, is stopped by discs grabbing all wheels, rolls on 17-inch alloys with 215/60 tires, and turns directions by means of an electronic power assist system. What these things translate to are a ride quality that’s a bit soft but not mushy, braking that lacks pedal feel but still effective, grip levels and feedback that inspire trust, and steering that’s quick and precise enough for a tall car. Speaking of which, the ASX truly is a tall car because it sits on a tweaked Lancer EX platform and the two Mitsubishis even share engines. So it’s easy to see where the ASX gets its athleticism, albeit compro- mised by a taller stance. What that affords in return though is better pothole- and flashflood-tackling abilities. And because the ASX has a body that mimics a sport- ute’s—meaning the car’s cargo bay is accessed through a hatch—lugging capacity is improved, too. It doesn’t quite offer the space of a compact SUV but that’s simply because the ASX is a crosso- ver vehicle rather than a sport-ute. Get that in your head and I’m sure the niggling over the car’s “lack of cargo room” soon becomes irrelevant. Plus, well, the ASX looks good. I know aesthetics are subjective, which allows me to pronounce the ASX as a looker and dismiss all opposing opinions as idiotic. The car, whether in GLX, GLS or GLS SE trims, is distinctive and bold, with a front end that recalls Mitsubishi’s legendary Evo models and a rear that’s Audi-esque. In the white paintjob that my loaner ASX GLX wore, the car was subtle and yet still hinted of things nasty.


But what most likely makes the GLX attractive is its price tag, which at P1.195 million undercuts the top model’s by a little over P350,000, and slots the vehicle in a price segment populated by top-model sedans. I’m not saying the top GLS SE with all its toys isn’t a worthy choice, it’s just that the simple joys that come with the base GLX is compelling enough already.


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