New prices for the Mitsubishi Xpander announced

MANILA: The Mitsubishi Xpander has gained a lot of popularity in a very short amount of time since its launch. And for good reason. There is the distinctive SUV like styling, spacious and versatile interior with seats for seven, and a quality characteristic of Mitsubishi to name a few.

Mitsubishi entered the country’s burgeoning small MPV segment through this seven-seater and has not looked back. The MPV comes with a 1.5-litre gasoline engine under the hood producing 105 PS and 141 Nm of peak torque. Customers can buy it with either a 5-speed manual or three different variants with a 4-speed automatic transmission.

At the time of its launch earlier this year, prices ranged from Php 885000 to Php 1.06 million. Now, Mitsubishi has revised these prices. All the four variants have gone up in price. The base GLS MT now comes at Php 955000 instead of Php 885000. The GLX Plus AT has gone up in price from Php 960000 to Php 1030000. Same goes for the GLS AT (from Php 995000 to Php 1,065,000) and top of the range GLS Sport (from Php 106000 to Php 113000).

The Mitsubishi Xpander faced some tough competition from the likes of the Toyota Rush which was launched just before it. But as more time passed, it became clear that the Xpander was bound to come out as the more successful MPV. Demand has been so high for the Xpander that Mitsubishi has had to ramp up its production. Are the new prices going to have an adverse effect on this demand?

Mitsubishi certainly doesn’t feel so. And if the rumors are to be believed, they are also in the process of launching the Xpander’s expanded and 4WD cousin, the Mitsubishi Delica. Even with the increased prices, they are still very much within that of the competition from Toyota’s Rush and Innova, fitting nicely between the price ranges of the two MPVs.

While there are many people who are still waiting for the delivery of their Xpanders, are these new prices going to turn more buyers away from this very capable MPV? Only time will tell.