A lot of cars today impress you in the showroom with its features and a short test drive that wows you with its acceleration. But once you actually live with them, the experience can feel less convincing, because the overall sense of cohesion is not always there. This is where the Mitsubishi Xforce is able
On paper, the Xforce is not impressive. A naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre engine. A CVT. Modest performance figures. No 512-colour ambient lighting. No 72-inch touchscreen. In a segment where competitors are pushing turbocharging, hybridisation and increasingly aggressive feature lists, it looks out of step.
Even inside, it does not try particularly hard to impress. The materials are noticeably plasticky, in some areas even more so than a Perodua Traz, which is not encouraging considering the price gap. The switchgear lacks tactility, and the ivory trim on the dashboard feels like a questionable long-term decision.
The infotainment system is decent, with a large-enough and crisp display, but compared to what some Chinese brands offer, it is not the quickest or most fluid in its responses.
The driving position is too high, and even after a few days, it still feels like you are perched too high (though it might be ideal for petite-sized individuals). The steering wheel is marginally offset to the left, though it is something you adapt to quickly.
Ride quality, despite the ASEAN-focused tuning, can feel a little more brittle than expected over sharper imperfections. The seats are on the firmer side, which may not suit everyone, especially for rear passengers.
But all of these do not fundamentally undermine the car.
Unless you’re coming from a turbocharged or electrified powertrain, the Xforce does not feel underpowered. Part of that comes down to how light it feels on its feet. There is no sense of excessive mass, no sluggishness when changing direction.
Through corners, it holds its line with confidence. There is no tendency to wash wide prematurely, and body control is composed enough to inspire trust even when you push it slightly beyond what you normally would in a B-segment SUV.
The throttle response is natural, even if the CVT does exhibit a slight rubber-band effect at low speeds when going on and off the throttle. The steering, while not particularly communicative, is consistent. The brakes are a touch grabby at first, but easy to adjust once used to it.
Ground clearance is generous at 222 mm, and more importantly, the car carries itself with a certain robustness that is difficult to quantify but easy to feel. There is a sense that it is built to handle poor roads, heavy rain, and daily abuse that does not show up in a brochure.
During a particularly heavy downpour, the Xforce just felt unfazed. Puddles, standing water, uneven surfaces. None of it introduced any anxiety. That reassurance is not something you can spec.
Even in terms of refinement, it feels inherently quiet rather than artificially insulated. There is no overly pressurised cabin effect, just a mechanical calmness that makes long drives easier to live with.
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The Yamaha sound system deserves a mention too. Again, it’s not impressive on paper; no exaggerated wattage figures, no subwoofer in the boot. And yet, it sounds genuinely good.
Clarity is excellent, with a decently wide soundstage. In “Signature” sound profile, the tuning leans towards a V-shaped profile, with crisp highs and controlled lows, without overloading the mid-range. Vocals remain clean, instruments are well separated, and there is none of the muddiness that you typically get in systems that rely on brute force rather than proper tuning.
It is not perfect. You can tell it is still limited by hardware when trying to reproduce the lowest frequencies, and it doesn’t have the richness and refinement of more expensive systems. But what matters is how cohesive and dynamic it sounds.
The reason it works is not because of the speakers alone, but because it was engineered as part of the car from the beginning, just like the rest of the Xforce.
Most buyers will look at value, features, and specifications. And objectively, there are competitors that offer more. More power. More technology. More perceived luxury. But not everything that matters shows up on a spec sheet.
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The way a car responds to your inputs. The way it behaves when the road conditions deteriorate. The way it simply gets on with the job unperturbed, without ever asking for your attention. These are things that are harder to quantify, but they are felt every single day.
Perhaps I am not the only one who sees it this way. The Mitsubishi Xforce has already secured over 1,000 bookings within its first week (tentative pricing set at around RM 110k for the Urban variant and RM 120k for the range-topping Ultimate). Maybe, just maybe, getting the fundamentals right still matters more than we think.
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