2023 Mitsubishi RVR/ASX Owner’s Manual

When the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance made a 2-hour-long presentation in June 2022, announcing their 2030 roadmap, the headline was their goal to produce 35 new electric vehicles across the brands based on five common platforms.

One of the side notes of this presentation was a teaser confirming a new ASX generation coming this year that would share the same framework as the second-generation Renault Captur, the Renault Clio, and the Nissan Juke. However, the Alliance failed to highlight how similar the new RVR would be to the Captur, and for good reason.

While the Alliance typically promises a high level of differentiation in exterior and interior designs for models across brands that share the same platform, we do not get anything close to that with the 2023 RVR.

The new RVR borrows so much from the Renault Captur that it could practically be considered the same car with a different logo. Placed side-by-side, their exteriors match to a T (including wheel designs,) with the only notable difference being the front grille shape and the logo that sits dead center on it.

The 2023 Mitsubishi RVR also mirrors the Renault Captur under the hood, although unlike with the exterior gaff, this semblance should be expected for vehicles sharing the same underpinnings.

The most notable change in this department from last year is the introduction of a new ASX variant that represents the first Mitsubishi sold in Europe that features a full hybrid powertrain setup. The ASX pairs two electric motors with a 1.6-liter gasoline engine to produce 157 horsepower. The setup comes mated to an automatic multimode transmission.

Engine options for the regular RVR include a base 1-liter three-cylinder that produces 90 horsepower and a 1.3-liter turbocharged option that is available in two tuning levels: a 138-horsepower variant that is mated with a six-speed manual transmission and a beefier 155-HP options that ships together with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.