Mitsubishi ASX (2017-2023) review: a compact crossover that ran out the clock
MotorsSouq Editorial Team
Buy an ASX only at a genuine budget price where its simple, well-proven 2.0L/CVT drivetrain and small footprint for Manama parking make sense; a same-money Creta or Duster will out-equip and out-resell it in every other respect. Confirm CVT service history — this generation's transmission is tolerant of neglect but not immune to it.
Pros
- Mature, well-understood 2.0L/CVT drivetrain with a solid Bahrain track record
- Compact footprint, easy to park and manoeuvre
- Cheap to buy relative to same-age rivals
- Simple mechanicals that independent workshops know well
Cons
- Only two airbags and no modern driver-assistance tech at any trim
- Cabin and infotainment feel a full generation behind current rivals
- Discontinued in the GCC with no direct replacement
- Weak resale compared with Creta, Duster or Seltos
The ASX arrived in 2010 as a genuinely competitive compact crossover and left the GCC market thirteen years later having received little more than styling refreshes. The last facelift, sold locally through 2023, carries the same 2.0-litre four and CVT combination that powered early cars, which by the end of its run meant a driving experience that felt unmistakably a decade old next to a Tucson or Sportage.
What still works
The powertrain's age is also its strength: the 2.0-litre/CVT pairing has years of real-world Bahrain mileage behind it with few surprises, and independent workshops know it well. Its compact footprint — genuinely smaller than an Outlander or a modern Tucson — makes it easy to park around Manama's older neighbourhoods and Muharraq's narrower streets, something buyers moving out of a hatchback into their first crossover tend to appreciate.
Where it falls down is everything Mitsubishi didn't spend money updating: a two-airbag base grade well below current segment norms, no adaptive cruise or lane-keeping at any trim level, and an infotainment system that looks and feels like it belongs in a car half its price by the time you compare it with a same-era Creta.
The value case
The ASX only makes sense in Bahrain's used market at a genuine discount to a Creta, Duster or Seltos of similar age and mileage — buyers paying anything close to parity are better served elsewhere. Where it does make sense is as a cheap, mechanically simple second car or a first crossover for a new driver, provided the price reflects its dated safety kit rather than the reputation of a nameplate the brand no longer actively markets here.