"The Empire strikes back" is what came to mind when I drove the Mitsubishi Destinator for a week. Thats the Japanese response to the Chinese SUV onslaught in the Mzansi market. It's one hell of an offering from the renowned manufacturer and its definitely a model Mzansi SUV buyers should include in their shortlist.
In a market dominated by Chinese SUVs that tend to look the same bar the badge, the Destinator stands out with what I termed "Samurai" design. The front end with its straight lines, LED headlights in a grey enclosure look unique whilst the grey lower front bumper with fog lamps, hints at the SUV design DNA. The LED Daytime lights are L shaped and are placed between the bonnet and the headlights. 18 inch alloy wheels come in silver with black accents in line with the Exceed top spec and they definitely will be sought after in the after market industry as they really stand out.
Both wheel arches have a dynamic design line that runs from the front to the rear with Exceed spec coming with privacy glass. The spec also gets a panoramic glass roof which brings in an airy atmosphere inside the vehicle. The rear with its LED design lights, spoiler and shark fin antenna stands out. Overall, we found the design dynamic and different with onlookers asking what car it was more often than not. The keyless system works well with the door handle mounted button but the fact that when opening the electric boot, one needs to take out the key and press the unlock button before pressing the open button on the rear door is a bit counter intuitive where most rivals sense the key when you are close to the boot and when you then press the open button, they activate.
The interior is a solid and comfortable place to be and contrary to the latest "Chinese" big screens, the Destinator gets a well sized 12.3 inch colour infotainment screen thats placed neatly into the dash. Controls are within easy reach with buttons allowing much easier control of the climate control system, something that is really great when compared to the latest trend of integrating all functions into the screen (a dangerous and very inconvenient real life practice). The quality, fit and finish of the Destinator is excellent even though it can seem dull in certain areas. The multi function steering wheel allows easy control of the phone, entertainment, drive info and cruise control (no distance control function). The rear passenger tables mounted on the back of the front seats worked a treat with the young ones. Rear seat passengers can also set their own climate settings.
The Exceed comes with synthetic leather trim on all seats with the drivers seats electrically operated but without the memory function. The seats are very comfortable but one would have enjoyed the seat warmers that many rivals offer as standard.
The infotainment system has wireless connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard but in practice, the system can go in and out of the set up for no apparent reason. Bluetooth also needs one to reconnect to the same device one was using when switching the car off. This didn't happen all the time, hinting at a software issue.
All windows are electric but only the drivers has a one touch up and down function. The Yamaha sound system is quite good with clear projection of the voices but a sub woofer would have added an extra star to the whole experience.
Rear seats are functional with a 60:40 split folding whilst adjustable backrest allows one to easily find a comfortable position. Access to the rear seats is through a pivoting seat system that works a treat. The 3rd row seat is surprisingly functional even for teens but grown ups will struggle over long trips. Folding all seats flat gives massive space to carry stuff with multi storage spaces around the cabin making it an excellent day to day family mode of transport. Even with the 3rd row in use, there is still good usable space. Safety is handled by a large assortment of passive and reactive safety technology with the passive safety systems (Lane keep, Blind Spot, Hill Assist, All round parking cameras) proving easy to live with where some rivals systems tend interfere too much.
The instrument cluster has a digital screen that relays all driving info clearly for the driver with easy adjustments via the steering wheel buttons.
The electronic parking brake with auto hold works well whilst wireless charging comes standard. The gear-lever is positioned within easy reach whist the Drive mode selector allows one to change between Normal, Wet, Gravel, Mud and Tarmac modes. Small stowage space on the side of the gear lever panel is a welcome practical solution to oddment stowage.
Having not attended the local launch of the Destinator, I assumed it had the normal 2.0litre normally aspirated engine linked to a CVT which usually means a lot of noise and minimal power but after a brief drive, I felt the power delivery was much, much more than expected. Checking the specs revealed the model is powered by a very well developed 1.5 litre Turbo 4-cylinder engine thats a class above the rivals from China. It's efficient (8.0l/100km), smooth even when pressed but most importantly, it doesn't suffer from the accelerator calibration issue that Chinese engines suffer from. Credited with 120kW and 250Nm that comes in at low revs, the engine drives the front wheels only via a CVT gearbox. The other surprising aspect of the Destinator was how smooth the CVT transmission was and how its perfectly suited to the engine.
On road comfort is ok, nothing to shout home about but on our bad roads, the vibration and harshness levels gave one confidence the Destinaor would keep its quality feel for years to come. One does seat a bit high on the drivers chair and maybe a bit of adjustment to get the seat lower would have worked but thats just nit-picking. Visibility from the drivers seat is good with the thick A pillar sometimes impacting ease of view but again.... thats just nit-picking.
Overall, the Mitsubishi Destinator is a worthy offering in the mid size SUV segments where it's priced competitively at R569 990. Pricing includes a five-year/unlimited mileage warranty, a five-year/75 000km service plan. Service intervals are scheduled for every 15 000km or 12 months. 7 seater rivals include the Jetour X70 Plus (R484 900), Changan CS75 Pro (R489 900), Chery Tiggo 8 Pro (R529 900) which makes the price of the Destinator competitive whilst offering superior technical build.