Comfort is an important consideration in a family car. Handling capabilities? Not so much. But there are some occasions where both characteristics go hand in hand. Case in point – the dampers on the Mitsubishi Xpander are said to have “high-performance valves” inspired by the mighty Lancer Evolution X.
This bold claim was made by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines during the crossover’s media drive and was notably picked up by publications such as Top Gear Philippines. This claim can also be found in marketing materials in a few markets, including Egypt.
Interestingly, Mitsubishi never made any mention of damper valves in press releases or marketing materials for the Evolution X. It should be pointed out that the car was available with two different damper options in its lifetime, with the High Performance Package adding Bilstein shock absorbers.
But what does the chassis of a hardcore rally-ready sports sedan have to do with a comfort-oriented people mover? Well, suspension technology doesn’t just benefit high-power, high-g-force applications – the use of better components also means that a car can provide a stable and supple ride, no matter how rough the terrain below is.
To understand why, let’s look at the basics of how a shock absorber works. It consists of a tube filled with fluid through which a piston moves – this piston features small orifices and valves that only allow a certain amount of fluid to pass through at any one time, providing the damping force.
Improvements to the valves can give you finer control over damping, which may not only reduce body roll but also improve the ride quality. These “high-performance valves” could make the Xpander feel more sophisticated on the road – important given that it rides on a more basic torsion beam rear suspension.
So, do Evolution X components really make a tangible difference to the way the Xpander drives? Well, we’ll just have to drive it when it launches in Malaysia later in the year, to find out.
GALLERY: 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander in Malaysia
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It is 3 years too late. Malaysian car buyers are sophisticted nowadays, demanding higher safety standard. They are paying a lot more attention to airbags, AEB, VSC, etc. Good luck if you can sell more than 1000. Proton X-50 orders have surpassed 6500.
lol mitsu stop living on ur past glories
A vehicle suspension set up does not depending on the dampers inner valve only.
There are many factors playing their specific role which include whether
1. It is MacPherson Strut
2. It is double wishbone type
3. It is multilink type.
4. Simple torsion beam axle
It also looks at the type of springs, the thickness, the length and height (an easy differences can be felt at wira 1.5 and 1.6 which have different size of springs and absorbers).
Then the type of absorbers used.. Whether it is fully hydraulic or if there is a gas discharge container within it to control damping pressure.
Honda BRV 120ps gooder then Evo suspension..
Oh yes. My Inspira also uses the same door panels as EvoX. The interior furnishing too. Wonder why Proton didn’t publicise that feature. LOL!
Mitsubishi uses top quality parts and top notch engineering for their cars. This is why the Iswara, Wira still can be seen on our roads. They use the Mitsubishi block engines.
I can only wish we still had Mitsubishi engines in our cars. They last over 30 years with no problems at all.
I hardly can see any China cars that are over 10 years old on our roads.
Maybe cuz China branded cars didn’t make their appearance here 10 years ago?
Easy, just look at where Mitsubishi now – half dead. And Proton will be in same condition if still tied up with it.
Promoting pipul buy mitsu spender to race in public roads highways?
Its will sell well if they change tht stupid name..
OMG don’t tempt the JDM industry. Now we’ll see this mpv everywhere. What have you done Paultan…
Proton: My Wira & Inspira has more Evo parts than your Xpender.
Mitsu: *cries in the corner*
Kudos to Mitsu, since joined force mighty Nissan.
damper valves are stacks of washers with holes in them. basically every damper has them. you can say that even kancil has same components as evox because its dampers has valves, no matter if it is “high performance” or not.
I remembered when I bought my Xpander, the salesperson told me that the Xpander had EVO X derived suspension, and it was also a talking point amongst the media and enthusiasts alike in Indonesia…so I can probably give some insights into how the car handles…
First of all no, the handling is nowhere near as sharp and precise like an EVO X, but however the EVO X inspired components gives a ride that is comfortable and for me the Xpander is one of the best handling cars in the segment..probably the only car that can match its handling and ride is the latest Ertiga…which probably explains why Perodua has both of these cars for benchmarking purposes for the next gen Alza
Bring in the delica
Wow. This qualifies as Evo X tech? Quite a bit of a stretch. Mitsubishi should really find new marketing guys.
I love Mitsubishi engines. They ae 1000x better than Campro
Agreed. They ae aso 1000x more prone to catch fire.
what is this dugong??
FoG
Why not reach out to Mitsubishi for clarification on this than to speculate? I believe that marketing USPs come from Japan and different countries choose to focus on different things.
Aruz, Avanza and now Xpander …
the 3 sampans ?
Taukeh kedai potong: “Ada saja “Evo” punya balang……itu balang mayak baguih. Bule jual mahal”
Yaaaaaaaaaaaa, this is how you sell a 1985 tech in 2020