Just as the first batch of Xpander MPVs have arrived into the country, Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corporation is busy validating its fuel efficiency by replicating the Department of Energy (DOE) fuel economy run using both manual and automatic transmission variants of the Xpander.

Two Xpander variants—a GLX M/T and GLS Sport A/T were driven simultaneously with four other competitive models along the Subic Clark Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

Ensuring fairness in conducting and obtaining the results, the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) monitored and supervised the whole run.


Each of the six vehicles ran an average distance of 236.58 kilometers and the Xpander managed 21.01 km/L for the manual and 22.94 km/L for the automatic. Mitsubishi did not mention the four other competitive models that joined the Xpander, but they did mention that the third placed model recorded 19.8 km/L while the least efficient of the group measured 17.4 km/L.

However, comparing the figures from the official 2016 and 2017 DOE Fuel Economy Runs, the Xpander did come out on top (at least for the automatic variant) compared to the Honda BR-V (22.22 km/L), Suzuki Ertiga (22.03 km/L), and even Innova Diesel (21.60 km/L). It’s beaten though by the Mobilio’s 24.69 km/L, the economy figure of which was done over a longer course.

Looking at things from a cost per kilometer basis, the Innova Diesel still ranks number one with a 7 percent cost advantage, but that’s mainly because of the affordability of diesel. Among gasoline-powered 7-seater MPVs, it’s actually the Mobilio that ends up with the next best figure followed by the Xpander.