After driving the ASX for a few days I can finally see why parents may want to own one!
I’ve driven a number of family cars during my ten years as an au pair, when paranoid parents would prefer me to use their vehicles when transporting their precious cargo to and from school and play dates.
The ASX has, by far, been the easiest and most practical to drive.
So many things are taken into consideration when it comes to the driving and the safety of children. Are the airbags in good shape? Does the vehicle allow for safe and easy installation of car seats? These are all factors worth investigating, especially if you consider the high road death toll involving children.
Last week I attended a workshop on child car safety, hosted by Mitsubishi at the Killarney race track.
During the workshop I was shocked to learn that in 2009, 1 789 children under the age of 14 died in car crashes. Among these alarming stats we learnt just how careless South Africans still are with regards to car seat and seat belt safety with our kids. And despite what you may think about the age at which you should switch your child’s seat to forward-facing, we learnt that you should in fact keep him/her in a rear-facing seat for as long as possible (or when they’re physically too big for it).
Safe fun in the ASX
Once the serious stuff was done we head for some fun on the track to check out the ASX’s brake test and various safety demonstrations. I decided to see for myself as a passenger just how reliable the ASX’s braking system is and jumped in the backseat for one of the tests. Check out the videos and see for yourself.
Video via Youtube 
120km/hour brake-test Mitsubishi ASX
ECP activated brake/over-steering test…and other near death experiences
After an informative and eventful day I was fortunate to be able to keep the car for a few days and I am so glad we got this opportunity as one day just wasn’t enough to explore all that the ASX has to offer and I wanted to test how practical the car is when it comes to driving kids around.
A 2 month old and an ASX
A good friend and her 2 month old boy joined me on a mini-road trip in the ASX. Knowing just how paranoid and safety-conscious she is about transporting her precious cargo, I felt confident that she’d not only feel comfortable in the ASX but that she’d enjoy the ride too.
When I collected them she told me that she’d been struggling to get baby Ashton to sleep and that he’d been pretty restless the whole morning. ‘Perfect,’ I thought, because I knew how smooth and quiet the ASX is and that a mini road trip in it would be just the thing to send him off into an ASX coma.
Before we left I decided to let -˜mom’ handle Ashton’s car seat instillation. Having installed Ashton’s car seat in various other cars, I wanted to see her reaction to fitting it with the ASX’s Isofix and decided to let her pack the boot and set up the back seat (which in the end looked like a happy baby’s room).
"There was LOADS of space in the back seat for my baby’s car seat and base and there was no need to move the front seat forward to make room either! In the car I drive there’s absolutely no leg room in the front passenger seat when the baby seat is behind it. I also have to adjust the backseat so that I can store the pram in the boot, so basically everything gets shifted forward and no one can sit in the front with me. The ASX really can fit the whole family in the front and back while still having enough space in the boot for luggage, prams and groceries."
One of my pet peeves about driving with new cars is when I have to fiddle around with buttons and levers for ages to figure out how everything works. As the driver it’s important that you are as comfortable as possible before embarking on a road trip so that you don’t end up getting distracted by having to readjust things while driving. I was ready and we were all set to go in no time and only at one point did I need to readjust my seat which took minimal effort thanks to its easily accessible shifting features.
There are loads of other practical and comfortable cars out there but not all of them prove to be as safe and this was my biggest concern for my friend and her baby.
"The ASX’s car seats are big enough and flat enough to ensure that the car seat doesn’t wobble and the Isofix helps secure the car seat and stop it from sliding around-something I’ve struggled with in other cars. He enjoyed the ride so much that after a difficult morning he fell asleep as the car started driving. Love the ASX. I need that car!"
Pictures from the ASX safety day
If you’d like to read more about the Misubishi ASX check out WOW editor, Juliet McGuire’s review here.
After driving the ASX for a few days I can finally see why parents may want to own one!
I’ve driven a number of family cars during my ten years as an au pair, when paranoid parents would prefer me to use their vehicles when transporting their precious cargo to and from school and play dates.
The ASX has, by far, been the easiest and most practical to drive.
So many things are taken into consideration when it comes to the driving and the safety of children. Are the airbags in good shape? Does the vehicle allow for safe and easy installation of car seats? These are all factors worth investigating, especially if you consider the high road death toll involving children.
Last week I attended a workshop on child car safety, hosted by Mitsubishi at the Killarney race track.
During the workshop I was shocked to learn that in 2009, 1 789 children under the age of 14 died in car crashes. Among these alarming stats we learnt just how careless South Africans still are with regards to car seat and seat belt safety with our kids. And despite what you may think about the age at which you should switch your child’s seat to forward-facing, we learnt that you should in fact keep him/her in a rear-facing seat for as long as possible (or when they’re physically too big for it).
Safe fun in the ASX
Once the serious stuff was done we head for some fun on the track to check out the ASX’s brake test and various safety demonstrations. I decided to see for myself as a passenger just how reliable the ASX’s braking system is and jumped in the backseat for one of the tests. Check out the videos and see for yourself.
Video via Youtube
120km/hour brake-test Mitsubishi ASX
ECP activated brake/over-steering test…and other near death experiences
After an informative and eventful day I was fortunate to be able to keep the car for a few days and I am so glad we got this opportunity as one day just wasn’t enough to explore all that the ASX has to offer and I wanted to test how practical the car is when it comes to driving kids around.
A 2 month old and an ASX
A good friend and her 2 month old boy joined me on a mini-road trip in the ASX. Knowing just how paranoid and safety-conscious she is about transporting her precious cargo, I felt confident that she’d not only feel comfortable in the ASX but that she’d enjoy the ride too.
When I collected them she told me that she’d been struggling to get baby Ashton to sleep and that he’d been pretty restless the whole morning. ‘Perfect,’ I thought, because I knew how smooth and quiet the ASX is and that a mini road trip in it would be just the thing to send him off into an ASX coma.
Before we left I decided to let -˜mom’ handle Ashton’s car seat instillation. Having installed Ashton’s car seat in various other cars, I wanted to see her reaction to fitting it with the ASX’s Isofix and decided to let her pack the boot and set up the back seat (which in the end looked like a happy baby’s room).
"There was LOADS of space in the back seat for my baby’s car seat and base and there was no need to move the front seat forward to make room either! In the car I drive there’s absolutely no leg room in the front passenger seat when the baby seat is behind it. I also have to adjust the backseat so that I can store the pram in the boot, so basically everything gets shifted forward and no one can sit in the front with me. The ASX really can fit the whole family in the front and back while still having enough space in the boot for luggage, prams and groceries."
One of my pet peeves about driving with new cars is when I have to fiddle around with buttons and levers for ages to figure out how everything works. As the driver it’s important that you are as comfortable as possible before embarking on a road trip so that you don’t end up getting distracted by having to readjust things while driving. I was ready and we were all set to go in no time and only at one point did I need to readjust my seat which took minimal effort thanks to its easily accessible shifting features.
There are loads of other practical and comfortable cars out there but not all of them prove to be as safe and this was my biggest concern for my friend and her baby.
"The ASX’s car seats are big enough and flat enough to ensure that the car seat doesn’t wobble and the Isofix helps secure the car seat and stop it from sliding around-something I’ve struggled with in other cars. He enjoyed the ride so much that after a difficult morning he fell asleep as the car started driving. Love the ASX. I need that car!"
Pictures from the ASX safety day
If you’d like to read more about the Misubishi ASX check out WOW editor, Juliet McGuire’s review here.
