After more than 18 months of lockdowns and travel restrictions, Mitsubishi says Australians are yearning to try something new, to get outside and go exploring.
All of which must be good news for the brand, which is gearing up to launch its massively improved Outlander SUV on November 1, and promoting its trick AWD system.
The Mitsubishi Motors Australia survey was conducted as market research for the upcoming next-gen SUV, and indicates what we suspected: Australians are prepared for adventure.
The survey was conducted online between a brief period of September 30 to October 5, 2021, with a sample size of 1037 responses from Australians aged 18 years and older.
Following the completion of the survey, the data recorded was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.
One in three (32 per cent) of respondents say they have saved money during the pandemic, which they intend to use for domestic travel, with 9 per cent strongly agreeing in this regard.
“As Australia re-opens, there is a real desire to reignite our collective passion for the family road trip and discover new experiences,” said Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO Shaun Westcott.
In regard to making a good road trip great, the respondents cited the scenery (60 per cent), stop-off along the way (47 per cent) and in-car experience (35 per cent) as the three most enjoyable aspects of a road trip.
Lower travel costs, good quality roadside assistance, better road maintenance and less congestion on the road were the main reasons given for how a road trip could be improved.
The top states that respondents want to road trip in are Queensland (20 per cent) and New South Wales (18 per cent), followed by Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory, and then ACT.
According to the survey, Gen Z are most likely to try something new post-pandemic (54 per cent) compared to their millennial (49 per cent), Gen X (34 per cent), Baby Boomer (20 per cent) and Silent Gen (13 per cent) counterparts.
Parents are the individuals who are itching for a new adventure (21 per cent) the most as they have been navigating school closures and homeschooling to some degree for the last 18 months.
They are twice as likely as those without children (10 per cent) to say they feel much more adventurous and willing to try something new.
The data found that states that have been in the harshest lockdowns, New South Wales (43 per cent) and Victoria (36 per cent), are the most adventure-hungry out of all of the country.
The survey also found that nearly half (45 per cent) of respondents say their preferred mode of travel is driving with three in four saying they plan on taking a road trip in 2022.
With the Christmas/holiday season almost upon us yet again, more than 70 per cent of Australians are planning to travel this summer.
“The holiday season and Australia Day weekend are always busy on our roads,”said Tim Clarke, Product Strategy Manager for the next-generation Outlander SUV and ‘Low Emission’ vehicle range.
“This year, as more Australians take road trips and enjoy all our country has to offer, [it] will be no different.”
The busiest holiday period will be between December 18-24 with 48 per cent of respondents planning on setting off for the Christmas/holiday season between these dates.
Fuel prices are expected to surge around these dates, but have been on a recent spike as more states are emerging from lockdowns.
According to daily data from Motormouth, fuel prices in Sydney are sitting at an average of 175.3 cents per litre, in Melbourne an average of 172.2 cents per litre, and in Brisbane an average of 179.4 cents per litre.
The new Outlander will arrive Down Under in November and be based on the bones of the next-generation Nissan X-Trail.
