It’s been a strange past decade for Mitsubishi, one of rebuilding and one of leaning on a little bit of allied help. In North America, it’s quite obvious the Outlander is a close sibling of the Nissan Rogue. In Europe, it’s even more obvious that a whole bunch of Mitsubishi-branded models are actually thinly disguised Renaults. While it’s great to see new metal and the cars themselves seem solid, when will more of the new Mitsubishis be Mitsubishis?
Soon, potentially. This is the Mitsubishi Elevance concept which made its debut at the Japan Mobility Show and it’s actually kind of astounding. Alright, it looks like someone put the wrong doors on it at first glance, but almost all the black on the doors isn’t painted, it’s glass. That’s the sort of concept car thing we love to see, as is the operation of the rear coach doors. Classy.
Underneath its skin, the Elevance purports to be a plug-in hybrid, which isn’t unusual for Mitsubishi. What is unusual is its quad-motor all-wheel-drive setup. Where did Mitsubishi put the motors? In the wheels, interestingly enough. I guess unsprung weight doesn’t matter a whole lot on three-row SUVs, and there are definitely some packaging benefits to putting the motors in the hubs rather than under the floor. Benefits like a low, flat floor that allows for long-slide seats, proper concept car loungers. Three rows of them!
Speaking of the interior, there’s some weirdness going on with the front seats. Mitsubishi seems to depict them as reversible, rotating around for conversation, but with the tight-fitting console, how does that work? I mean, it’s a show car so it doesn’t have to, but yeah. Mind you, the dashboard itself is interesting because it’s actually not that wild beyond the floor-hinged brake pedal and immaculately finished unifootwell.
The pillar-to-pillar screens, minimalist climate control panel, and the rotary controller in the center console are all things we’ve seen on other production cars, enough to get the hopes up. Alright, the screen in the middle of the steering wheel probably won’t fly, but that’s the sort of concept car stuff that will inevitably stripped away, should the Elevance go on to preview a new Montero or something.
So what about that trailer? Well, it looks flat-pack, but Mitsubishi claims it can do more than just haul stuff. As the automaker wrote, “Equipped with a kitchen and shower enclosure, these features can be powered by the PHEV system to provide overnight comfort – transforming the experience into a refined glamping-style excursion.” Do we get any photos of the kitchen? No, but considering how the camp kitchen is a fan favorite on the Rivian R1T, it makes sense that Mitsubishi is doing something here.
[Mercedes’s Note: I loved the look of the camper, until I realized that its only window is the skylight. Way too many of the trendy “overland” camper designs today go for a nearly windowless bunker look, and it’s getting depressing. Bring back natural light, windows are good!
Update: I have looked into it further, and woah, the camper has a weird slide. Alright, now we’re talking! – MS]
While the Mitsubishi Elevance is definitely a concept car, it’s proof that Mitsubishi’s working on something cool. Pairing quad-motor torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive with a range-extender backup sounds like the best of all worlds for getting way out there, and it sounds like the three-water chestnut brand is working on something that could fight Scout and Rivian.
Top graphic image: Mitsubishi
If it’s a camper, the last thing I want is windows. But then again, I have blackout drapes in my bedroom so I can sleep past whenever the sun comes up. So, maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, another goofy design from this trade show.
Those headrests look diabolical to actually use. I don’t think headrest design should be dictated by aerodynamics.
There’s a slot in the side of each front seat bottom, and it doesn’t appear to move based on whether the seat is facing forward or backward. So my wild guess is that the seats don’t rotate; instead, the seat bottom pivots towards the front or rear of the vehicle, and the seat backs are attached to the center console via a short pillar that can be mounted to the front or the back of the console (note how they don’t seem to be attached to the seat bottoms at all in rotated configuration, but have that black pillar in between them that isn’t there in the other cockpit art).
THE SQUARES IN WHEELS TREND HAS GOT TO GO. SOMEBODY CONTACT THE CARMAKERS FOR ME AND TELL THEM THEY HAVE TO STOP. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. LP
As my avatar suggests we love Mitsubishi and this concept gets us excited.
The help from Nissan has been a plus but please if you must compare the Outlander to the Rogue, go drive one. I mean, the drivetrain is the old-school PR25DD and updated CVT8 but it doesn’t handle like a Rogue at all. Bigger brakes, nicer touches overall and at least a little more personality. It acts like the Rogues bigger brother the Pathfinder and really mimics it compared to the almost appliance like and boring Rogue and that awful 3-pot motor.
Did I miss something or are the photos of the seat arrangement missing a steering wheel? I think a skylight is okay to replace side windows plenty of light no creepy humans or bears peeking in and less able to break in.
I assumed that little towing trailer is a pop-up?
Forget about the silly stuff. Wheel hub motors and lounge-like interiors. Who cares about that stuff, it’s just a concept.
But step back and I think this is a very handsome SUV. Mitsu was floundering for many years to come up with a new styling direction. I think they nailed it with this one. It’s not sexy or anything like that, but for a truck, this is a great design language that looks rugged but not crazy over-the-top.
Why did pepper grinders instantly spring into my head?
There are prizes for the right answer.
Wild guess… Something related to Peugeot pepper grinders.
That was fast, please expand!
I realy need to send the prize to someone.
I wish I could expand but not really sure. Not sure if the light signature reminds you of the inside mechanism of a pepper grinder. Or maybe the wheel design reminds you of the knob that you turn on a pepper grinder. Like I said, it was just a wild guess, sorry.
Spot on.
It’s so….. boring. It looks like they copied Toyota and Hyundai’s homework. Must every new idea be the same idea with a different dumb name? I know these are billion dollar companies, but they can’t seem to afford to take any risk even with an undergrad level render?
I thought we have been hearing about wheel hub motors for a very long time?
I do like the Idea of a EREV where the teardrop camper can shoreline(?) to the vehicles gas generator for power.
wheel hub motors are a cool concept, but I feel like they would add a TON of unsprung mass and maintenance would be a massive pain.
A full BEV version would be a good idea.