Photo: Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi is going to display the Concept XR-PHEV II next week in Geneva, but before doing so, the carmaker from the Land of the Rising Sun is keeping speculation rolling with a photo-preview of the its hybrid crossover concept.
After the two teaser-pictures released by Mitsubishi back in January, here comes a more generous look on the XR-PHEV II concept. Thanks to that, we can confirm there’s nothing new under the sun, as we’re basically looking at the XR-PHEV prototype revealed in November 2013.
Nothing open for discussion here: there’s still a coupe-esque air about it, but we knew that already. In fact, what is the point in updating a concept over and over again, without any focus on a final, useful product?
However, we tried comparing the concept with the original XR-PHEV and it looks like the second iteration earned a trapezoid-shaped front grille and minor design changes on its headlights and wheels, but as I said, nothing too obvious or consistent.
So, the XR-PHEV II concept’s design is old news really, but how about the powertrain? As its name suggests, the prototype is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (that’s what PHEV stands for, but you knew that already) with front-wheel drive.
In more detail, the concept puts together a conventional internal combustion engine with a new electric motor, fed by a 12 kWh battery. The electric motor develops 163 HP and is placed at the front of the small SUV, along with the entire hybrid system.
Mitsubishi says its concept can automatically swap between all-electric, series hybrid or parallel hybrid modes in order to better adapt to driving conditions and battery level. But don’t worry, the driver is not given the could-shoulder as he or she can still manually select the driving mode - either Battery Save or Battery Charge.
What we were really hoping for was a next-gen Outlander PHEV but that won’t become a reality any time soon given Mitsubishis’s enthusiastic preference for revising concepts. Still, we’re optimistic regarding the matter and really believe that third time’s the charm for Mitsubishi. Otherwise, we should get ready for the XR-PHEV III.
Nothing open for discussion here: there’s still a coupe-esque air about it, but we knew that already. In fact, what is the point in updating a concept over and over again, without any focus on a final, useful product?
However, we tried comparing the concept with the original XR-PHEV and it looks like the second iteration earned a trapezoid-shaped front grille and minor design changes on its headlights and wheels, but as I said, nothing too obvious or consistent.
So, the XR-PHEV II concept’s design is old news really, but how about the powertrain? As its name suggests, the prototype is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (that’s what PHEV stands for, but you knew that already) with front-wheel drive.
In more detail, the concept puts together a conventional internal combustion engine with a new electric motor, fed by a 12 kWh battery. The electric motor develops 163 HP and is placed at the front of the small SUV, along with the entire hybrid system.
Mitsubishi says its concept can automatically swap between all-electric, series hybrid or parallel hybrid modes in order to better adapt to driving conditions and battery level. But don’t worry, the driver is not given the could-shoulder as he or she can still manually select the driving mode - either Battery Save or Battery Charge.
What we were really hoping for was a next-gen Outlander PHEV but that won’t become a reality any time soon given Mitsubishis’s enthusiastic preference for revising concepts. Still, we’re optimistic regarding the matter and really believe that third time’s the charm for Mitsubishi. Otherwise, we should get ready for the XR-PHEV III.
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