Photo: S. Baldauf/Guido ten Brink
What exactly is going on at Mitsubishi? We'd honestly like to know. It's as if everybody there took a vacation and left their children to lead the company. Every concept the Japanese manufacturer has presented in the last two or three years has looked like a toy car.
The design language Mitsubishi has been threatening us to adopt lately is absolutely ridiculous. It's not even funny - it's just ugly. There's a reason Volkswagen is was doing so well: its cars were bland, neutral, they didn't rock the boat. Coming up with love it or hate it designs is a dangerous tactic because you can never be sure what percentage of the public will fall in each category. The Nissan Juke took a gamble and won, but it could have just as easily joined the Fiat Multipla or the Pontiac Aztek on the list of worst looking cars ever. And don't even get us started on GT-PHEV Concept's pedestrian safety rating...
If Mitsubishi launches an SUV resembling its GT-PHEV concept, then it has a place guaranteed over there. The GT (short for Ground Tourer) is the successor of the two XR-PHEV concepts shown in Tokyo in 2013 and Geneva two years later. It drives on Mitsubishi's hybrid powertrain featuring three electric motors (one in front and two at the rear) and one internal combustion engine.
This is probably the best part of the car. The GT-PHEV can travel as far as 120 km (75 miles) on electric power alone, while helped by the gas-burning engine, it will be able to cover up to 1,200 km (750 miles). The Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) technology we know from the company's regular SUVs will make an appearance here as well giving the concept an enviable off-road pedigree.
The interior is a lesson in minimalism with only a few buttons and knobs adorning the center console. The GT-PHEV has plenty of touch-sensitive controls and shiny black surfaces interlaced with colored leather and the mandatory dark plastic. It's got a touchpad, a dial gear shifter (like a Land Rover) and a second dial that chooses between preset configurations depending on the type of surface the car is traveling on (much like Land Rover's Terrain Response system).
The two ear-like screens stemming from the instrument cluster are Mitsubishi's solution to the removal of the side mirrors. The two displays have a more ergonomic position than the actual mirrors, but maybe they could have been placed even higher on the dashboard to reduce the driver's need to take his eyes off the road even further.
Even though the GT-PHEV certainly has its qualities, you can't help but feel Mitsubishi is a little lost lately. It has never been among the top global manufacturers relying instead on niche products like the Pajero or the Lancer EVO to build its fame, but now it feels like the Japanese company is just out of sync with the rest of the industry. It's like Mitsubishi is living in a world of its own, parallel to our own, but when the two eventually collide, it's pretty clear which will end on top. No need for a hint.
If Mitsubishi launches an SUV resembling its GT-PHEV concept, then it has a place guaranteed over there. The GT (short for Ground Tourer) is the successor of the two XR-PHEV concepts shown in Tokyo in 2013 and Geneva two years later. It drives on Mitsubishi's hybrid powertrain featuring three electric motors (one in front and two at the rear) and one internal combustion engine.
This is probably the best part of the car. The GT-PHEV can travel as far as 120 km (75 miles) on electric power alone, while helped by the gas-burning engine, it will be able to cover up to 1,200 km (750 miles). The Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) technology we know from the company's regular SUVs will make an appearance here as well giving the concept an enviable off-road pedigree.
The interior is a lesson in minimalism with only a few buttons and knobs adorning the center console. The GT-PHEV has plenty of touch-sensitive controls and shiny black surfaces interlaced with colored leather and the mandatory dark plastic. It's got a touchpad, a dial gear shifter (like a Land Rover) and a second dial that chooses between preset configurations depending on the type of surface the car is traveling on (much like Land Rover's Terrain Response system).
The two ear-like screens stemming from the instrument cluster are Mitsubishi's solution to the removal of the side mirrors. The two displays have a more ergonomic position than the actual mirrors, but maybe they could have been placed even higher on the dashboard to reduce the driver's need to take his eyes off the road even further.
Even though the GT-PHEV certainly has its qualities, you can't help but feel Mitsubishi is a little lost lately. It has never been among the top global manufacturers relying instead on niche products like the Pajero or the Lancer EVO to build its fame, but now it feels like the Japanese company is just out of sync with the rest of the industry. It's like Mitsubishi is living in a world of its own, parallel to our own, but when the two eventually collide, it's pretty clear which will end on top. No need for a hint.
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