Photo: Mitsubishi
How many SUVs does Mitsubishi have at the present moment? In the U.S., Europe, and Australia, the automaker controlled by Renault-Nissan offers the ASX (also known as Outlander Sport), Eclipse Cross, Outlander, Pajero Sport, and Pajero. Therefore, it covers everything from the compact to the full-size segments.
There’s room for one more utility vehicle in there, however, and Mitsubishi doesn’t appear to think that the subcompact segment is worth considering, at least not for the time being. According to Car Buzz, the newcomer would arrive in the form of a “Bronco-fighting SUV,” which is a little bit curious.
You see, the 2020 Ford Bronco will arrive in 2019 as a mid-size utility vehicle for the lifestyle-oriented customer, riding on the underpinnings of the Ranger pickup truck. The Pajero Sport (a.k.a. Montero Sport) is also of the mid-sized variety, and under the skin, it shares the body-on-frame construction with the L200 workhorse, which is also called Triton in various markets.
Tsuneshiro Kunimoto, whose roles are that of vice president and general manager of Mitsubishi design, declared in Geneva this sort of SUV “would be a good decision for Mitsubishi,” although it’s not clear how the newcomer would differ from the Pajero Sport. The official couldn’t provide a launch date, but Kunimoto-san “did indicate development is already taking place.”
While we wait for more info on this subject to surface, it’s best to remember that the U.S.-spec Ranger is an evolution of the T6 that went official in 2011 in Europe and Down Under. With Mitsubishi lacking in the mid-size SUV department in the U.S., chances are something similar might be in the offing.
Think about it. With the Outlander and Outlander PHEV taking care of the mid-size crossover segment, a body-on-frame SUV would further the automaker’s presence in this part of the world. Stealing sales from the Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited doesn’t sound half bad, doesn’t it?
You see, the 2020 Ford Bronco will arrive in 2019 as a mid-size utility vehicle for the lifestyle-oriented customer, riding on the underpinnings of the Ranger pickup truck. The Pajero Sport (a.k.a. Montero Sport) is also of the mid-sized variety, and under the skin, it shares the body-on-frame construction with the L200 workhorse, which is also called Triton in various markets.
Tsuneshiro Kunimoto, whose roles are that of vice president and general manager of Mitsubishi design, declared in Geneva this sort of SUV “would be a good decision for Mitsubishi,” although it’s not clear how the newcomer would differ from the Pajero Sport. The official couldn’t provide a launch date, but Kunimoto-san “did indicate development is already taking place.”
While we wait for more info on this subject to surface, it’s best to remember that the U.S.-spec Ranger is an evolution of the T6 that went official in 2011 in Europe and Down Under. With Mitsubishi lacking in the mid-size SUV department in the U.S., chances are something similar might be in the offing.
Think about it. With the Outlander and Outlander PHEV taking care of the mid-size crossover segment, a body-on-frame SUV would further the automaker’s presence in this part of the world. Stealing sales from the Toyota 4Runner and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited doesn’t sound half bad, doesn’t it?
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