TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) has premiered online its fully redesigned Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).
Sales will commence in Japan on Dec 16, followed by Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2022 and North America in the second half of 2022.
The new Outlander, which is sold under the Airtrek nameplate in Japan, is based on the concept of "I-Fu-Do-Do" or authentic and majestic in Japanese.
It gets an evolved Dynamic Shield design for a new generation with a sense of presence.
From the side, the large-diameter 20-inch wheels along with the muscular fender flares and D-pillars are inspired by the vertical tail of airplanes and a floating roof to conjure an image of powerful yet crisp road performance.
The rear side of the new Outlander features tailgate design comprised of a hexagon motif, and the horizontally themed tail lights.
The Outlander now gets a large capacity 20kWh drive battery that increased the all-electric range to 87km (in WLTC mode) and allowed greater usage of air conditioner while reducing recharging frequency.
With 40% increased in output to the front and rear motors, and drive battery, the new model can keep driving in EV mode and avoid starting the engine as much as possible even when the accelerator is pressed hard.
In addition, fuel tank has also been increased to extend total driving range when combining EV mode with hybrid driving.
The power drive unit for the front motor is newly equipped with a booster function which bolsters driving force by raising the supply of voltage to the front motor while simultaneously improving electricity consumption by raising the efficiency of the generator.
Combining the rear motor with the control unit also allowed enough floor space to install a third row of seats, enabling a seven-passenger seating layout.
Installing the control unit on the outside of the passenger compartment has also helped to shut out high-frequency noise for superior quietness.
The accelerator pedal alone can exert proper braking force with no need to switch to the brake pedal when decelerating, so drivers can concentrate on steering as well as reducing fatigue caused by switching pedals.
The S-AWC (Super-All Wheel Control) integrated vehicle dynamics control system, based on a twin-motor 4WD system with one drive motor in front and another in the rear, has a new brake AYC (Active Yaw Control) function for the rear wheels.
This allows the system to distribute the driving force to the front and rear wheels optimally according to road and driving conditions, while torque vectoring by controlling the brakes on the left and right wheels is also possible for the front and rear wheels.
This makes it possible to extract the maximum performance from all four tyres in a more balanced manner, delivering handling true to the driver's intention and high operating stability.
Seven drive modes can be selected depending on road surface conditions and driving style.
Normal is the basic mode, optimised for normal driving on paved roads.
Tarmac mode provides brisk acceleration response and high-cornering performance on dry paved surfaces.
Gravel mode provides balanced operability and road handling ability on unpaved or wet paved roads.
Snow mode delivers stable vehicle behavior on snowy and other slippery roads.
Mud mode optimises tyre slippage according to vehicle speed for superior road handling on muddy roads and deep trenches of snow, while also providing better ability to escape when stuck.
Power mode, which can be used according to driving style, delivers powerful acceleration when needed.
Eco mode gives priority to fuel economy and environmentally friendly driving.
The Outlander's newly developed platform and highly rigid structure of RISE (Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution) body design also achieves a high level of safety and steering stability.
In addition to the evolved MI-Pilot7 single-lane driver assistance technology for highways, the Outlander also comes with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and Navi-link utilises map data to automatically adjust vehicle speed as needed according to curves, forks, and other circumstances on expressways.
Available are 10 body colors including the vivid, crystalline, high brightness Diamond Color series of Red Diamond, White Diamond, and the new Black Diamond.
