Mitsubishi briefly pulled out of the European car market, and though it returned this year with a bunch of rebadged Renaults, it’s a tiny player there, and you still won’t find the brand in the UK at all.
But things are different in Indonesia, where Mitsubishi is a strong force thanks to vehicles like the Xpander minivan, which is built in the country and has topped the sales charts. And it looks like the Japanese brand might have another hit on its hands with a new compact SUV being teased ahead of a August 10 debut at the Indonesian International Auto Show.
Mitsubishi had already issued a few teaser images in May, but now it’s dropped a second batch, along with a video showing glimpses of a design sketch, the infotainment screen and a prototype being put through its paces on the test track.
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Though none of those clips or images gives us a clear look at the finished car, Mitsubishi’s 2022 XFC Concept helps us fill in some of the styling blanks. The new compact SUV is essentially a showroom version of the XFC, and though details like the concept’s camera-based door mirrors and invisible door handles won’t feature on the production car, the basic design of the body with its kicked-up waistline and floating C-pillar, and the shape of the grille and front and rear lights, appears to be carried across. As do certain elements of the interior, such as the the shape of the infotainment screen that extends from the digital gauge cluster.
Mitsubishi hasn’t revealed much in the way of technical details, mentioning only that it will have a “top-class” 8.7-in (222 mm) ground clearance and feature four driving modes, including a Wet mode for the first time on one of the brand’s vehicles. The other modes are Normal, Gravel and Mud, which makes sense if you’ve ever seen the state of Indonesia’s roads in the rainy season. The company also proudly trumpets its new Yamaha sound system, which suggests there won’t be much groundbreaking technical gadgetry onboard.
There certainly won’t be any EV powertrains because this SUV’s intended ASEAN market is lagging behind that of China, Europe and America when it comes to EV uptake. The new SUV also appears to be front- rather than all-wheel drive, judging by the claim that the Active Yaw Control (AYC) only adjusts the power going to the front left and right wheels.
