New Mitsubishi Lancer to be a crossover

ABU DHABI: Remember the Mitsubishi Lancer sedan and the time when the CEO of the company declared that the sedan will no longer exist? Well, it seems that if not the car itself, the name is here to stay. The new Mitsubishi Lancer would be a completely new car.

There have been direct claims that the new Mitsubishi Lancer would be a crossover as Trevor Mann, the Chief Operating Officer of the brand, along with Tsunehiro Kunimoto, the designer chief, said that the company is working on the new model. Also, while addressing about the new car, it was indicated that the new car would be a crossover.

It is also official that the design of this new generation Mitsubishi Lancer is close to being finalised. The designing chief also mentioned that it will be based on the e-Evolution Concept, which was displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show last year. However, the designing won’t be so radical but more practical, though it would be slightly different than any of the crossovers seen thus far. This toned down model could turn up to be a direct competitor to the Subaru XV and C-HR.

Trevor Mann also mentioned that this new Mitsubishi Lancer would be replacing not only the ASX but also the Outlander. And considering the fact that the company got the Eclipse to be a crossover, the Lancer could also be similarly styled, thus following the same suit. However, if we consider what the company’s designing chief said, it would be slightly different than the Eclipse.

Apart from the information quoted, the company managed to conceal a chunk of details about the new car. The only piece of information that could be traced is that Nissan owns a huge part of Mitsubishi Motors. Hence, the new Lancer crossover could use the same platform that underpins the crossovers or SUVs from Nissan and Renault.

Also, according to reliable sources, the Mitsubishi Lancer could be available in a hybrid as well as all-wheel-drive mechanism along with the standard. However, the hybrid could be introduced after the standard and AWD versions are launched.