Archive for Mitsubishi

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Mitsubishi has released a sketch of a new “Compact Crossover” based on the Mitsubishi Concept-cX concept car that it displayed two years ago. Mitsubishi claims it will be a game changer for it in the European market. They say they’ve been associated mostly with SUVs in the past, mostly thanks to the Pajero and now the Outlander. The new vehicle continues to have the same family look that they’re slapping on every car they have out there including the Colt, and will be the firm’s first ‘crossover’. The new car will go on sale in Japan from February 2010 onwards, and will make its European debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

Mitsubishi has announced some changes for the 2010 model year of the Lancer Evolution X. At the moment these changes only affect the Evolution X sold in Japan and it is unclear if the updated Evolution X will reach our shores.

Exterior wise, the ‘Evo’ has received thicker side skirts while the plastic parts up front (around the front bumper) are now collectively lighter by 1.5 kg. This should improve power to weight ratio but Mitsubishi did not reveal performance figures for the 2010 model. On the inside, the trim has been tweaked and there is a new colour LCD screen that is nestled between the speedometer and tachometer. The screen features better readability and offers more functions. Under the hood, the only update is the engine cover that is now made of resin, although the auto maker did not reveal the benefits offered by the material – perhaps weight reduction (like the bumpers, etc)?

Other updates includes a windshield with noise reduction properties, an improved cruise control function, “welcome lights” and “coming home lights” features that turn on headlights when entering and leaving the car at night as well as a one-touch window washer function with improved water atomization. Chrome rings have also been added to the air conditioning control knobs.

The 5-speed manual for the range-topping GSR Premium Edition model has been dropped. Instead, it only comes with a 6-speed dual clutch SST transmission. The 5-speed manual is now only offered with GSR and RS trim levels.

Pricing in Japan starts from 3,150,000 yen (about RM 116,000) for the RS and tops out at 5,071,500 yen (about RM 186,000) for the GSR Premium Edition.

Look for more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Japanese market Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X receives minor changes

Some UK police departments will begin trialling Mitsubishi i-MiEV police cars, starting with the West Midlands police department in December 2009. A small zero emissions city car like this will be perfect as a patrol vehicle, zooming around quietly and cleanly through neighbourhoods watching out for any baddies. The i-MiEV has a 160km radius with decent driving behaviours, and a 120km/h top speed. Over here in Malaysia I think we used to use Kancils as these short distance patrol cars but I rarely see them in my area anymore – all the cops use Wajas here in Cheras.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi i-MiEV police car trial in the UK

I’m sure all of us here have seen a garbage collector truck going about doing it stuff around our neighbourhoods before. Once in a while they would stop and the engine would begin revving high while stationary. The engine is actually powering the garbage compactor. This of course causes both environmental and noise pollution.

Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. has worked with Mitsubishi to install the i-MiEV’s electric drive into the garbage truck. Of course, the tiny system designed for a compact car isn’t powerful enough to move the whole truck on electric power. Instead, only the garbage compactor runs on the i-MiEV system.

According to them, the results are decent. They managed a 75% cut in truck CO2 emissions during use by utilizing battery power for the trash compactor instead of the engine. And of course if you just shut off the engine while you’re compacting the trash this can be reduced to zero in terms of both noise and CO2 emissions. There is even a benefit cost-wise as the electricity cost to run the trash compactor is significantly less than diesel fuel usually used in normal trash compactors.

With almost no noise and no gas emissions during compactor use, the new truck is optimal for trash collection from within buildings, during early morning or late at night. Of course here in Malaysia there is no such consideration for noise pollution – everyone just does whatever they want without thought for others.

In Europe you see alot of little hatchbacks like the Peugeot 206 running around as “vans”, so this little car you see above probably makes sense. Mitsubishi took the i-MiEV and converted it into a little zero emissions goods transporter that seats two and has a luggage compartment measuring about 1,350mm wide by 1,180mm deep and 1,100mm tall.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo: zero emissions van

I’m actually pretty amazed. Here is a concept car that’s quite obviously an SUV, but it has not been given the sloping coupe roofline treatment by its designers. They must have not really bought into that whole tall four door coupe with large wheels thing, which I feel is refreshing. What’s wrong with the traditional SUV shape. I mean, some might argue that everything about it is wrong since it’s an SUV to begin with, but hey there are people who still like and buy SUVs.

A wheelbase of 2,630mm and dimensions of 4,510mm by 1,830mm by 1,65mm makes this about the same size as the first generation Outlander/AirTrek actually. It’s smaller than the current second generation OutLander (which is also sold as a Peugeot 4007 and a Citroen C-Crosser).

So this could be a prototype for a new compact SUV slotted beneath the Outlander. The interior is definitely concept for now but the exterior looks pretty much production-ready. But if that’s the case, where does that leave the old Concept-cX that’s supposedly going into production? Is that some kind of new cross-Colt kind of compact hatch?

The PX-MiEV is powered by a new hybrid powertrain called the Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid System. The name’s definitely not as cool as Hybrid Synergy Drive but the system consisting of a petrol engine and electric motors can operate in either EV mode, series hybrid mode, parallel hybrid mode, regenerative mode, charging mode, and finally power supply mode. While driving, the various drive modes are selected using the MiEV OS system according to the data it has access to.

The EV mode is probably the most simple to understand – powered by the vehicle’s batteries, the front motor drives the vehicle. The MiEV OS also has all-wheel drive logic in it so if there is front wheel slip, the rear motor also activates to provide traction. Both front and rear motors can produce a combined 60kW and 200Nm on their own. In terms of EV mode range, you can expect to travel over 50km on the Japanese 10-15 drive cycle.

The petrol engine is a 1.6 liter MIVEC unit making 85kW and 125Nm of torque. It has a generating capacity of 70kW. When the battery energy level falls to a predetermined level, the gasoline engine starts and generates electricity to charge the batteries. This is called the series hybrid mode and the MIVEC engine does not drive the vehicle – it just generates electricity for the motors which drive the vehicle.

The other hybrid mode is the parallel hybrid mode. Probably because of gearing and the fact that Mitsubishi says a combustion engine is more efficient at high engine revolutions, the car runs on parallel hybrid mode at higher speeds such as highway speeds. In this mode, the MIVEC engine drives the wheels, and is assisted by the rear motor whenever the additional traction is required such as during sudden lane changes or other maneuvers. If additional power boost is needed, both the front and rear motors activate to provide peak power.

And then there is of course the regenerative mode, charging mode and power supply modes. The regenerative mode is easy to explain – its basically brake energy regeneration when the car is slowing down or coasting along a long descending slope. The charge mode is when the car is plugged in to the wall to charge. You can define your own schedule to begin charging or to run other functions such as use air conditioning to cool down the vehicle at preset times.

The power supply mode is something interesting. Basically it allows the vehicle to be part of a “Smart Grid” concept. The car can store electricity at night (where in some countries the rates are lower as it is off-peak) and then allow you to use that electricity later during the day via regular connectors. The car’s battery can be used as a power source during natural disasters, or in situations such as powering cooking or lighting equipment when you bring the vehicle to a campsite. If the charge level drops below a certain predetermined level, the MIVEC engine will fire up to maintain the power supply.

As if debuting a new plug-in hybrid system is not enough, there are also a few active safety technologies implemented in the car. It’s equipped for the Driving Safety Support System (DSSS (Level II)) currently being promoted by the Japanese National Police Agency. An on-board receiver picks up signals transmitted by roadside optical beacons and the system urges the driver to take extra care when other vehicles or pedestrians have been detected by roadside sensors and cameras at intersections and pedestrian crossings.

There is also a system that uses wireless technology to know the position of other vehicles and warn the driver if they are in a dangerous distance to the PX-MiEV. This is part of the Advanced Safety Vehicle 4 (ASV4) project being promoted by the Road Transport Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

A Driving Monitor System uses a camera mounted facing the driver to monitor eye movements to determine their level of alertness. If the system detects a decrease in their concentration it issues not only audible but visual and vibrational warnings and also emits an aroma to alert him or her to the situation.

The Concept PX-MiEV also has an electronically-controlled air suspension which is user-definable at three heights: auto, high or low. Naturally when set in auto the suspension sets its own height to whatever makes sense such as reducing the height for better aerodynamics and less drag during highway travel.

This is all really not bad for a company that’s not really seen as doing very well. If Mitsubishi was in a strong position right now it would not have had to license the latest Lancer platform to Proton for money.

Look after the jump for hi-res photos of the Concept PX-MiEV.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV compact SUV features new plug-in hybrid system

The GEMA alliance has ended this month. GEMA stands for Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, and was a joint venture between Mitsubishi, Chrysler and Hyundai-Kia to develop a family of 4-cylinder engines.

There are currently three different sizes available – 1.8 liter, 2.0 liter and 2.4 liter. In Malaysia, there are a few cars that use engines derived from the GEMA project – the 2.0 liter motors in the Lancer and Lancer Evolution X, and the 2.0 liter motors in the Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima and Naza Rondo.

Chrysler says it intends to replace its GEMA engines with new small engine technology it will gain access to from its new Italian partner Fiat. But interestingly, despite Chrysler stating an intention to replace its GEMA products with Fiat products, Chrysler is the one who has ended up with full ownership of the GEMA plant. Mitsubishi and Hyundai have just sold their stakes to Chrysler. It is likely that the plant will be converted to a plant making Fiat engines in the future.

Technology bought to GEMA by an individual company will remain the intellectual property of that company, so Hyundai and Mitsubishi will likely be able to continue using their Theta/Theta II and 4B series of engines respectively.

Theophilus Chin’s rendering of a Peugeot-ized i-MiEV

Mitsubishi and Peugeot have finalised its EV agreement where Mitsubishi will be supplying PSA Peugeot Citroen with an electric car for the European market based on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Both Citroen and Peugeot-badged vehicles will be available, and production will start in October 2010, with a launch happening shortly after.

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has put up a teaser image on its front page of what appears to be a facelift for the Mitsubishi Triton. There’s a new mesh front grille that looks like the one found on the Triton 3.2, and a new front bumper with smaller but sleeker foglamps.

This is clearly the facelifted Triton that has already been launched in Thailand, but in Malaysia we’ll get it sometime next week. Look after the jump for full unshrouded images of the Triton facelift from Thailand, but the Thai images show the Triton sporting a different grille from the one that the teaser image from MMM shows above.

UPDATE: Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia will be using the double chrome bar grille for the Triton Lite which you can see after the jump, while the normal Triton will be getting the mesh grille shown above.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Triton to get facelift in Malaysia soon

Mitsubishi unveiled a new revision of the Mitsubishi Grandis with updated equipment when they unveiled the new facelifted Lancer 2.0 GT today. The Grandis now comes with the following extra features:

• A bodykit – front and rear lips and side skirts
• Door visors on all four doors
• Scuff plates on the interior
• Combination black leather for all 7 seats and door inserts
• Black leather for the steering wheel and gearknob
• 2-DIN 6.2 inch Kenwood DVD receiver with touch screen interface, USB connectivity as well as iPod and Bluetooth support

The Grandis continues to be powered by a 165 PS 2.4 liter MIVEC engine. The engine is the 4G69 which produces peak power at 6,000rpm and 217Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. This engine is mated to a 4-speed INVECS-II automatic.

The updated Mitsubishi Grandis is priced at RM160,557.80 OTR without insurance and is available in White Pearl, Black Mica, Cool Silver and Gray Mica. This is roughly a RM2k increase over the previous price when the facelifted Grandis was launched in 2007.

Look after the jump for more photos from the Grandis launch.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Grandis updated with extra equipment!