New-look Mitsubishi Delica under study for Oz

One of Australia’s most popular privately imported vehicles, the Mitsubishi Delica, could become officially available here if the Japanese car-maker can establish a business case for the venerable off-road wagon.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO John Signoriello told carsales that this year’s facelift for the rugged four-wheel-drive people-mover has prompted the company to take another look at the latest Mitsubishi Delica D:5, which is currently only sold in Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan and other Asian markets.

“Over the years we have looked at the Delica a number of times,” he said.

“We continue to get a lot of customer enquiries about this model which is why we are studying it again. We are even considering bringing a Japanese spec model here for evaluation.”

If the Mitsubishi Delica becomes available via official channels here, it would follow next year’s born-again Mitsubishi Express van and become only the second car in the Japanese brand’s local range after the Mirage, which is sold alongside the Triton ute and the ASX, Eclipse Cross, Outlander, Pajero and Pajero Sport SUVs.

The current generation Mitsubishi Delica D:5 dates back to 2007 and is based on the same GS platform that underpins the Outlander and discontinued Lancer.

Last November it received the car-maker’s bold new Dynamic Shield front-end design as seen on the 2019 Triton and Pajero Sport.

There’s also an all-new dashboard with large central 10.1-inch infotainment touch-screen and a redesigned centre console with rotary gearshifter.

Within the striking new snout of the D:5 lies Mitsubishi’s 2.2-litre DiD four-cylinder turbo-diesel, producing up to 127kW of power and 392Nm of torque (from just 2000rpm), but just 107kW/380Nm in Japan.

It’s matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission and Mitsubishi’s three-mode (2WD, 4WD, Lock) AWD system with locking centre diff, while suspension is via independent front and rear suspension.

Two versions of the 4.8m wagon, which is produced in six-, seven- and eight-seat forms, are available in Japan, including an up-spec Urban Gear variant that adds a few visual exterior tweaks, chunkier 18-inch alloy wheels and more standard equipment including leather seat trim, power tailgate and electric front seats.

Furthermore, at the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon in January, Mitsubishi revealed a concept version of the model featuring a number of adventurous extras like a heavy-duty roof carrier with full-width LED light bar, lower body cladding, aluminium skids plates, side steps and mudflaps (as you can see in the image here).

If the Delica D:5 gets the green light for Australia – and at this stage that’s a big if -- it’s not clear whether Mitsubishi would sell a budget-friendly low-spec variant, the Urban Gear flagship or a fully-loaded version specific to our market with extras like those on the concept.

First released in Australia in 1980 as the L300 Express, the Mitsubishi Delica was officially available Down Under until the fifth generation was released over a decade ago.

Since then thousands of Delicas have been imported by several independent companies – especially in Queensland – due to their popularity among families, outback adventurers and off-road enthusiasts.

In fact, even before then many examples of the luxurious Chamonix and utilitarian Space Gear variants, which weren’t released here by Mitsubishi, were sold by third-party importers to recreational customers especially keen on the latter’s off-road ability thanks to extra ground clearance, low-range gearing and locking diffs.