New Mitsubishi Outlander leaked

UPDATED 11/12/2020: Mitsubishi has released the first official teaser image of the new-generation Mitsubishi Outlander overnight and confirmed it will debut in North America in February 2021, with international markets – including Australia – to “follow soon after”.

The official picture follows leaked images earlier this week that provide an even better view of Mitsubishi’s all-important new mid-size SUV (see details in original article below), with all indications of a much edgier new look now backed up by comments by global design chief Seiji Watanabe.

“The Outlander is an iconic SUV for the company, so when we developed the next-generation model we took inspirations from our rich SUV heritage to realise a bold and confident styling with a solid stance that excites our customers,” said Watanabe.

“The all-new Outlander is the first model epitomizing the new generation of Mitsubishi design and the frontrunner of our design strategy.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 9/12/2020: Christmas has come early for Mitsubishi fans as images of the next-generation 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander have been leaked.

The new Mitsubishi Outlander’s official launch will take place early next year via a livestreamed event online, but three grainy images posted to the allcarnews Instagram page have now appeared.

If the photos are legitimate, they would confirm the Outlander’s final design is close to the Mitsubishi Engelberg Tourer concept revealed in 2019, with high-mounted LED daytime running lights and lower headlight clusters flanking a redesigned grille.

With considerably more visual drama than the current Outlander – and more metal, as Mitsubishi has already confirmed it will be a bigger vehicle – the new exterior styling takes Mitsubishi’s SUV design language into a new era.

Due to arrive in Australian showrooms in the second half of 2021, the new mid-size SUV should be roomier, more refined, better appointed and fitted with a raft of new technology including the Japanese car-maker’s latest semi-autonomous safety systems.

“Loaded with technology and significant interior refinements, this game-changing vehicle will surprise many,” said Mitsubishi Australia in a recent press statement.

“The all-new next-generation Outlander will be bigger, bolder and better than ever before, and will be the quietest and best-equipped Mitsubishi ever sold in Australia.”

The new Outlander is expected to share components – and potentially its platform architecture – with the upcoming new Nissan X-TRAIL, which would mean a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (135kW/245Nm) fitted to entry-level Outlander models.

Mitsubishi also has access to a widely-used 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (110kW/250Nm), but the flagship powertrain will be the Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid.

In its current guise, the Outlander PHEV uses a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and twin electric motors – 60kW at the front, 70kW at the rear – fed by a 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which affords a 54km electric driving range.

It’s not clear if the new Outlander PHEV will get a power or battery boost, but Mitsubishi execs recently confirmed that new three- and four-motor plug-in hybrid systems are in development.