Let’s be brutally honest: the car world is a car park full of beige crossovers that look like they were sketched by a focus group of tax auditors. Then Mitsubishi rolls up with the Elevance at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo and suddenly you’re wide awake, thinking: finally, a machine with swagger and screen real estate. This isn’t just another tin box; it’s a sci-fi SUV that roars adventure while whispering sweet nothings about a petrol-free tomorrow. And yes, I’m saying this as someone who’s all-in on electric: it’s faster, quieter, and doesn’t make you feel like a dinosaur every time you fill up.
Step inside, or rather glide in, because there’s no B-pillar to bruise your ego. The rear doors hinge backwards off the C-pillar, turning every entrance into a red-carpet moment. Inside, the cockpit is gloriously sparse: giant screens run the show, from sat-nav to mood lighting while you binge a podcast on melting ice caps. Six seats across three rows, perfect for the family trip where the fight over the air-con starts at kilometre five. Outside? A brutalist front end laced with razor-thin light blades that pulse like lasers, and rear lights that stretch into the C-pillars like glowing scars. It looks like the hero car from a blockbuster where traffic jams don’t exist.
The real fireworks, though, live in the wheels. Four electric motors, one per corner, backed up by a petrol range-extender. That’s Super All Wheel Control on steroids: every tyre gets its own brain, gripping icy Ardennes hairpins like it’s glued to the tarmac. The battery? Mitsubishi stays coy on numbers, but they promise “big”, big enough for silent midnight cruises without a single drop of dead dinosaur. This is the hybrid bridge to full electric, built with that obsessive Japanese precision we secretly love. In Europe, where half our line-up still wears Renault badges, the Elevance feels like a wake-up call. It’s not a reheated Pajero; it’s tomorrow knocking on the windscreen.
So, can we call it the next Outlander already? Swap the spaceship doors for something the kids can slam, fit mirrors that actually fold, and shrink the wheels to supermarket size, and you’re there. The current Outlander is solid, but the Elevance layers on the cool: futuristic without looking like a clown shoe. Picture an Outlander that drives like a boss, charges like a pro, and lets you brag about saving the planet while overtaking a diesel truck. Mitsubishi even towed a matching off-road trailer loaded with a kitchen and shower, because why camp rough when you can glamp on batteries?
Bottom line: the Elevance is Mitsubishi shouting “we’re back” in neon. It’s not a concept doomed to the bin; it’s the trailer for the main feature, and the popcorn’s already electric.
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