Mitsubishi Says New XR-PHEV II Concept Previews Upcoming Compact SUV

If only real, production Mitsubishis looked as cool as the XR-PHEV II concept, right?

Yet, there’s still some hope, as the study that had its world premiere in Geneva this week takes us one step closer to Mitsubishi’s upcoming compact crossover model that will slot between the 4,295mm (169.1 in) long Outlander Sport (also known as the RVR and ASX) and the 4,655mm (183.3 in) long Outlander.

It’s a follow up to the XR-PHEV I from the 2013 Tokyo Auto Show with a reworked body that includes a revised glasshouse with longer and taller side windows, different door openings that closer resemble a production car, plus revamped front and rear ends.

Unlike the previous study, the new 4,490mm long XR-PHEV II comes with a complete interior, which gives the impression of a conceptualized cabin of a not too distant production car.

Mitsubishi also gave the Geneva study a new plug-in hybrid powertrain designed for front-engine, front-wheel-drive models, featuring a MIVEC engine and an electric motor, both housed up front.

“The PHEV system is designed to operate primarily in all-electric mode with the engine acting as a generator or supplying additional motive power when needed,” said Mitsubishi. “Depending on driving conditions and remaining battery charge, the system automatically switches between all-electric, series hybrid and parallel hybrid modes. By selecting Battery Save or Battery Charge mode, the driver can drive in all-electric mode when they wish to do so.”