Mitsubishi wants to replace the Evo… with an SUV?

By Stephen Edelstein Published October 3, 2014

The departure of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution after the 2015 model year will leave a rally-car sized hole in enthusiasts’ hearts.

Fear not, though, because Mitsubishi has a replacement in mind.

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It is, however, an SUV. At the recent Paris Motor Show, company product chief Kanenori Okamoto told Autocar that the Evo “will be replaced in spirit by an SUV with high performance.”

The SUV will reportedly be a hybrid, with technology borrowed from the MiEV electric Pikes Peak racer, including a version of that car’s Super All Wheel Control all-wheel drive system, itself based on the system used in the current Evo.

The concept actually isn’t too surprising given Mitsubishi’s recent emphasis on crossovers and green cars.

While the Galant is gone and the Lancer has been left to rot, Mitsubishi has focused on the Outlander and Outlander Sport utility vehicles, and introduced the tiny the i-MiEV electric car and Mirage hatchback.

Related: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Concept-S debuts at 2014 Paris Motor Show

The company already sells a plug-in hybrid version of the Outlander in Europe and Asia, and plans to bring it to the U.S. at some point.

Playing to one’s strengths is always a good idea, but will Mitsubishi be able to pull it off?

Incorporating the performance of the lithe and agile Evo into a bulkier SUV or crossover will be quite a challenge, and the hybrid element will add further complexity.

It’s also unclear what the resulting vehicle would compete with. Hot-rod SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT tend to be full-size rigs with big engines and big price tags.

On the other end of the spectrum are smaller models like the MINI Countryman ALL4 John Cooper Works or Nissan Juke NISMO RS, but these are really tall hatchbacks, not SUVs.

So the Mitsubishi hybrid SUV Evo Frankenstein would essentially create a new segment, just like the first Lancer Evolution did.

However, given that no Evo resurrection rumor has panned out so far, we’ll take this one with a grain of salt, even if it would be cool to see a Mitsubishi hybrid kick some dirt in Porsche’s face.

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is old-school luxury — electrified

Front three quarter view of the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV.

Mercedes-Benz is preparing for an electric future with its EQ models, a line of EVs with futuristic aerodynamic styling and all of the latest infotainment tech. With several EQ models already in production, Mercedes is shifting focus to more traditional luxury.
The Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV is the first all-electric vehicle from Maybach, the ultra-luxury subbrand of Mercedes. It takes the EQS SUV launched in 2022 and bathes it in opulence, adding more chrome on the outside and more creature comforts on the inside.
Scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. this fall, the Maybach is an unusual EV proposition, taking what is supposed be a forward-thinking design and wrapping it in old-school luxury. Ahead of its launch, Digital Trends got an up-close look at the Maybach EQS SUV to see how Mercedes is trying to balance those two aspects.

Germany's Rolls-Royce goes electric
The Maybach name has great historical significance for Mercedes. Wilhelm Maybach was one of the earliest automotive engineers. He designed the first Mercedes-branded car for the Daimler company (now Daimler-Benz), but struck out on his own after a falling out with company management. His eponymous company built Zeppelin engines, luxury cars, and, during World War II, engines for German military vehicles.
Daimler-Benz took control of Maybach in the 1960s, but left the passenger-car business dormant. Mercedes then revived the Maybach name in the early 2000s as a competitor to the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, both of which are owned by rival German automakers. Given Wilhelm Maybach's history with Mercedes, it essentially brought things full circle.
The 21st-century Maybach brand started out with standalone models in the form of the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62 sedans (as well as the stunning Exelero prototype), but production ended in 2012 amid dwindling sales. Mercedes then switched to making Maybach-branded versions of existing models like the S-Class sedan and GLS-Class SUV, a pattern that continues with the Maybach EQS SUV.

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Front three quarter view of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the oldest automakers in existence, but it's been among the quickest to launch a lineup of electric cars. It may not have the freshness of a startup, but what it does have are actual cars to sell to customers.

The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is the middle child of Mercedes' electric SUV lineup, slotting between the entry-level EQB and the flagship EQS SUV, and targeting electric luxury SUVs like the Audi E-Tron, BMW iX, and Cadillac Lyriq. Like the EQS, the EQE SUV is based on an existing sedan, hence the "SUV" suffix. In a previous first drive, we found the EQE sedan to be a good balance between luxury and livability, giving the SUV version a lot to live up to.

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2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV preview: The EV lineup grows again

Front three quarter view of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

As Mercedes-Benz has steadily expanded its EQ range of electric cars, the lineup has become a bit like the late stages of a Tetris game. It’s mostly complete, but with a few gaps still left. And the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is the piece that perfectly fits one of them.
Mercedes recently launched two other electric SUVs at opposite ends of the price spectrum. The EQS SUV is positioned as the lineup’s flagship, while the EQB is the entry-level model. The EQE SUV slots between those two in size and, presumably, price. The latter hasn’t been confirmed yet, and likely won’t be until the EQE SUV’s planned March 2023 on-sale date.

Design
As the name says, the EQE SUV is a utility-vehicle version of the EQE sedan, which will likely beat it to showrooms by a few months. Mercedes did the same thing with the EQS, which is available in both SUV and sedan body styles.
With its tall, upright profile, the EQE SUV definitely looks like a proper SUV compared to the low-slung EQE sedan. Park it next to an EQS SUV, though, and you’ll have to get out a measuring tape to spot the differences.
The EQE SUV is 0.6 inch narrower and 1.2 inches lower than the EQS SUV, but the most significant difference is in length. The EQE SUV is 10.3 inches shorter than the EQS SUV, with a 2.1-inch shorter wheelbase. And while the EQS SUV has three-row seating, the EQE SUV has two rows. Based on our experience with the EQS SUV’s third row, that’s not a big loss.
The interior design theme carries over from other Mercedes EQ models, with an expansive sloping dashboard designed to accommodate many screens, and multicolor ambient lighting that should look pretty dramatic at night. However, leatherette upholstery is standard, rather than real leather, which Mercedes is now spinning as a vegan option.