Wednesday 20th September 2017

Mitsubishi previews e-Evolution

The Evo is back, but not as you would want it...

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Fresh news of Mitsubishi's plans to resuscitate the Evolution name ought to be as welcome as an unlimited bar tab. But the latest concept looks set to stick rigidly to the manufacturer's current SUV/hybrid game plan - and a wide world away from the anything previously branded with a Roman numeral.

Any excuse, right?

The e-Evolution, previewed by the firm in a single picture ahead of the Tokyo show next month, reveals precisely the same kind of swept-back crossover that the world and his dog has sitting on a drawing board or rolling from a production line. It'll have four-wheel-drive and an electric powertrain. It is calculated (in production format, at any rate) to help return Mitsubishi to sustainable growth.

That's fine, of course. Car makers are under no obligation to build anything which they can't sell - and the firm's SUV heritage is plenty deep enough for it to launch a flagship in the modern vogue. But the unabashed application of the Evo name seems a wee bit cynical from the where we sit; if only because ten generations of Lancer left such an indelible and distinctive impression.

Granted, a model in that mould - saloon shaped, savagely powerful and acutely determined to drive - is now as good as impossible for Mitsubishi to build; not least because the Lancer is no more (save for a ghostly ongoing presence in China). Still, on balance, we'd prefer the fading misty memories made aboard a Tommi Makinen Edition on a wet roundabout to having the Evolution legacy sullied with an ungainly 'e'.

 

[Nickp82]

Will be interested to see how this evolves but cant help feeling Mitsubishi will carry on their usual habit of creating a nice looking concept which turns in to a thoroughly uninteresting reality (in terms of visual appeal).

Mitsubishi is spelled wrong in the title BTW

[cavebloke]

I think you're forgetting about this suitably PH use of the Evolution name on an SUV of that period.

[Cotic]

They certainly didn't forget it...

https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-h...

[Lynchie999]

cavebloke said:

I think you're forgetting about this suitably PH use of the Evolution name on an SUV of that period.

one for sale here...

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C891262

[dunnoreally]

I feel like the old Evo's job is being done pretty well nowadays by the Focus RS and friends so, sure, why not try a different approach?

[Venturist]

I don't really understand the point of reviving these old names on SUVs.

Anyone for whom the Evo name means something, won't want one of these.
Anyone who does want one of these, wants it regardless of the name. So why erode the cachet of the name?

[SpeckledJim]

bossy PH said:

The Evo is back, but not as you would want it...

The habit of PH editorial telling me what I'll like and not like is irksome.

If you don't like it, fair enough, tell us that much.