The Mitsubishi XFC Concept, a compact SUV concept car, will be shown to the public via a special exhibition at Newport Mall from June 16 to 18.
The concept SUV was first showcased as a world premiere in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at the Vietnam Motor Show held last October. Mitsubishi hails it as the “best-suited buddy for an exciting life,” as the next-generation compact SUV that offers the powerful and imposing design of an SUV, utility such as ease of handling and an ample cargo space, comfort including a class-leading interior space, and safe, secure road handling even on rough surfaces or roads flooded by heavy rains.
“We will launch the new compact SUV sequentially in the ASEAN markets including Vietnam in fiscal year 2023,” said Takao Kato, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Motors. “In the future, we plan to add an electrified variant to the lineup and to also roll it out in regions outside ASEAN. We hope to grow the model from a vehicle for the ASEAN market to a global strategic vehicle, making it a core model like the sales-leading Xpander crossover MPV.”
While the Mitsubishi XFC Concept is a compact SUV and is not yet part of the ASEAN lineup, the vehicle complements the brand’s wide range of models that fit in to the ASEAN market added Mitsubishi. It will not be surprising to see Mitsubishi introducing it to our market, as well as in the near future. The brand’s design philosophy of “Robust & Ingenious,” with a sleek and yet robust styling, it is a very capable off-road that is able to handle rough surfaces and features ample ground clearance and large-diameter wheels.
Looking at the front view, the brand’s Dynamic Shield concept remains evident with a refreshed look, starting with its L-shaped headlight that comes with a louver-like daytime running lights (DRL) and a tastefully appointed honeycomb grille. The fenders are creased with a distinctive “eyebrow” on each wheel and sculpted with a muscular profile. Its rear portion features a pair of T-shaped tail lights with a styling that accentuates its wideness.
Inside, the interior is well designed to be ergonomic, practical and still fun. The instrument panel is sitting on the middle of the dashboard and its length occupies over half the whole interior width for greater visibility for both the passenger and driver with a full set of graphics and interface from infotainment to cockpit instrumentation and other vehicle data. The cockpit was also intentionally designed for ease of operation, providing good forward visibility, easy perception of the vehicle’s dimensions, and smooth handling. With the instrument panel’s very wide display, it integrates the full digital driver display and a center display that can show three separate information including navigation, road surface conditions, and other relevant information.
From the initial photos, the XFC Concept has a lot of ground clearance and it comes with four drive modes — Normal, Wet, Gravel and Mud, with the Wet mode being introduced for the first time in a Mitsubishi vehicle. This was carefully considered and designed to be adapted in ASEAN countries in mind, because of sudden torrential rains that often flood even the city streets of most countries here in this region.
