Mitsubishi PX-MiEV II

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will unveil a close- to-market version of a plug-in hybrid crossover due next year and a new global small car bearing the revived Mirage name at the Tokyo show. The all-wheel-drive PX-MiEV II hints strongly at the hybrid version of the Outlander crossover that Mitsubishi plans to launch in the Japanese fiscal year that begins April 1. It uses a two-motor plug-in hybrid system running on a lithium ion battery and a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine. One motor powers the front wheels; the other, the rear ones. The Mirage enters production in Thailand next year and is bound for the United States as early as 2013. The hatchback replaces the Colt, which is being phased out. Mitsubishi dropped the Mirage nameplate in the early 2000s. The Mirage is 10 percent lighter than the Colt. It is powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable transmission. Mitsubishi PX-MiEV II