Production Mitsubishi XFC goes live ahead of August reveal

UPDATED: Mitsubishi Motors South Africa (MMSA) has in the meantime all but confirmed the XFC as being in-line for the local market after its General Manager for Marketing, Jeffrey Allison, remarked in a statement, “we are sure that current and new Mitsubishi customers are waiting with huge excitement on our all-new compact SUV, which will further build on MMSA’s lifestyle attraction”.

While only due to make its world debut at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show on 10 August, Mitsubishi has released the first pair of images of the production version of the XFC Concept.

Little change from concept

Still to be officially named, the anticipated replacement for the dated ASX in ASEAN markets appears little toned down from the concept shown in Vietnam last year, bar dropping the side-mounted cameras for traditional mirrors.

Debuting a variation of Mitsubishi’s Dynamic Shield styling language called “Silky and Solid”, the frontal look of the XFC has been incrementally adjusted in that the grille no longer depicts a sealed look.

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Carried over unchanged is the T-shaped LED headlights, the faux skidplate underneath the bumper and sloping bottom end of the bonnet.

Although appearing similar on first glance, the wheel sizes has been reduced from the concept’s 20-inches to 18-inches.

AWD out, FWD in

Riding on a unibody platform with a ground clearance of 222 mm, the XFC measures 4 390 mm long, 1 810 mm wide and 1 660 mm tall. The claimed wheelbase wasn’t disclosed.

Despite no images of the interior being teased, the XFC, as indicated last month, will become the first new Mitsubishi to receive a model specific sound system co-developed with Yamaha.

At the same time, it will have four driving modes as its disposal; Wet, Normal, Gravel and Mud, along with Mitsubishi’s rally-honed Active Yaw Control.

Mechanics

In spite of the latter system’s inclusion, the XFC won’t have access to an all-paw gripping system. Instead, drive will initially go to the front wheels only through a CVT with power coming from a normally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol engine.

Although unconfirmed, the unit is rumoured to be the same that powers the Xpander MPV, meaning the same outputs of 77kW/141Nm.

However, the identical engine usage is still speculative and could well change come 10 August.

Finished product roll-out

A key part of Mitsubishi’s Challenge 2025 product strategy in which 16 new models will be rolled-out from now until 2028, the XFC will be joined at a later stage by a hybrid electric version of the Xpander in what will be its sixth and final new model for 2023.

“In this all-new model, we have further evolved the design to meet the needs of the compact SUV market, which has been growing in recent years,” Mitsubishi General Manager of Design, Seiji Watanabe, said.

For now, the XFC remains an unknown entity for South Africa, however, suggestions are it could become available at some stage as Mitsubishi has already named new ASX, spun-off of the Renault Captur, as a European-market only model.

As such, expect Mitsubishi Motors South Africa to make an announcement only in the latter stages of this year, or early next year.

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