Compact hybrid five-seat crossover to challenge Toyota’s turf takes a longer delivery trip than brand’s other locally-availed products.

ALL new cars coming to New Zealand arrive by sea, but the first non plug-reliant hybrid car Mitsubishi is soon set to sell is one for which two distinct voyages are required.

The Outlander Sport displayed at Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand’s stand at Fieldays stands apart in the brand’s ranks not just because it is the brand’s first non-mains reliant electric-involved car here.

The five-seater compact crossover has distinction of being the first Mitsubishi product that has ever come here from Indonesia.

That conceivably makes it the second longest-travelled car Mitsubishi here has brought to Kiwi buyers, after the Carisma sedan, produced from 1995 until 2004. That co-development with Volvo was a sister car to the Swede’s S40 and came out of the Netherlands.

The PT Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Indonesia assembly plant at Tanjung Priok, 10km north of Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta, has since opening almost three years ago been the primary producer of Outlander Sport, which badges elsewhere as the Xforce. Why it doesn’t here is a story yet to be told.

Getting it from there to NZ requires an indirect shipping schedule, that asks for time on two car carriers, the first steaming away from our country.

The car’s initial time on board ship is believed to take it from the factory to Bangkok, Thailand, where Mitsubishi manufactures its highest volume product here, Triton ute.

Were it being driven, that leg would put around 3142 kilometres on the Outlander Sport’s clock.

After transfer to another car carrier, it joins the Triton for a big move into the southern oceans; the Bangkok to Auckland voyage covers around 9600kms.

Signs of the car being from a new country are not obvious. The most distinguishing element might be that the major cabin plastics are perhaps slightly harder and have a different grain to those on Japan and Thailand product. Also a potential hint is the number plate’s ‘oh hi’ salutation - which seems an Anglicised adaptation of a popular Indonesian salutation associated to Xforce in its home market.

NZ isn’t by any means the farthest distance recipient of Outlander Sport/ Xforce.

According to Mitsubishi publicity about the factory, PT Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha Indonesia also supplies the car to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

In showing off the car at Fieldays, MMNZ is gauging local interest ahead of its on sale, later this year.

The car will contest a segment that attracts the most passenger volume at present, but is dominated by Toyota. The Corolla Cross is an obvious direct rival.

How many versions, full specifications and the likely price have yet to announce.

It is the first of three new products coming this year, the others being an electric car from Taiwan and the new Pajero, which is set for global release before Christmas.

MMNZ has been intensely involved in the plug-in hybrid market, with the Eclipse Cross and Outlander.

Outlander Sport pairs a 1.6 litre MIVEC petrol engine with what Mitsubishi says is its latest-generation hybrid technology, automatically switching between EV, hybrid and engine drive modes to optimise efficiency and performance.

It incorporates multiple hybrid operating modes – including parallel and series hybrid configurations – with the system automatically selecting the most efficient set-up based on driving conditions and battery charge.

“Designed to maximise electric drive in everyday conditions, the vehicle uses regenerative braking and intelligent energy management to reduce fuel consumption while maintaining smooth, quiet performance,” MMNZ said in a recent media share.

News of Outlander Sport raises conjecture about when it will tell more about its first electric car in almost two decades.

Commitment to an electric car out of Taiwan made for Foxtron Vehicle Technologies, a subsidiary of Foxconn, whose business activities include being the maker of Apple iPhones, was signalled last year.

The electric product is drawn from the Model B, a crossover styled by Pininfarina that has been in production since 2023 and avails in single-motor rear-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive forms in Taiwan.

It will built by Taiwan’s biggest carmaker, Yulon Motor, rather than Mitsubishi itself, and will be the Japanese make’s first electric offer here since the teensy i-Miev, which when here 16 years ago stood out the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle to sell here.

Massive popularity of hybrids means the Outlander Sport, meantime, might have potential to outsell the Eclipse Cross and Outlander, which have done it tough for the past two years but seem more popular now.

Comment in the recent media share from Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand chief operating officer Tony Johnston - who was absent from Fieldays, being overseas - said the vehicle reflects growing demand for electrified vehicles that don't require charging infrastructure.

“We’re seeing more and more New Zealanders looking at electrified options, but not everyone is ready to make the jump to plug-in or fully electric vehicles,” he said.

“Outlander Sport HEV gives customers a highly efficient, practical SUV that delivers the benefits of electrification in a way that fits seamlessly into everyday life.”

The model seems determined to offer some level of light off-road capability at best. A ground clearance of 212mm is reasonable and the brand says the drive modes - Normal, Wet, Gravel and Mud - are finely tuned to optimise traction and stability across different surfaces, “helping maintain control in a range of road and weather conditions.”

A wide instrument panel and high-quality materials create a more open cabin feel, supported by a 12.3-inch display system with wireless smartphone connectivity and a digital driver display that provides real-time energy flow, EV driving ratio and regeneration data. Several variants seem in line, all with a panoramic glass roof.

Outlander Sport might seem a familiar name as it has been used previously by Mitsubishi, the most recently for a version of the actual Outlander, in 2020.