The new Mitsubishi Airtrek has been launched on the Chinese car market, featuring a progressive design with a tall grille and large headlights. The Mitsubishi Airtrek is an electric compact crossover SUV for China. There are no plans yet for export to other countries.
The Mitsubishi Airtrek is manufactured locally at the GAC-Mitsubishi joint venture. The Airtrek shares its platform, powertrain, and chassis hardpoints with the AION V electric crossover. AION is an electric vehicle brand under GAC.
Still, Mitsubishi managed to give the Airtrek its own distinctive looks, and it is exactly this kind of electric crossover that is hugely popular on the Chinese auto market right now. The Airtrek has an EV badge on the front door, so folks will know it is an electric vehicle.
The rear end is a bit bland compared to the front, but the enormous light units try hard to be cool.
The Mitsubishi Airtrek is a front-wheel drive car. Power comes from a single electric motor with an output of 224 hp and 350 Nm. So far so simple. But then comes the battery pack. The Airtrek can be had with two kinds of battery packs.
1. the base car (‘Pioneer’) has a lithium iron phosphate battery pack with a capacity of 71.8 kWh for a CLTC range of 500 kilometers. Curb weight is 2040 kg. Fast charging takes 0.53 hour for 80% battery. Top speed is limited to 175 km/h.
2. the top spec car (‘Hardcore’) has a ternary lithium battery pack with a capacity of 69.9 kWh for a CLTC range of 520 kilometers. Curb weight is 1900 kg. Fast charging takes 0.72 hour for 80% battery. Top speed is limited to 175 km/h.
Well, take your pic. Sadly, Mitsubishi hasn’t disclosed information about energy consumption per 100 km yet. The price differs quite a lot. The Pioneer costs 199.800 yuan and the Hardcore 229.800 yuan (31.360 and 36.077 USD).
Size: 4360/1920/1728, with a 2830 wheelbase
The interior is nice and clean with a 12.3 inch digital instrument panel and a 12.3 inch screen for the infotainment. The screens look nice enough but this setup is slightly out of date in a time when most Chinese automakers use a fancy twin-screen setup. The infotainment system supports Apple CarPlay and Baidu Carlife.
The drive selector has an EV badge, so folks will know it is an electric vehicle. The dial seems a little small, and the button for the electronic parking brake looks crappy.
The graphics are nice but not super sharp.
Well, at least the battery pack is fitted inside the vehicle. Unlike in a certain Honda.
Lots of space in the back. The Aion V, and thus the Airtrek, was developed as an EV from the ground up, so no annoying center tunnels. The bench is also wide enough for three adults.
Badge on the left: 广汽三菱, Guangqi Sanling, or GAC Mitsubishi. On the right the Airtrek badge. Chinese name is 阿图柯, Atuke, a phonetic translation of Airtrek. Below the Airtrek badge an EV badge, so folks will know it is an electric vehicle.
The motor bay with the usual orange cables.
The Mitsubishi Airtrek is a good looking electric crossover with decent range and power. However, it is not exactly cheap and certainly not in the top-end Hardcore specification. It also seems a bit odd that Mitsubishi offers two different kind of batteries, a costly solution as this requires substantial changes to software systems and wiring. And you need two sorts of training for the maintenance crews at the dealer. The base battery seems good enough…
