A stylish new crossover may soon cost you less.
With the intention to “add more of a value equation,” Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) has communicated its intent to bring a fourth variant of its new Eclipse Cross to market within the next 9-months, and will present a less costly way to buy into the Eclipse Cross family. These intentions were communicated by James Tol, MMAL’s head of product planning, at the launch of the stylish new crossover in Tasmania.
Presently, the Eclipse Cross range starts at a little over $30k (before ORCs), and that puts it at a disadvantage against its rivals, which all come in at under the $30k mark. As such, Tol spoke to Motoring about the company’s intention to make buying into the range more affordable, but not in the very, very near future.
“When we launch an all-new model, initially we’ve found that the real focus and momentum gets behind mid- to upper-spec cars. But as you generate some momentum, you’ll draw more people into your tent, and you start to bring in people who want more of a value equation to it. When we think it’s appropriate, probably in six to nine months, we’ll introduce a base model.” — James Tol, Head of Product Planning, Mitsubishi Motors Australia
Thus far, it hasn’t yet been decided what the base-model Eclipse Cross will lose out on though. However, Tol did mention that things like privacy glass might be given a miss on the ES model, given its positioning. What won’t change is the drivetrain: All models will be motivated by a 1.5-litre turbocharged mill putting out 110kW and 250Nm, with a CVT automatic transmission in the middle, sending power to the front wheels (with the flagship Exceed AWD being the sole exception).
With a sub-$30k pricetag, that’ll line the Eclipse Cross up nicely with contenders like the Mazda CX-5, the Nissan Qashqai, and the Kia Sportage. The Mitsubishi camp are confident that the Eclipse Cross will find more than a thousand buyers a month, with 2018 possibly being the year that the ASX gets usurped as the small-SUV sales leader.
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