If Mitsubishi is serious about its electrification efforts, it has to offer more than the pint-sized all-electric i in the States. That’s where the Concept PX-MiEV II comes in.
What you’re looking at is the plug-in hybrid version of the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, something Mitsubishi confirms is set to go on sale sometime in 2012.
A traditional 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is mounted up front, but each rear axle has an electric motor that’s fed power by a lithium-ion battery pack spanning the floor. Mitsubishi claims the MX-MiEV II can run up to 31 miles on electric power alone, and if you mash the gas the system switches to parallel hybrid mode by engaging the engine. All told, you should be able to make it up to 500 miles on a single tank, but if you’re commute is less than 15 miles, you could go gas-free for months.
