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2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Quick Spin Review | Space and power make it worth your consideration

The subcompact crossover market is one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. That can make it tough to stand out. Some highlight style, like with the Hyundai Kona and Jeep Renegade. Some go for a bargain focus such as with the Nissan Kicks. Our subject in this case, the 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, earns a look for its remarkable space, strong powertrain and generally good value. The Eclipse Cross's spaciousness is its ultimate party trick, especially for its small size. From the driver's seat, your 5-foot 11-inch and somewhat heavy author could find a very comfortable driving position with loads of head room and leg room. The seating position is high with loads of visibility. The generous headroom also keeps you from feeling like you're sitting on top of the car. The front seats don't have much shape to them, but the cushions are thick and soft enough that they're plenty comfortable. I was also surprised at how easy it was to get in and out of the Eclipse Cross. The door opening is quite large, thanks to a high roof and reasonably low floor, plus the relatively high seat. This kind of easy ingress and egress I don't see often except for in minivans such as our long-term Chrysler Pacifica. More impressive than the space in the front is the space in the back. I could sit behind myself with a few inches to spare in front of my knees. I can't even say that about many comparably-sized cars let alone the current crop of cramped crossovers. The back seats are flat and firmer than I would like, but they do recline and can slide fore and aft to make more room for cargo or passengers. All of this fits into a package that's about 5 inches shorter than a Honda Civic hatchback, one of the most spacious small cars on the market. Cargo space is close to the Civic, too. With the seats up, it's slightly behind the Honda at 22.6 cubic feet (22.1 for our SEL with the subwoofer and moonroof) versus 25.7. But with the 60/40 split seats folded, the Eclipse Cross jumps ahead with 48.9 cubic feet versus the Civic's 46.2. The rest of the interior is less impressive. The plastics, while varied in texture and finish, are cheap and hard. The infotainment offers two ways to interact with it, either with the touchscreen or a touch pad, but neither is great. The touchscreen is far away, and the touch buttons on either side are annoying, and the touch pad is only slightly better than the terrible Lexus touch pad interface.

VW was 2018's top-selling automaker — but

TOKYO — Volkswagen Group has held on to its position as the world's top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, although the German group was edged out again by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance in the light-duty vehicles segment. Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corp together sold 10.76 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2018, according to Reuters' calculations after new data released on Wednesday. The group doesn't sell heavy trucks. Nissan said on Wednesday it sold 5.65 million vehicles last year, down 2.8 percent on the year. Mitsubishi reported an 18 percent rise in sales to 1.22 million units while Renault sold 3.88 million units, up 3.2 percent on the year. Volkswagen's deliveries rose 0.9 percent to a record 10.83 million last year, including its MAN and Scania heavy trucks, the German company said earlier this month. Excluding heavy trucks, it sold 10.6 million units. Toyota Motor Corp retained its third spot, announcing on Wednesday that it had sold 10.59 million vehicles last year including its Toyota and Lexus brands, along with minicars made by subsidiary Daihatsu and light and heavy trucks produced by its truck division Hino Motors Ltd. Excluding Hino trucks, Toyota sold 10.39 million units last year. The automaker has said it expects to sell a total of 10.76 million vehicles in 2019. Many automakers are trying to boost sales volumes to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs amid soaring investments needed to develop next-generation technologies, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles. This has been a focus of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors group, which is looking to share more vehicle parts and consolidate production platforms to trim R&D and manufacturing costs, while raising profitability. The alliance, which brought Mitsubishi Motors into its fold in 2016, is currently in crisis with its former Chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested and indicted on charges of misconduct. Nissan has also been indicted, and Renault appointed new top management last week. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Volkswagen

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV van variant coming to Europe

Mitsubishi's Outlander Plug-in Hybrid SUV will be hitting our shores this fall. Across the Pond, however, it's heading into more no-nonsense territory. That's because the Japanese automaker is making a commercial van variant of the plug-in hybrid for the UK. Mitsubishi will start selling a model called the Outlander PHEV GX3h 4Work in the UK, Motoring Research says. Like the SUV, the model will pair a 2.0-liter gas engine with an electric motor and will have an all-electric range of 32 miles. The difference is that the back seats will be taken out and the glass will be blacked out. Hardcore, we say. The model will be priced at 36,905 British pounds (about $61,000), though buyers are eligible for a government grant worth 7,381 pounds ($12,200). Mitsubishi plans to start selling the Outlander PHEV stateside in Fall 2015. The company said earlier this summer that the US version will be substantially different from the current version, with updates for everything from exterior and interior styling to powertrain efficiency improvements. The model had some battery-melting issues last year in Japan, though Mitsubishi ramped up its production once those problems were solved. Mitsubishi representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the commercial-van variant from AutoblogGreen, but we expect to be hearing more about it soon.