It may never reach the iconic heights of the Volkswagen California or Ford Nugget, but it's hard to think of a single vehicle that better embodies the bold, free spirit of off-road tiny van life than the Mitsubishi Delica. With its compact mini-camper dimensions, classic single-box shape, and history of sporty 4WD trims, the van has become a cult classic and popular camper base around the globe, even in the US where it only sold as new for a few years over three decades ago. But at this year's Japan Mobility Show, the Delica cedes the stage to an even cooler Mitsubishi camping rig, a futuristic concept combo that expands into a multi-room base camp.
The all-new Elevance Concept SUV isn't as immediately lovable as the classic Delica Chamonix 4x4 vans that still make our hearts flutter generations later. It's a fairly basic SUV, and it shares more styling with the current-gen Delica D:5 than beloved Delicas of the past. Not a good thing.
But behind its rear bumper, the Elevance shows its fun side because the concept SUV comes equipped with a matching camper pod trailer designed to complete an adventuresome tandem.
At first, the trailer reminded us a little of the adorable Booba we covered recently – a little capsule that tows smaller than a teardrop and expands at camp to provide a comfortable living space. But instead of a simple clamshell body and inflatable cabin tent, Mitsubishi imagines it having a multipart expansion system that starts with the glassy slide-out module shown up top and continues with a rear tailgate, lift-up side hatch and slide-out kitchen.
The slide-out module on the trailer's left expands the interior to comfortably fit a transverse double bed, while the open hatch on the opposite side can support an auxiliary tent to grow out the sheltered space. The kitchen area slides out below that hatch and comes powered by an onboard battery that charges from the Elevance SUV's traction battery when low. It includes a dual-hob electric cooktop with grill and a sink. Mitsubishi also mentions an outdoor shower system with a water pump powered by the battery.
While not a camper itself, the Elevance SUV does employ the type of 180-degree front seats common in camper vans and larger motorhomes. Instead of rotating the entire seat around like a conventional design, Mitsubishi uses folding seat backs as a lighter, quicker way of getting the seats in rear-facing position.
These seats allow the SUV to serve as a separate camping space, the type of lounge that larger camping trailers and motorhomes have but micro-camper trailers naturally lack. Add a removable tabletop, and it doubles as a dining room and game area.
The Elevance's flat floor would also make for easy aftermarket camper conversions – the dual rear seating rows could be folded down or removed to make way for another double bed to complement the one in the trailer. As in the trailer, this bed would be set below large glass roof panels for big, open views of the night sky. Those panels are naturally complemented by side windows that extend well below the character line to offer better views of the passing scenery.
Whether towing its matching trailer or not, the Elevance SUV is carefully designed for moving confidently from city streets to primitive stretches of off-road. It uses a 4WD system consisting of an electric motor inside each wheel coupled with Mitsibushi's long-established Super-All Wheel Control System, delivering precise manipulation of each wheel toward optimal traction management and body leveling, particularly valuable on fast-varying uneven terrain.
The Elevance SUV isn't a pure-electric, following modern trending toward plug-in hybrid power with the addition of a range-extender internal combustion engine capable of running on carbon-neutral fuel. Beyond offering more range and easier refueling, the ICE generator ensures there's battery life left over for powering overnight base camp.
While not quite as compact or nimble as a Delica-based camper van, the Elevance tandem still presents an interesting small, practical family camper setup for city dwellers. The lower-towing pop-up trailer design could be garaged alongside the SUV at home in the city, providing a fast, easy way of escaping on demand to the mountains, forest, beach or just city outskirts. Keep it stocked with camping gear, and it'll be easy enough to pack some clothes and loose ends before driving off after work on a Friday evening for a weekend getaway.
Mitsubishi further supports the Elevance's natural road-tripping spirit with an AI Co-Driver system that analyzes road conditions, provides re-routing advice and offers destination suggestions based on the owner's likes and hobbies. The user interface screen is embedded directly in the steering wheel.
Sharing the "Forever Adventure"-themed Japan Mobility Show booth with the Elevance is an actual Delica van, in this case a new prototype of a forthcoming Delica D:5 refresh. The light facelift brings a new front-end design and contrast wheel arch flares to emphasize the van's all-wheel off-road capabilities. Inside, it gains digital gauges and metal trim meant to evoke the feel of outdoor gear. This refresh is available for preorder in Japan now.
As far as we're concerned, the new Delica refresh is merely a reminder of how badly Mitsubishi messed up when it decided to marry van and SUV styling in the original Delica D:5 way back in 2007. You can argue the trend started with the fourth generation, but that one's still pretty cool and classic, as far as we're concerned.
The Delica D:5, on the other, completely shed the timeless form that made the nameplate so likable, accentuating the two-box form, adding in the tall, vertical front-end and crisping up the edges. The addition of the Dynamic Shield during the D:5's 2019 refresh only made things worse, and this new refresh doesn't do anything to help.
At least the contrast arches remind us of the van's sweet 4WD history, which includes this baby:
We're not sure the refreshed Delica Mini fares any better, though it does take rugged, boxy styling to a new level. First introduced in 2023, the kei van extension of the Delica nameplate gets its first update.
With its tiny nose and level roofline, the Delica Mini was always a box, but Mitsubishi has worked overtime in expanding that boxiness to new corners. It's beefed up the wheel arches, created a squarer, more upright upper fascia around the headlamps, and carved in some rather sharp, level accents on the sides. The windshield also appears more upright.
To be fair, the photo Mitsubishii released in its international Japan Mobility Show press kit seems to accentuate the changes, and the restyled Delica Mini still appears rather cute-as-a-button and fun-loving in other photos and videos, including this wild little intro:
We really hope Mitsubishi makes a Delica Mini robo-dog an actual thing.
Source: Mitsubishi
