The Mitsubishi Engelberg Tourer Has The Best Roof Box We’ve Ever Seen

Mitsubishi has just released a new hybrid SUV concept, but we’re thinking of the ‘Engelberg Tourer’ as more as a vessel for carrying the ultimate roof box. It opens and closes automatically, and has a set of massive spotlights mounted on it. What’s not to like?

As for the car sat underneath it, it’s about as ‘lifestyle’ as it gets. It’s named after a Swiss ski resort, for a kick-off, and along with the fancy roof box, it has three rows of seats and “flexible luggage space” to make sure all your lifestyle accessories are accommodated.

Under that big, attention grabbing-face you’ll find a skid plate for when the going gets rough, and a similar arrangement at the rear. If traction on your latest skiing adventure becomes a problem, there’s an all-wheel drive system to fall back on, made possible by motors being fitted to both axles.

The Active Yaw Control (you might remember that brand name from the Lancer Evo days) system distributes torque as it sees fit between the front wheels, while the Super All-Wheel Control ‘brain’ makes the car go, stop and steer as effectively as possible by fiddling with motor output and braking force.

The 2.4-litre engine can act as, well… an engine, as well as a generator for the motors in ‘series-hybrid’ mode. Powered by the motors alone, the Engelberg can travel up to 43 miles on the WLTP cycle, while with a full tank of fuel and a full charge, it’ll go for 434 miles.

Do you have appetite left for an additional acronym? Good, because we need to tell you about ‘DDH’, which stands for ‘Dendo Drive House’. Mitsubishi has revealed it alongside the Engelberg, and the setup consists of an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, a bi-directional charger, solar panels and a ‘home battery’. It’s a way of reducing the costs and emissions associated with juicing up your electrified vehicle while also giving the option to power home appliances if you have a surplus.

As for what the Engelberg Tourer is supposed to be for, other than demonstrating DDH, we can’t be sure - although Mitsubishi isn’t saying, elements of the concept’s styling and technology could well be used for the next Outlander.