For those wondering about Mitsubishi’s dubious future in India, there’s an interesting development this week. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross was spied in the country for the first time yesterday, courtesy ThrustZone reader Aditya Singh.

It seems like, as promised, Mitsubishi is bringing the Eclipse Cross to India in 2020. The company may use Auto Expo 2020 to showcase this model, although spending on space there for just 2-3 models, of which we’re certain one (Pajero Sport) is going to be dropped by March 2020, probably may not make sense.

For those new to the nameplate, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is the follow-up to the Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV II from the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, which in turn is an evolution of the Mitsubishi Concept XR-PHEV from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Introduced at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, it’s a compact SUV-coupe measuring 4,405 mm in length, 1,805 mm in width and 2,670 mm in height and having a 2,670 mm wheelbase.

Under the hood, there’s either a 1.5L turbocharged petrol engine or a 2.2L turbocharged diesel engine. The petrol engine produces 163 PS and 250 Nm of torque, while the turbocharged diesel engine develops 148 PS and 388 Nm of torque. The former comes linked to a 6-speed MT or a CVT, while the latter can be had with either a 6-speed MT or an 8-speed AT. An AWD system is optional.

For India, the plan might be to offer only the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross in only the petrol engine variant, with CVT and AWD as standard. LED headlamps, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED tail lights, panoramic sunroof, colour HUD, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a touchpad controller and Rockford Fostgate sound system with 9 speakers and a subwoofer are some of the equipment highlights.

On the safety front, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross includes features like 7 airbags, electric parking brake with auto hold function, 360-degree camera, Automatic High Beam (AHB), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Blind Spot Warning System (BSW) with Lane Change Assist (LCA) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA). Not all of these would be on offer in our market, though, particularly most of the active safety systems.

The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is manufactured for global markets at the Okazaki Plant near Nagoya, Japan. It will likely be imported to India via the CBU route and easily cost upwards of INR 20 lakh (ex-showroom). It will compete with the likes of Skoda Karoq and VW T-Roc, both of which are also due in 2020.