Mitsubishi is busy reinventing itself, with Europeans taking on key roles throughout the organisation, holding the three key seats in the eight-seat board. So, at the European launch of its "soft-roader" entrant, the Outlander, the message was all "new broom sweeps clean".
Talk was of 300 new faces at the European headquarters, new aggressive designs and a new belief in the marque.
However, the new Outlander falls between the old and new. While they were keen to drop the name of designer Oliver Boulier into every sentence about the new 4x4, it emerges that Boulier's role was more one of approving earlier designs than actually putting pen to paper.
Regardless of who did the work, the Outlander comes to Europe as an afterthought, a hybrid of the mini-SUV already on sale on Japanese and US markets, where it sells under the model name Endeavour. The Outlander differs in that it has a more pronounced indent at the front and slanted nose. It's the same sharper nose and front grille that will be a theme of all future Mitsubishi models, in particular the much talked about NCC small car, and the new Grandis, due to replace the Spacewagon.
The result is a car that must adjust as well it can to European conditions. Unfortunately it also means that diesel - not a common choice in either US or Asia - was not a consideration for the initial designs and, according to Mitsubishi Europe, would require too costly a redesign to build into the current model to warrant production.
So, the Outlander comes with a choice of 2-litre or 2.4-litre petrol units and future plans for a 2-litre turbo, due late next year.
For the Irish market, the 2.4-litre will be the only one coming our way, and in many ways it is the better option for our test drives in both engines found the 2.4-litre to be a better fit with the body weight.
The Outlander will enter a pretty crowded marketplace, where 2-litre petrol is the norm. Competitors will include the Honda CRV, the Nissan X-Trail and the Subaru Forester. Like most in this category it does not come with low-ratio transmission, and our only off-road trekking was across flat dusty roads in a local national forest. The Outlander is not designed to take to the hills.
The folks at Mitsubishi are keen to point towards a more sporty image for the car, in particular the upcoming turbo-charged 2-litre which they claim will offer more power than the Forester.
While we look forward to testing it, the competition in this category will keep those at Mitsubishi on their toes.