When I think of luxury vehicles out of Japan, the brands that immediately pop out at me are Infiniti and Lexus. Acura is supposed to be a luxury brand but I’ve never been a fan and the only real contribution they’ve made to the automotive world is the NSX. It came as a surprise to me when I found out that Mitsubishi is going to test out the luxury market again in Japan with the Proudia and Dignity.
Mitsubishi had the very same luxury cars in the late 1990s and early 2000s which were co-manufactured with Hyundai as the Equus/Centennial. But the current Proudia and more luxurious, Dignity, are the result of an OEM deal with Nissan Group. With this agreement, Mitsubishi has rights to rebadge the Infiniti M (Nissan Cima in Japan) as Proudia and Dignity.
So, you’re basically getting a premium vehicle (Infinity) badged as a non-premium brand (Mitsubishi). Do you follow? The only changes that I can see between the Infiniti and Mitsubishi are the front grille, minimal changes on the front bumper, and the Mitsubishi badges. The Proudia is available with two engine options. The first is a 3.7-liter V6 producing 328hp in RWD or AWD variants and a 2.5-liter V6 producing 222hp in RWD only.
The Mitsubishi Dignity has a 5.9-inch longer wheelbase and features the very same gasoline-electric hybrid engine as the Infiniti M35h – a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline/electric motor producing a combined power of 359hp.
Both the Proudia and Dignity are available for order in Japan. The Mitsubishi Proudia starts at $50,400 while the more luxurious, Dignity VIP, starts at $105,200.
I wonder about the relevance of Mitsubishi in today’s market. The EVO is effectively duplicated by Subaru’s STI. Other than that, none of their cars have anything to offer. I highly doubt Americans will be interested in a Mitsu luxury car.
I agree. I don’t even know what cars they’re currently producing.