These spy photos show the next-generation Mitsubishi Outlander SUV testing in Michigan.

The new Outlander will be significantly bigger than the current one, moving it from the compact crossover segment to the mid-size segment.

Expected to arrive sometime next year, the new Outlander will likely go on sale as a 2021 model.

We recently came across a camouflaged SUV prototype testing in Michigan so mysterious that it took us a while to figure out that it's the next-generation Mitsubishi Outlander, likely due for the 2021 model year. The key giveaways were the unconventional front-end headlight arrangement, unusual grille surround, and taillight shapes, all of which are taken directly from Mitsubishi's recent Engelberg Tourer concept car, pictured below.

Mitsubishi/Harry Granito Car and Driver

It's clear from the proportions of this prototype that the next Outlander will grow significantly in size. It's currently on the large end of the compact-SUV segment and offers up to seven seats, but the new model looks to be a legitimate mid-sizer, likely with a far more accommodating third row of seats. To our eye, it looked to be about the size of a Honda Pilot or Hyundai Santa Fe. This will go along with a rejiggering of Mitsubishi's SUV lineup, as we expect the next Outlander Sport to also grow in size. Once the transformation is complete, the Eclipse Cross will be the smallest offering, the Outlander Sport will fit neatly into the compact space, and this Outlander will serve as the company's mid-size SUV.

We'd guess (and hope) that this new Outlander will ride on new underpinnings, possibly a stretched version of the Eclipse Cross's platform. It's also likely to share that model's turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four as its base engine, with a V-6 engine available as an option and the current Outlander's plug-in-hybrid powertrain likely to carry over to the new generation with a few updates.

Mitsubishi

We should hear more about the new 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander sometime next year as Mitubishi prepares to launch this new model in the U.S. market.

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