First a bitter pill: the current Mitsubishi Space Star is actually not a Space Star, but a Mirage. Now that bad news is out of the way, let’s turn to the original Space Star. That level-headed and somewhat Dutch space wonder received a facelift in 2002.
Is the current Space Star not a Space Star? Well, it is on it and Mitsubishi calls it that, so strictly speaking the car is of course. However, the compact model was originally to be called Mirage and carries that name elsewhere in the world, but in Europe the old “Space Star” was pulled out of the mothballs.
Although the car is certainly slightly larger than its direct competitors in the A-segment, the name “space star” remains a bit out of place. The name was originally intended for another car. The Space Star, which was presented in 1998, is a car of a kind that we don’t actually know anymore. In 2020 we prefer to choose a hip lined SUV-like, but in the late 90s Mitsubishi still scored points with a completely unpretentious, but practical high hatchback with some light MPV traits. The Space Star was specially developed for the European market and, like the Carisma, was screwed together at Nedcar in Born in Limburg.
In its early years, the Space Star was once pushed with clear headlight units, painted fenders and red-black taillights, but the first real facelift came in 2002. The headlight units then gave way to one-piece units with a black, just like before at the Carisma. interior. At the same time, they were flattened slightly from the bottom, creating space for a more prominent bumper that was visually divided into three segments. At the rear, the orange glasses for the turn signals returned, but in the form of a round bulge with clear glass. The original Space Star lasted until 2005 in this refreshed form.