Once very popular, now almost completely extinct: the second generation of the Mitsubishi Space Wagon is one of the ‘remember this’ category. He was also there as a short and rather wacky Space Runner and got a new nose in 1994.
The Space Wagon appears for the first time in 1983 and is therefore one of the proofs that not the French, but the Japanese invented the midi MPV. After that first, square model, a completely new Space Wagon follows in 1991. According to the latest fashion of those days, it is a lot more rounded in shape, but still clearly based on the same pattern. That means a ‘van-like’ body with a low shoulder line and a short, steeply rising bonnet, combined with a not too high roof. The Space Wagon is also a seven-seater in this new form, which has made it popular with large families in the Netherlands, among other places.
Those who do not need that space can opt for the Space Runner from this second generation. That is a shorter five-seater variant, with a body shorter about 23 centimeters and a considerably smaller wheelbase. The Space Runner has a somewhat remarkable shape due to the short body and, compared to the Space Wagon, yields the middle part of its rear lights, leaving only the two elements next to the tailgate. Its most striking feature is without a doubt its sliding door. Instead of the regular rear doors of the Space Wagon, the ‘Runner’ gets a single sliding door, on the curb side. On left-hand drive it is on the right, on right-hand drive on the left. The other side of the car, which is called RVR in Japan and was sold in the US as Plymouth, among other things, remains sliding doorless.
Despite all the differences, the nose of a Space Runner is almost identical to that of a Space Wagon. That doesn’t change with the 1994 facelift, which brings the same changes to both models. Mitsubishi is now mounting larger headlights with clear glass. They continue downwards, in contrast to the good Japanese custom placed side lights next to the headlights. Models after the facelift are easy to recognize, among other things, by the curved underside of the actual light units. The top of the lamps has a tighter shape from 1994, thanks to a bonnet that is cut completely straight from now on. That leaves room for a larger grille. The hood itself gets a striking bulge at the top.
The front bumper also undergoes major changes in 1994. The original, orange-coloured turn signals have been replaced by shorter ones with clear glass. They are placed on either side next to a (fake) air grille, which in turn connects to a larger cooling opening in the center of the bumper.
In this form, the ‘Wagon’ and the ‘Runner’ last until 1998. In that year, the Space Wagon gets a successor, which with its larger and higher body is even more of a full-fledged MPV. The Space Runner may also remain for one more generation, but Mitsubishi will separate it from the larger model.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl