The eK Space was the second model planned and developed by NMKV, a joint venture with Nissan Motors. In February 2014, the year after the launch of the eK Wagon and eK Custom, Mitsubishi Motors launched the eK Space as its first product on the super high roof van market, which made up over 30 percent of the mini vehicle market at the time.
With “comfort,” “convenience,” and “reliability” as the key concepts, the project pursued safe and reliable performance that would reassure customers who would switch to the eK Space from their registered vehicles. With the eK brand’s high quality, ease of use, and excellent maneuverability intact, we worked to produce an automobile that would qualify as an “eK” (excellent kei car) in the class of roomy and comfortable super high roof vans, which would measure at least 1,700 mm in height and have the engine under the hood.
The eK Space made the most of the limited space in the mini vehicle. Its interior measured 1,400 mm in height and 2,235 mm in length, offering a space that was among the largest in the class. This was enough room for children to remain standing while changing their clothes, and for tall adult men to cross their legs and relax in the back seat. It was the most spacious mini vehicles providing the users with most comfort and convenience.
There were other fine-tuned family-friendly features to make the children’s and their guardians’ time in the car enjoyable including: sliding rear seats that enabled guardians sitting in the front seats to conveniently arrange the seats to take care of their children in the back seat; the rear air circulator, which was first in the class, designed to let the air from the air conditioner flow to the back seat to keep the whole interior space comfortable; and light blocking roll-up shades that effectively shut out sunlight.
The eK Space also had a variety of custom models above the standard model and was mounted with a three cylinder MIVEC engine. The naturally aspirated (NA) engine made the vehicle zippy, plus green. The turbocharged engine provided a quick and massive boost in torque from the low rpm range, and the power continued into the high rpm range, delivering an impessive thrilling ride.
In December 2014, a new grade with e-Assist was added to all three eK series vehicles. e-Assist is the advanced preventive safety technology that combines the low-speed-range Forward Collision Mitigation System designed to avoid collision with the vehicle in front or reduce impact damage in the event of a collision, and the Emergency Assist for Pedal Misapplication feature to prevent unintended start of the vehicle.
In 2018, in addition to the upgraded Forward Collision Mitigation System that detects pedestrians, EAPM consisting of the conventional unintended acceleration prevention system plus the additional feature to detect pedestrians while the vehicle moved forward were equipped on all eK Space as standard features. Furthermore, the Lane Departure Warning System was installed as a new feature, which qualified all eK Space vehicles as Safety Support Car S (Suppocar S) Wide-range or Suppocar S Basic +.
The eK Space was rated ASV+++ *1 for its preventive safety performance in 2018 by the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP), which tests and evaluates automobile safety features in the country. ASV+++ was the highest rating at the time.
*1 the “ASV” stands for “Advanced Safety Vehicle” equipped with systems designed to help the driver maneuver the vehicle safely using cutting-edge technologies.
