Mitsubishi's Rebadged Leaf Wins Green SUV of the Year Before It Even Goes on Sale
Green Car Journal hands its 2027 Green SUV of the Year to a car that isn't on sale yet — and Mitsubishi confirms its rebadged Leaf arrives in October.
Mitsubishi's first battery-electric model for the US in more than a decade has collected an award before reaching a single showroom. Green Car Journal has named the 2027 Eclipse Sportback EV its Green SUV of the Year, and the announcement also pins down the launch window: the car debuts in October.
The award recognizes SUVs that pair environmental performance with style and versatility. This year it went to a model whose price Mitsubishi still hasn't revealed.
What the company has confirmed is the hardware. The Eclipse Sportback carries a standard 75-kWh lithium-ion battery rated at 282 miles of range, according to Mitsubishi. Charging runs through two ports: an SAE J1772 connector covers Level 1 and Level 2 AC charging, while a separate NACS port opens access to Tesla's Supercharger network for DC fast charging.
Peak DC power is 150 kW, enough to take the pack from 10 to 80 percent in about 35 minutes. On a Level 2 home charger, a 20-80 percent session takes roughly 6.5 hours.
Those numbers will sound familiar, because the Eclipse Sportback is a restyled next-generation Nissan Leaf. Mitsubishi confirmed the OEM arrangement with its Alliance partner when it revealed the car in June: new front and rear fascias, different lighting, unique wheels, and Triple Diamond badging over carried-over Leaf mechanicals.
The donor car offers a useful benchmark. The 2026 Leaf pairs the same 75-kWh pack with a 214-hp front motor and is EPA-rated at up to 303 miles in base S+ trim, dropping to 259 miles on the top trim's larger wheels. It starts at $29,990 before destination. Mitsubishi's 282-mile figure sits between those two, and the company hasn't said which configuration it applies to.
The trophy extends a long run with Green Car Journal. The Outlander PHEV took the publication's Family Green Car of the Year award four years straight from 2023 through 2026, sharing the final one with the mild-hybrid Outlander — the first time in the program's 21-year history that sister models split a title, per Mitsubishi.
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The award also lands neatly in Mitsubishi's Momentum 2030 plan, which calls for one new or fully refreshed model every year through 2030 and a US lineup that nearly doubles from today's four vehicles. The Eclipse Sportback is the first of those additions, joining the mild-hybrid Outlander and Outlander PHEV as the brand's third electrified model.
Pricing is now the only number that matters. If Mitsubishi undercuts the Leaf, or matches its sticker while offering a longer warranty, the badge-engineered EV could make a case of its own when it reaches dealers next month.
