On the eve of the Asia Cross Country Rally, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines executives herded us to the parking lot of the hotel where the Ralliart team was billeted so we could take a look at the Triton rally car.

It didn’t take long before we noticed the Delica Mini parked nearby, so naturally we gravitated to the little five-door.

Winner of the 2023-2024 Japan Car of the Year Design Award and the 2023 Good Design Award, the Delica Mini is a Japanese-market kei car that quickly won over buyers with cheeky styling and oodles of practicality.

Available in 2WD and AWD versions, it’s powered by a 660cc, 12-valve three-cylinder engine that makes 51hp for the former, and 63hp for the latter.

That’s not a lot even for a motorcycle of similar displacement, but the Delica Mini weighs a mere 970kg for a base 2WD, and just 1,050kg for the top-of-the-line AWD.

A continuously variable transmission is used for all variants, and advanced safety systems like lane-keeping assist, automatic high beams, cornering brake control, and hill descent control are available.

But the real value of the Delica Mini is that it’s a relatively small car that’s maximized in utility due to being shaped like a tall box that’s easy to ingress and egress.

Both sides have power sliding doors; the rear seats slide forward and back on rails; and the seat materials and the door liners are designed to be moisture-resistant and easy to clean since it’s designed for a rugged life.

This particular Delica Mini functioned as a support car for Mitsubishi Ralliart, shuttling crew and small parts to and from the bigger cargo trucks to the checkpoints and the service areas. As such, it was outfitted with all-terrain tires and raised suspension.

The interior was also fitted with aluminum mesh panels for the rear-quarter windows, a utility bar on the rear hatch, and a little Delimaru plush toy.

Skid plates are standard kit for the Delica Mini, by the way. A roof rack, a rear ladder, and four powerful driving lights have been added. Decked out in Ralliart livery, the Delica Mini oozes charisma.

Sadly, being a right-hand-drive vehicle, it doesn’t look like we will have this for the Philippine market anytime soon.

With the top-of-the-line model peaking at ¥2,235,500 (around P868,000 at the current exchange rate), the little Mitsu would be a serious contender against the Toyota Raize and the Kia Sonet.

Word has it that the Japanese factory is already having a hard time making enough to satisfy the home market, which presold 9,000 units from January to April last year leading to its May 2023 launch.

Of course, if you badger Mitsubishi enough about the car and they see that a left-hand-drive model would be economically viable for them, who’s to say a Delica Mini might never be sold here and in other LHD markets in the near future?