Mitsubishi Motors Systems that Increase Vehicle Performance
It’s pretty neat when an automaker designs their own systems for their automobiles. Mitsubishi Motors is a perfect example of this. Nearly all of their vehicles share various systems made to optimize engine output, fuel economy, and driver control. Many drivers may have heard of them before, and yet aren’t aware of how much a simple acronym can affect their vehicle’s performance.
MIVEC
Anyone who owns a Mitsubishi vehicle has a high chance of seeing the acronym “MIVEC” on the engine cover or in the description when looking up what kind of engine is under the hood. “MIVEC” stands for “Mitsubishi Innovate Valve Timing Electronic Control System,” and it is a type of variable valve timing (VVT) technology, the same technology used to alter the timing of an engine’s valve lift events for the intake and exhaust of air and fuel. Correctly executed, this can increase an engine’s horsepower and torque output.
INVECS – III – CVT Sportronic
Almost all Mitsubishi vehicles have INVECS along with CVT making up their transmission. “CVT” stands for “continuously variable transmission,” a type of transmission that consists of a continuous range of gear trains, unlike conventional transmissions that have a set number of gear trains for different speeds. CVT allows the transmission to change gears without loss of speed or power, and without expending fuel. It was first designed in 1935, and today is used in many vehicles made by various manufacturers.
INVECS is the brand name electronic automatic transmission by Mitsubishi and stands for “Intelligent & Innovative Vehicle Electronic Control System.” In its third generation, INVECS originally didn’t consist of CVT, which is why the two are typically listed as Mitsubishi’s transmission together. INVECS first showed up in 1992 and was designed to adapt to the shifting patterns of a driver’s style when switching gears via manual transmission.
(Super) All-Wheel Control
All-Wheel Control (AWC) and Super All-Wheel Control have been showing up in Mitsubishi vehicles for the last few years. It is a type of four-wheel drive that incorporates suspension technologies, braking systems, stability/traction control systems, and other components to achieve high handling and performance for a variety of road and driving conditions. Like 4×4 systems, it engages to keep traction and control over the vehicle when a wheel is freely spinning or the terrain suddenly changes. Super AWC is simply a more advanced version of AWC.
It’s interesting to see a company specifically designing systems for their vehicles when there are so many systems out there to use. However, it also goes to show that automakers like Mitsubishi Motors would rather focus on how they can make their vehicles better with original technology and systems versus using pre-made systems that may or may not meet their standards but is an easy fix. You can find many Mitsubishi vehicles with these systems in our inventory.