Mitsubishi may be financially under the weather in global terms, but down on the roadway it has suddenly come from producing neanderthal style to the looks equivalent of a millionaire's row luxury pad.

The new Grandis MPV is so far ahead of anything else in its segment in the boldness of its styling that it actually shocks ... because it is coming from Mitsubishi.

And with the long-awaited latest Colt rapidly driving in from the horizon, as well as a brand-new Lancer still a bit out of sight beyond it, the attraction of a Mitsubishi showroom promises to be more than it has been in current motoring memory.

Grandis is truly driving in the grand manner, at least on first view last week.

Available as a 7- or 6-seater (the more seats the less expensive), it is a full-size MPV that seeks to position itself outside the mainstream of the Galaxy set. As a company boss put it: 'Grandis is the first MPV you'll buy because you WANT to rather than because you HAVE to'.

Well, possibly. As long as you don't mind standing out in the MPV crowd.

And you will, if you take this road.

Look at that front end. A mixture of sharps and curves. A grille for Mitsubishi that is right out of concept rather than prim tradition. Lights shapes that flourish.

Then view the side, which has absolutely no relationship to the van format on which so many large MPVs seem to be based. More of those curves, very dynamic in fact. A sense of length that helps to hide the actual height of the vehicle.

And a back style which flouts most ideas of practicality without becoming impractical.

Get inside and there's a mixture of attitude and simplicity that I suggest as an exemplar to all manufacturers in this 21st century. That's just talking about the dashboard.

I have to say that real dials are still best (though people like Toyota really know how to make digital versions very user-friendly). And rotary knobs for temperature control are still the ideal. Grandis has both best and ideal.

The first view car was the 6-seat, which meant there was serious elbow room for the two passengers in the middle. And a bit of walk-through from the front if you really want to. Well, 'hunch-through', maybe.

But the really cool setup is for the two rear seats, which use a 'Hide & Seat' system to fold down completely flat when not needed, giving a rear floor area that is absolutely usable for luggage or goods. Cool because it is truly a 'one-hand' operation. And, I believe, a first such in the large MPV segment, where traditionally you had to leave the rear seats behind if you wanted storage rather than people space.

They are full-size seats too, it looks like. Not just for the kids.

Grandis for the moment comes with just a 2.4-litre petrol engine, which more or less matches it with the main competitors in the large MPV contest. And which will limit enough its sales here for the rest of the year.

But there's a 2-litre turbodiesel coming next year. And that will make all the difference in pushing the Grandis in the marketplace.

Style and substance together is a new mix for Mitsubishi. It makes it a heady time for both the company and its product owners. Hope they can both handle it.

On sale priced at €37,950-39,200.