Triton toughens up for title tilt

The new Triton looks tough, and is taking the fight to the big guns

FOR a long time, Mitsubishi’s Triton was ‘best of the rest’, compared to market leading Utes including the Ranger and HiLux.

The latest update has the Triton pushing for a seat at the main table, a bigger, bolder and more muscular look headlining the transformation.

The 2.4-litre twin-turbo four cylinder diesel trails on outright power, with 150kW and 470Nm, but delivers it in a linear manner, making for a smooth ride under full acceleration, although there is a coarseness to the note at higher revs.

Tow capacity matches the opposition at 3.5 tonnes, our 2-tonne rig posed no problems for the Triton.

A six-speed manual is available, we drove the auto, a smooth shifting unit working up and down the gears, with only a noticeable ‘clunk’ when engaging first gear.

Modern manufacturing eliminates badly built cars, not only was the paint thick and lustrous but the Triton’s panel gaps were tight and even, doors close solidly, and there were no rattles during our test.

We had the GLX-R, including the ‘sports bar’ with punched metal side plates, looked great, but blocked access to the front tie-down points in the tub to anyone with hands bigger than the average six-year-old.

Incremental change is the name of the game for Mitsubishi in the latest update to the Triton

Cloth and vinyl dominated the interior, like the exterior styling, it was all squared-off edges and flat faces, with the centre stack dominated by the rectangular touch screen unit.

The manually adjustable front seats are comfortable, even for bigger drivers, despite the short seat base, although under-dash leg room was tight, it was either your arms or legs were happy, but not both at the same time.

Even in base trim the Triton is well equipped, we had the four-speaker AM/FM/DAB unit with wireless Android and CarPlay, sound was reasonable in a relatively small space, there was also automatic dial-a-temperature air-conditioning, and powered external mirrors.

Standard fit out includes tyre pressure monitoring, along with ABS/EBD/Brake Assist collision mitigation braking, traction and stability control, hill holder and trailer stability, as well as adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning, all part of a comprehensive safety package.

The contentious item is the Driver Monitoring System, using a camera mounted on the steering column, watching the driver’s eyes for signs of fatigue or a lack of concentration.

Even with a post-launch software update, the system is overly sensitive and intrusive, yes, it can be switched off, it has to be done every time you start the car, but the constant beeps and alerts when the system thinks you aren’t paying attention, because you are checking blind spots or scanning the instruments, becomes tiring and distracting in itself.

Ordinarily, I am a flag-waver for driver assist technologies, but this one is too sensitive, and defeats the purpose of having it, if your first instinct is to disable it as soon as the car is running.

That aside, the Triton was a nice place to be, it works well as a ute, the tub is a good size with a payload of around 1000kg, even if I couldn’t use the front tie-downs without a great deal of planning.

Driving manners are good, treat it for what it is, a high-riding, load carrier with the ability to tackle broken terrain while pulling a trailer, and you will not be disappointed.

The brakes were good, with a load on it pulled up well, but remember, fully laden, you are nudging 3000kg and braking distances increase with vehicle mass, you will not outbrake a Porsche.

Other upsides are the electric power steering, it is tight and direct, point the wheel and the nose will follow, the turning circle is reasonable but narrow streets can be tricky.

Generally the ride is good, the back end can get choppy when empty thanks to the heavy duty suspension, it is designed to carry heavy loads, with nothing in the tub it can skip around over pot-holed roads, put some weight on the back axle, and it settles down.

If Mitsubishi can tone down the Driver Monitoring, the Triton would be a fantastic, it is already capable and comfortable, and should be on your drive list.