New Mitsubishi Triton
Late last year we covered the launch of the new long-awaited Mitsubishi Triton and now there may be more good news on the horizon. The Japanese automaker has hinted that there is a great opportunity to build an even bigger and better Triton to rival the new Ford Ranger Raptor.
While the new Mitsubishi Triton is set for South African showrooms quite soon, even the suggestion of a facelifted ‘Raptor-rivalling’ Triton should have all petrol heads jumping for joy. Even though its only rumours at the moment, the concept bakkie set to make its debut at the Bangkok Motor Show on Tuesday 26 March shows loads of promise.
In a statement from James Tol, head of product planning at Mitsubishi Motors Australia, “There’s certainly an opportunity there, but I’m not going to speculate as to whether we are or we aren’t. At the moment, we’re concentrating on getting the model range we have bedded down and launched. I’d never say never … we will talk about that down the track.” He is, of course, referring to the possibility of the new Mitsubishi Triton rivaling the Ford Ranger Raptor.
Early indications are that a tougher version may only arrive with the next-generation Mitsubishi Triton which also coincides with the next Nissan Navara. It appears as though Mitsubishi has chosen to focus on improved safety and technology of the popular workhorse, at least for now. The new Triton certainly offers the look and off-road capabilities to take on the likes of the Ford Ranger. These qualities are vital to making a genuine impact on private and commercial buyers.
Mitsubishi is happy with the technology and safety of the new Triton which is how all these types of vehicles should be. The team worked hard to ensure that they get collision mitigation and lane-departure warning into the workhorse grades for even more market impact.
In fact, Mitsubishi is the first to offer the combination of seven airbags, forward collision mitigation with bulbar-compatible autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot detection, unintended acceleration mitigation, and rear cross-traffic alert. All of these safety features and driver assist technologies are in their light commercial utility range which outshines the higher-priced Ford Ranger, Mercedes-Benz X-Class and VW Amarok.
It is very likely that the same systems will also be in the Ranger-rivalling Triton while being given a more robust look. From what we can tell, the concept car might feature more off-road focused suspension which includes a lift kit and a new bold styling package. There is no confirmation yet on the powertrain but we could expect an upgraded version of the current 2.4-litre turbodiesel producing 133kW and 430Nm torque. In addition, the automatic versions of the concept Triton could switch from the current five-speed to a six-speed transmission.
Even though it still remains to be seen whether they will announce production plans, the direction they want to go in seems clear. Perhaps we could see an even bigger Mitsubishi Triton ‘kid on the block’ sooner than we think.
While there is limited information available, we hope the Bangkok Motor Show will share some of Mitsubishi’s future plans. Keep an eye on our blog for possible launch dates, pricing, and any other updates. You can also follow us on Facebook and be the first to know about motoring news from around the world.
