Next Mitsubishi Triton sizes up significantly

MITSUBISHI’S next-generation Triton will share nothing with the current model, growing substantially in size and proportion, butching up in a bid to close in on the best-selling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.

Due inside the next two years, the sixth-generation version of the 40-year-old series will adopt a squared-off face with a chunkier nose reminiscent of the Mi-Tech Concept, boxier wheelarches, a high-sided load bed capable of accommodating a standard pallet, and a substantially more spacious cabin offering a far more modern dashboard presentation.

According to Mitsubishi Motors Corporation vice president and general manager of design Tsunehiro Kunimoto, it was a key priority for the next Triton’s looks to fall in line with the tastes of Australian consumers – and that means emulating the Ranger dimensionally inside and out.

“Mitsubishi’s truck is very important for our business in Australia, and Australia is overall a very important market for all our products,” he told GoAuto at last week’s Tokyo Motor Show.

“We very much care about Australia and had much research – extremely deep research in fact – for us to understand what is the truck customer in Australia. And it is very different to that of Thailand, totally.

“So, we understand that, to get their opinion, we developed our truck basically focusing on Australia,as well as Thailand. Australians drive their trucks differently and in some different conditions.”

As a result, Mr Kunimoto said the new Triton has been designed and develop with a higher degree of flexibility in order to better tailor the model according to which market it sells in.

“Some areas we can share, some areas we have to change,” he said. “Australia is unique, but in some areas, we can now modify more easily to suit tastes. And more than 50 per cent of customers like to customise their trucks, so we’ve prepared (the next Triton) for that.”

While the design veteran would not be drawn into commenting on how much differentiation will exist between the Mitsubishi and Nissan versions of the truck, he did infer that the next Triton is closer to completion than the Navara version is.

“The Nissan is still at the white or clean sheet paper stage,” he said. So, I cannot say.”

GoAuto understands that under the imposing new bonnet of the next Triton will be some carryover technology, albeit evolved for improved performance and economy.

This will include a derivation of the 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel unit, developing about 150kW of power and 470Nm of torque, and driving either the rear or all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

The next Triton is likely to gain some form of electrified powertrain, however. With the series traditionally also selling quite strongly in Europe, it will need some form of hybrid-electric assistance to help the one-tonner meet ever-more-stringent emissions requirements.

Whether the rear suspension set-up remains a leaf-spring set-up, or switches to coil springs to match up-spec versions of the existing Navara, Ford Ranger Raptor and Mercedes-Benz X-Class is unknown.