Mitsubishi Motors sure likes to tease their vehicles. Just like the silhouette of the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, a return of the Mitsubishi Eclipse sports car as a crossover, the revival of the Mitsubishi truck is getting the same treatment in terms of its debut. Known as the L200 in some countries, and the Triton in others, the Mitsubishi Motors pickup truck got a bit of a refresh, and this time, it’s going global. With the automarket filling up with SUVs, crossovers, and trucks, now is the time for Mitsubishi to make a comeback into the North American market.
The Looks
So we took the original Mitsubishi tease and shined a little light on it with some photoshop brightness/contrast filters. Nothing fancy, but it gives us an extra peek at what Mitsubishi is trying to hide. The thin headlights and and running daytime lights (RDL) above the bumper are still there, but the well-known honeycomb grille is still too far dark to get a look at it. If anything, the front fascia is looking a lot like a Mitsubishi Outlander. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say the new Triton is the Mitsubishi Outlander with a truck bed. Hey, if Jeep can do it with the Wrangler Scrambler, then why not Mitsubishi?
The other possibility is the pickup truck revival is the first Mitsubishi Motors vehicle to feature alternative fuel. Plans for hybrid and electric SUVs and more have been mentioned by the automaker in the past. An absent honeycomb grille could give way to that – no need for a grille if there’s no engine.
The Specs
At the moment, we don’t know the specs of the revived Mitsubishi pickup truck. The latest generation of the Mitsubishi pickup truck has three powertrain options – a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine, and two diesel four-cylinders engines. With turbocharging small engines being all the craze, going with a small engine for fuel economy, but enough power with turbo for towing, and it might be a great combination.
The fifth and latest generation of the Mitsubishi Triton/L200 is said to have a maximum towing capacity of at least 7500 pounds when properly equipped. Again, powertrain options are up in the air, but if Mitsubishi Motors is bringing trucks back, they at least need to be powerful enough to match the likes of Ram and Chevrolet. At least the current trend of adding all-wheel control (AWC) on vehicles will most likely crossover. Mitsubishi Motors developed the AWC to give drivers control over the vehicle on all kinds of terrain and road conditions.
Is the new Mitsubishi Triton just another SUV with a truck bed, or will this be a pickup truck through and through? We’ll have to wait for Mitsubishi Motors to make the big debut. To know when that happens, keep in touch with us on Miami Lakes Mitsubishi social media. We’ll be sure to shine a little more light when we can.