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LEADING THE CHARGE
Page 30
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Improving on the old L200 really wasn't going to be hard but Mitsubishi has surpassed itself with its radical replacement Julian Milnes reports.
The latest passenger on the fast-moving merry-go-round that is the pickup market is the new Mitsubishi L200. One of the biggest challenges facing any manufacturer is to design a pickup that doesn't look like a pickup— or at least not like every other pickup on the market.
In this respect. Mitsubishi has succeeded, cleverly designing the join between box and cabin to disguise the fact that the inside of the box has squared-ofr corners like every other pickup, at least on the double-cab versions.
The lifestyle certainly influences the design of the current crop of pickups. but Mitsubishi hasn't forgotten the work i rig man.Thc latest L200 conies in basic 4Work and uprated 4Life versions, together with Warrior,Animal and Elegance variants to satisfy comfort lovers.As is required these days, both single and double cabs are available.
Power comes from a new common-rail 2.5litre turbo-diesel producing 134hp (100kW) with 313Nm (2311bft) of torque. Standard equipment on the basic 4Work includes ABS with EBD, a limited-slip duff, and CD player with MP3.
With heavy-duty competition coming from the recently launched Nissan Navara and fresh-out-the-box Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi has kept the price keen.The base model costs .€12,249, which compares favourably with the base Navara (admittedly with the larger King Cab) at £14695 and the equivalentTovota Hilux al £13,595.
Top of the charts
For some reason the old L200 topped the sales charts with room to spare.This is something we could never understand: while it looked good from the outside, a turn of the key and a short drive revealed limited ability.
How things have changed.Whereas the old model wallowed and rolled its way through corners as its the driveline snatched with enough verve to give you whiplash, the new model positively glides along and the engine applies a progressive stream of power across the range.This may be partly down to the 50% improvement in torsional rigidity hut it's also attributable to independent front suspension, load-sensing braking, sharp steering and slick (for a pickup) gear change.
The Warrior..Animal and Elegance versions also have traction control and active stability control as standard, making the L200 nearly foolproof in difficult driving situations.
And the increased dimensions make room for a larger load area and a decent set of rear seats in the double-cab version. •