There are huge number of hard, stylish and often extravagantly equipped rivals for the clever Mitsubishi L200 of course, counting the Ford Ranger, Fiat Fullback, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max and Volkswagen Amarok. However, in conditions of its driving refinement, competence, performance and load capacity, the Mitsubishi L200 grandly sets the bar very high for its rivals.
For all their authentic utility value, the actual reason we see so many copiously equipped ‘SUV style’ pick-ups on the roads today is the huge tax break accessible to drivers using one ton (and over) facility commercial vehicles for private mileage.
The strong 2.5-Litre MIVEC diesel engine makes its first appearance in the fifth generation L200 and is a much higher-tech unit than test takers’ have been used to observing in pick-up trucks. Variable valve timing, common-rail injection and aluminum construction, all assist to give this unit an edge mainly on performance and competence grounds.
The engine arrives in two states of tune along with the entry-level 4Life derivatives receiving a 151bhp version along with 380Nm of torque but all other models getting almost 178bhp and 430Nm. Mitsubishi has greatly managed to meet up the first stage of Euro 6 emissions regulations without any resorting to Ad Blue, keeping running costs down for clients. Performance is vigorous in the higher-powered engine chiefly with a 0-62mph time of 10.4s whilst the lower powered option has a 12.2s sprint time that is closer to the standard for the class.
The Mitsubishi L200 obtains an advanced common-rail turbo diesel engine along with an aluminum cylinder block, MIVEC variable valve-timing and lots of other nice weight-saving design features. It’s an extraordinarily high-tech unit to discover in a pick-up truck and it provides some very muscular fuel economy figures. The entrance-level 4Life version is the real fuel economy star of the range, along with a 40.9mpg shared economy figure in Euro 6 trim. However the higher spec derivatives aren’t really far behind with 39.8mpg offered one choose the manual gearbox. Simply go for the 5-speed auto and the combined cycle performance lowers down to 37.7mpg but that’s still healthier than many rivals can gather, even in their greenest manual guise. The emissions of CO2 range from 180g/km in the 4Life to 196g/km in all of the auto models.
The L200 is particularly built to be tough and to bring minimum repair and maintenance costs. To emphasize its faith in its product, Mitsubishi proposes a 5-year/62,000-mile warranty mainly with 12 years of anti-corrosion cover. Service intervals though are set at a slightly frequent 12,500 miles or 12 months, any comes soonest.
