• Summary
• What's Good
• What's Bad
• On the Road
• In The Cabin
• Owners' Reviews

While everyone else was at the L200 launch, testing the new L200 on World Rally stages in Turkey, I was driving it in Thailand.

That's where it's built, of course. So I also got to see it being built at Mitsubishi's superclean factory at Laem Chabang, plus a visit to Laem Chabang port from which all vehicles built in Thailand are exported.

As you may know, in Thailand, the new L200 is rather impressively badged the Triton. Like the Isuzu Rodeo (D-Max) and the new Toyota Hilux (Vigo), also built in Thailand, it was launched there a long time before the UK. However, while the D-Max and Vigo took a year to 18 months from Thai to UK launch UK, the L200 Triton has only taken 6 months.

Like the D-Max and the Vigo, the L200 is not available in the UK with the most powerful diesel engine that can be found under Thai market bonnets. EU4 regs have seen to that. However, though I thought I was driving the 165PS 3.2 (it certainly went well enough), in fact all I actually had under my right foot was the standard UK spec 140PS 2.5. Not even the chipped UK only 160PS 2.5.

You can see for yourself what the new L200 looks like. Like the Dakar Rally winning Pajeros and quite unlike any other pick-up. The brutality school of styling has been given the elbow. It's a very nice looking and, more importantly, more aerodynamic vehicle. The fact that even driving it at speeds up to 110mph I got nearly 35mpg is the crucial benefit of this.

At first they offered me a monstered Ralliart 4x4 double-cab with huge 18" off-road wheels and tyres and specially beefed-up off road suspension (the blue truck). Then, while I was taking pictures of it, realising I intended to drive 600 kilometres they pulled out a more street-friendly black 4x4 ‘Mega Cab'. (Arriving in the UK 3rd quarter 2006 as the ‘Club Cab'.)

I then proceeded to get hopelessly lost on the Bangkok tollways due to my out-of-date map and the fact that the signposting only tells you next destination, not eventual destination. So I took to ground level which I now know quite well. I mention this because the fact that I sat in some of the worst traffic jams in the world for three hours without going crazy (and without scratching the truck) says a lot for the truck.

Finally, out over Krung Thep Bridge, U Turn, more traffic and at last onto the A35 on my way to Cha Am, 206 kilometres South.

Road Test Mitsubishi L200: Mitsubishi L200 Triton test