Mitsubishi‘s new-generation rival to the likes of the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux is set to be revealed on July 26, and in the lead-up the Japanese carmaker has detailed the chassis and engine.
The new Triton has a “newly developed clean diesel turbo engine” of undisclosed capacity. An image of the engine shows it’s a four-cylinder.
The Japanese carmaker claims the new turbo-diesel engine has “improved environmental performance” thanks to reduced friction loss, as well as higher outputs. For context, the current Triton‘s 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine produces 133kW of power and 430Nm of torque.
In addition, the next-generation Triton has a newly developed ladder-frame chassis, with newly designed double-wishbone front suspension and rear leaf spring suspension.
As previously detailed, the new Mitsubishi Triton is expected to arrive in Australia late in 2023 or early in 2024.
“Australia is a core market globally for Mitsubishi Motors, and we have been a key stakeholder in the next-generation Triton’s development process,” said a Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson.
“The light commercial utility segment is more competitive than [ever], and we are confident that next-generation Triton will take Mitsubishi’s enduring presence in this market to the next level.
“We look forward to sharing more details of the development process, and of the new Triton’s Australian range, specification, timings and pricing as we move towards delivering this next-generation utility vehicle to Australian customers.”
Initially teased by the XRT concept and later by the Triton AXCR endurance racer, the new Triton has a “beefed-up body” that’s quite blocky and bluff, with a split headlight setup up front.
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Triton AXCR endurance racer
On the inside it appears to have a tablet-style touchscreen infotainment system mounted high on the dashboard, a row of piano key buttons for the climate controls, as well as the Super Select II 4WD dial with a full-time four-wheel drive mode.
As part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s leader-follower model, Mitsubishi is leading development of the Triton, with the next Nissan Navara set to share underpinnings but with different styling.
Although plug-in hybrid power had been mooted for the new Mitsubishi ute, executives have confirmed the technology is under study for the Triton rather than locked in. Were it to reveal a Triton PHEV, the brand confirmed it would follow the pure-electric ute it intends to reveal after 2025.
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Previous teaser image
Last year, the Mitsubishi Trition was Australia’s third best-selling ute with 27,436 sales, behind the Toyota HiLux (64,391 sales) and Ford Ranger (47,479 sales).
It’s also comfortably the best-selling Mitsubishi in Australia, ahead of the Outlander and ASX crossovers.
