Mitsubishi L200 Review

The Mitsubishi L200 may initially cause some confusion with the name. This is because if you were to simply look it up as such, you may find a number of vehicles all claiming to be the L200.

Why? Well, for most export markets, the name L200 is used, but it has also been known as the Rodeo, the Colt, the Storm, the Magnum, and the Strakar (used in Portugal since 1999), as well as many others! So, what looks to be a collection of Marvel superheroes, are in fact all the names the L200 has been given...

The first generation

The first generation of what we'll call the L200 goes right back to 1978 as a compact pickup truck, and was first sold in Japan as the Mitsubishi Forte, continuing as such until late 1986.

In export versions, the 2.0-litre petrol version had 93 hp (69 kW), while a larger 2.6-litre unit offered 105 hp (78 kW).

Although four-wheel drive was added for 1982, the second generation model was introduced in 1986 for most markets. In Australia, this model launched in October 1986 as the low-cost Triton.

A facelift in 1993

A facelift took place for the 1993 model year, with a new grille and new plastic bumpers comprising most of the changes, and it continued to be produced like this right up until 1996.

Another new generation

After a number of successful years on the market, with very encouraging global sales, the next generation of Triton was released in 2005 and was exported to no fewer than 140 markets worldwide. It was mostly known as L200 except for in Japan and its subsidiary countries' markets.

In Japan, the Triton was exclusively equipped with a 3.5-litre petrol engine and 4-speed automatic transmission and was sold from 2006 to 2011 - the only pick-up truck in the market at that time.

The fifth generation

In 2014, Mitsubishi unveiled the all new L200 which went on sale in early 2015 (in Asia and the Pacific regions) and late 2015 (Europe and the Caribbean). It was powered by a new 2.4-litre diesel engine and enjoys good reports to this day, boasting reliability and longevity on the roads to add to its solid reviews.

Overall, Mitsubishi owners praised the reliability of the L200 in many surveys wherever it is marketed, and it has constantly finished in the top ten in numerous customer satisfaction surveys, with the owners praising the constant reliability of the vehicles under difficult driving conditions and challenging scenarios!