Mitsubishi L200 Trojan Car Review

Facts At A Glance CARS: Mitsubishi L200 Trojan
Performance: Max Speed 103mph / 0-60mph 14.6s
Fuel Consumption: (combined) 32.8mpg LOAD LENGTH: 1325mm

TROJAN WORKHORSE

Our Rating: 7.1 / 10

Mitsubishi isn’t horsing around with its L200 Trojan special edition. Steve Walker reports.

Ancient Troy had been under siege for ten years when some bright spark out in the rather despondent Greek encampment leapt to his feet. "I know", he said in his best ancient Greek, "we’ll build a giant wooden horse. We’ll hide in it and when the Trojans pull it inside the city walls, we’ll leap out, overpower the guards, open the gates and Plato’s your uncle." It proved to be first class wheeze and the Greeks won the Trojan War. That’s how the legend goes anyway. Today, the poor old Trojans give their name to a more honest mode of transport than the horse that proved their undoing all those centuries ago. It’s the Mitsubishi L200 Trojan pick-up and you can drive one home safe in the knowledge that it’s 100 per cent Greek free.

Mitsubishi used to reign supreme in the UK pick-up market but a number of other brands noticed how much cash the Japanese firm was making and set to work on securing a piece of the pie for themselves. These days, Nissan’s Navara, Toyota’s HiLux and even Ford’s Ranger provide a strong challenge and in the latest L200, there’s even evidence of an eye being taken off the ball in certain key areas. The Trojan special edition model is getting back to what Mitsubishi does best – lots of equipment, aggressive looks and low prices.

Power to the L200 Trojan’s tough off-road underpinnings comes from a 2.5-litre common-rail injection unit. It’s a huge improvement over the rough and not particularly ready direct injection powerplant in the previous generation L200. In standard form, this engine turns in a healthy 134bhp and torque of 231lb/ft at 2,000rpm but a power upgrade option is also available that tickles the output up to a macho 160bhp. In 134bhp guise, the unit is capable of hitting 60mph from standstill in 14.6s before rumbling on to a 103mph top speed but the optional automatic gearbox reigns performance in to a sluggish 17.8s sprint. Average fuel economy of nearly 33mpg is quoted for the manual versions with CO2 emissions of 228g/km.

Ride quality has long been a major downside of pick-up ownership but the L200 makes steps in the right direction with its independent double wishbone front suspension. At the back are heavy duty leaf springs, which won’t help on-road composure but are necessary for large payloads to be accommodated. Also underneath, chassis rigidity has been greatly improved compared to the old L200, lessening vibration and boosting handling. Buyers used to SUV passenger cars will still find it all a little agricultural, however.

The Mitsubishi L200’s standout feature is probably the way it looks. Until the covers came off this model, pick-ups had followed a tried and tested formula but the L200’s designers broke with tradition in some style. Curves are not things we’re used to seeing on macho pick-up trucks but the L200 is smothered in them. The front end, obviously Mitsubishi, is softened with rounded edges for grille and headlamps, plus oval recesses for the circular fog lights. The rear edge of the cab arcs down and around the vehicle’s lower edge, while the liquid lines of the tailgate and windows are a world away from those on boxy rivals. Inside, the curvy theme is mirrored with a bulging dash featuring smoothly-penned controls and instruments. The quality of the materials inside isn’t up to that of leading rivals, which is a shame because a lot of effort has clearly been made with the design.

The L200 Trojan uses an advanced Super Select full time 4x4 set-up similar to that found in Mitsubishi’s Shogun. It allows the L200 to be driven in 2WD or fulltime 4WD mode on the road without the excessive wear and tear suffered by part time systems as a result of transmission wind-up. In slippery offroad situations, a further 4WD mode can be selected which maximises traction by locking the centre differential. Both of the systems are operated by the traditional and rather clunky lever sited alongside the gear stick which seems slightly dated when compared to the dash-mounted dials u