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Vehicle Tests > 4WD Comparison - Forced Labour
4WD Comparison - Forced Labour
Not enhancing the highway-driving experience is vague steering (although it's probably no worst than the Navara, or even the Ford) and a slightly top-heavy feeling through the corners compared to the others. Clunky gearbox too.
More negatives come with regards safety as the Mahindra is the only vehicle here without driver and passenger airbags. No ABS either, even as an option. But for all that there's still plenty to like about the Pik-Up.
Mitsubishi Triton GXL ($39,990)
The Triton is a new-age ute and, in this company, it feels it. But its also the most expensive contender here, yet is it arguably the poorest in terms of equipment. And the engine, while recently revised, is starting to show its age.
The engine in question is Mitsubishi's long-serving 3.2-litre Di-D, now with common-rail injection (to meet the now mandatory Euro 4 emissions standards) and good for a claimed 118kW/343Nm. It's the biggest engine here and, along with the Ford, the most athletic performer. What is less pleasing is that it lacks the refinement and polish of the Ford or the Ssangyong's engines, or even that of the Nissan. In some ways it isn't even as refined as the Mahindra's modest offering.
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But it does get on with the job with excellent flexibility off idle and a strong mid-range. It also has the second-best ADR fuel figure, a statistic backed up by a second place in our fuel consumption testing.
The real appeal of Triton lies however with the fact that it's a modern platform evidenced by the way it feels on the road, especially its steering and suspension performance. Compared to its immediate competition here, the Ford and Nissan, it feels tight and precise, where they feel vague and loose.
This modernity carries over to a cabin that while sparsely appointed (it's the only one with vinyl flooring rather than carpets) has a modern, ergonomically sound feel. It's still not as big and as airy as the Mahindra but it's the only one of the three Japanese utes here with a back seat big enough for three adults. On the safety front, driver and passenger airbags are standard while ABS is optional.
Obvious cost cutting comes in the form of road-pattern tyres that have the lowest speed rating of any on offer here, including the all-terrain tyres on the Ford, Nissan and Mahindra. The tyres feel poor on the road as well and are the prime reason why the Triton, as standard, isn't too flash off the road either.
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More negatives come with regards safety as the Mahindra is the only vehicle here without driver and passenger airbags. No ABS either, even as an option. But for all that there's still plenty to like about the Pik-Up.
Mitsubishi Triton GXL ($39,990)
The Triton is a new-age ute and, in this company, it feels it. But its also the most expensive contender here, yet is it arguably the poorest in terms of equipment. And the engine, while recently revised, is starting to show its age.
The engine in question is Mitsubishi's long-serving 3.2-litre Di-D, now with common-rail injection (to meet the now mandatory Euro 4 emissions standards) and good for a claimed 118kW/343Nm. It's the biggest engine here and, along with the Ford, the most athletic performer. What is less pleasing is that it lacks the refinement and polish of the Ford or the Ssangyong's engines, or even that of the Nissan. In some ways it isn't even as refined as the Mahindra's modest offering.
read on below advertisement
But it does get on with the job with excellent flexibility off idle and a strong mid-range. It also has the second-best ADR fuel figure, a statistic backed up by a second place in our fuel consumption testing.
The real appeal of Triton lies however with the fact that it's a modern platform evidenced by the way it feels on the road, especially its steering and suspension performance. Compared to its immediate competition here, the Ford and Nissan, it feels tight and precise, where they feel vague and loose.
This modernity carries over to a cabin that while sparsely appointed (it's the only one with vinyl flooring rather than carpets) has a modern, ergonomically sound feel. It's still not as big and as airy as the Mahindra but it's the only one of the three Japanese utes here with a back seat big enough for three adults. On the safety front, driver and passenger airbags are standard while ABS is optional.
Obvious cost cutting comes in the form of road-pattern tyres that have the lowest speed rating of any on offer here, including the all-terrain tyres on the Ford, Nissan and Mahindra. The tyres feel poor on the road as well and are the prime reason why the Triton, as standard, isn't too flash off the road either.
next page »
