Mitsubishi Triton GLX+ 2024 Review

The Triton is more expensive than before, and it ostensibly aims for a position a little higher in the market, but it maintains some distance from its chief rivals, even though the competition is pretty tight at GLX+ level. Tagged at $53,290 before on-road costs, the nearest volume-selling competitors for the Triton GLX+ include the Ford Ranger XL ($54,380), Toyota HiLux Workmate ($50,420), Isuzu D-MAX SX ($52,700), Mazda BT-50 XT ($55,230) and Nissan Navara ST ($55,455). No obvious pricing advantages in that lot.

Within the Mitsubishi family, the Triton GLX+ ute is more than $10,000 below the $63,840 GSR flagship, but only $2350 pricier than the base GLX model (which, apart from minor trim differences including a lack of side steps and steel, rather than alloy wheels) is very similarly equipped.

Mid-range Tritons include the $59,090 GLS and the $56,740 GLX-R.

In terms of comfort levels, the Triton GLX+ and GLX gain a small, sneaky lead over Ranger/HiLux/D-MAX competition with a powered driver’s seat that also includes electric lumbar support.

There’s not much difference between the Triton GLX+ and the base GLX: The GLX’s lack of side steps and alloy wheels are about the only external giveaways. The headlights on both might be halogen-only, but they are at least self-dipping, while the cabin fitout is cosy enough and includes built-in GPS, climate control and four-speaker audio with DAB+ radio.

Both GLX and GLX+ are also equipped with cloth-trimmed seats and vinyl flooring that are best suited to hard-working 4x4 pickups.

The warranty deal is as impressive as they come, at the volume end of the 4x4 pickup market. With the proviso that all servicing must be carried out by a Mitsubishi dealership, the Triton offers an extended 10-year, 200,000km warranty, with capped-price servicing scheduled at 12-month or 15,000km intervals – whichever comes first – along with a generous five years of roadside assist.

A capped-price servicing plan covers the Triton for 10 years or 150,000km, with the first five services pegged at $489 each and, consecutively, through $799, $749, $949, $849 and $899 for the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth services (the total costs all end up being slightly cheaper than the previous Triton’s).

With a complement of eight airbags, including a front centre bag that helps prevent front passengers from striking each other in an accident, the Mitsubishi Triton earned a full five-star ANCAP rating in 2024.

Safety tech in the Triton GLX+ includes forward and reverse autonomous emergency braking – high and low-speed in the forward direction – lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, road sign recognition and tyre pressure monitoring (a useful early warning of a slow-leaking tyre). A brace of three cameras is also standard, providing a bird’s eye view of the surroundings on the tablet-style screen while parking or manoeuvring through tight spots at low speeds.

Showing how sophisticated even basic utes are becoming, there’s also the increasingly familiar steering-column mounted device that righteously warns if the driver’s eyes are staying off-road.

There’s no surprise that the GLX+ Triton comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, but some will be disappointed that only CarPlay connects wirelessly. The Triton’s inbuilt GPS is a backup for Android users not carrying a connecting cable.

A seven-inch multi-information meter sits between the tacho and speedo dials, advising of things such as average fuel consumption, distance remaining and door-open/seatbelt status. At the front and back of the centre console there are paired USB-A and USB-C ports.

Described as “all-new” but with unchanged bore and stroke dimensions, the Triton’s 150kW/470Nm bi-turbo diesel is not embarrassed for either power or torque compared with its varying-capacity rivals.

The 2.4-litre Triton, 2.0-litre Ranger and 3.0-litre D-MAX are nevertheless pipped by the 2.8-litre Toyota HiLux SR for power-weight ratios, while the Ranger is best for fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

New developments within the Triton’s four-cylinder turbo-diesel include the addition of an extra turbo, a new higher-pressure fuel injection system, lighter pistons, improvements to the intercooler and exhaust and changes to the breathing systems, including exhaust-side variable valve timing.

The six-speed auto transmission has been updated and, in the dual-range transfer case, a new 2.566:1 low-range ratio aims at “enhancing low-speed response and pulling power”.

With the help of a new Stop & Go system, plus a 17-litre AdBlue tank, both fuel economy and NOx emissions are significantly reduced. The combined fuel economy for the latest-generation Triton GLX+ is quoted at 7.7L/100km and the CO2 emissions at 203g/km – both substantial improvements over the previous model’s respective figures of 8.6L/100km and 225g/km.

The new numbers virtually match Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-MAX, but not the 2.0-litre Ford Ranger, which claims 7.2L/100km and 189kg/m.

A 17-litre AdBlue tank, a first for Triton and not common among its competitors, helps quell NOx emissions.

Longer, wider and taller, but not an awful lot heavier than the previous model, Mitsubishi’s sixth-gen Triton is also more refined, a tad quicker and slightly more capable hauling loads.

These factors translate into a Triton that feels in step with the times – not to the same extent as the unstoppable Ford Ranger, but certainly a match for the likes of Isuzu D-MAX/Mazda BT-50 and Toyota HiLux.

The “new” 2.4-litre engine is quieter and smoother, arguably better at responding to accelerator inputs, measurably more economical and consequently friendlier to the environment. And, despite the turning circle increase from 11.8 metres to a ponderous 12.7 metres, the faster, now electrically assisted steering is easier to manipulate and happier at dealing with suburban roundabouts.

The Triton has always been a pretty capable off-roader, but the latest series improves on its predecessors.

Ground clearance, approach, ramp-over and departure angles are comparable with its main rivals and the work by Mitsubishi engineers on the suspension system and the 4x4 driveline are all pointers to a more capable off-roader.

The heavy-duty suspension setup underpinning the Triton GLX means less compliance and a generally firmer, more reactive ride quality – and that’s something to consider at purchase time.

As there was no opportunity for this review to tackle any challenging off-road terrain, the impressions were based on more general conditions, but previous off-road experience suggests that the new Triton is at least as impressive in a variety of challenging conditions.

The 2105kg Triton GLX+ is rated to carry a payload of 1095kg which makes it the most load-friendly of all Triton 4x4 utes and places it at the higher end of the broader segment. Measuring 1555mm long and 1545mm wide, the tub is so close to its main competitors that any comparison becomes largely irrelevant.

A 3.5-tonne braked towing capability equals that of the class-leading Ranger and HiLux, helping the latest Triton to seem less like the slightly scaled-down 4x4 “one-tonne” ute it was previously seen to be. The knowledge that the Triton’s standard trailer-stability assist system is working through the ABS to control the dreaded oscillations created by individual wheel-slip is nicely reassuring too.

But drivers who spend more time on the road might find it less reassuring that Mitsubishi has stuck with a disc-drum brake setup over an all-disc braking system.

Comparing the new-generation Triton with previous models is like chalk and cheese.

The new Mitsubishi’s added width makes a big difference in the context of inner space, while the dash panel and overall cabin architecture, though strictly conventional, are a universe away from the past.

From the twin gloveboxes to the tablet-style screen floating at the centre of the dash, to the retention of a pull-up handbrake and a sizable shift lever in the centre console, it’s a mix of the old and the new. A central rear armrest is provided in the back, hard and soft-touch materials are distributed throughout, and there’s a blend of yielding tactile and non-yielding touch-screen controls.

The driver is presented with an environment that’s calculated not to confuse, with easily figured controls arrayed across the upper end of the front console.

As mentioned earlier, Mitsubishi has boldly supplied the GLX+ with a powered driver’s seat, with memory settings, that most competitors don’t bother to provide at this level. And, supplying air directly to the rear seats of all 4x4 Tritons, there’s an overhead venting system that looks positively aeronautical.

If the Mitsubishi Triton was previously viewed as the cut-price alternative to high-profile 4x4 utes such as the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-MAX, that’s no longer the case. At the lower and middling ends of the 4x4 ute market, the Triton is virtually line-ball with its competitors, also built in Thailand like the Triton.

Right now, it’s only at the top end of the market that Mitsubishi lacks a fully tricked-out, hyper-expensive flagship.

With so many newcomers lined up for introduction in the next couple of years, many pure EVs and many Chinese-built, the workhorse ute market is building up for an explosion as existing contenders face an onslaught of newcomers all wanting a place in Australia’s second most popular market segment.

Mitsubishi, like everybody else, is not about to sit and wait to see how the (near) future unfolds and while there’s plenty of speculation about what’s in store the new Triton, right now, has the goods to secure its spot at the upper end of Australia’s 4x4 ute market.

2024 Mitsubishi Triton GLX+ at a glance:
Price: $53,290 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 150kW/470Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km
CO2: 203g/km
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP Year 2024

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au