New Mitsubishi Triton partly developed at ex-GM Lang Lang proving ground

Mitsubishi Motors Australia says it has played a pivotal role in the development of the next-generation 2024 Mitsubishi Triton ute, which was revealed in Thailand in July and will become available here in four variant grades and two body styles next February.

Higher pricing for the bigger, bolder and more powerful new sixth-generation Mitsubishi Triton is expected to be announced next week, before our first drive next month and the national media launch in January, so we won’t know how the new twin-turbo diesel-powered ute drives until then.

But Mitsubishi says extensive local chassis development and testing of the new Triton has improved its dynamic performance, thanks to “steering, ride and handling tunes that can handle Australia’s multiple surfaces and myriad conditions, laden or unladen”, while Australian engineering input will ensure the ute’s drive modes are calibrated to match its suspension.

Mitsubishi said Australia was just one of four continents in which the new Triton was tested and developed by its global R&D team, resulting in “a new-age light commercial utility vehicle that not only delivers on technology, performance, safety and capability, but does so with a sophisticated ride and handling blend that is at home in Australian conditions”.

Furthermore, Mitsubishi Australia says its local product strategy specialists worked closely with an international team of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation R&D engineers to evaluate the new ute extensively against segment benchmarks – presumably the dominant Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger – to determine the steering and suspension tune that will be fitted to all new Tritons destined for Australia and New Zealand.

“Traditionally utes have been designed with a singular purpose in mind, as a workhorse,” said Mitsubishi Australia’s project manager Tony Dorrington.

“However in the last five years, customers expect their ute to do the family duties and the weekend activities, as well as working and towing.

“With new-gen Triton we targeted a similar drive experience to a good SUV, with improved agility, responsiveness and ride comfort, but retaining Triton’s traditional off-road and workhorse capabilities.

“We’ve improved all dynamic elements of the vehicle to ensure new-gen Triton’s performance is a match for Australia’s tough conditions and customer expectations.”

Mitsubishi said COVID-related travel restrictions in 2020-21 limited the opportunity for Australian tuning input, but since then the local product strategy team has worked closely with MMC R&D to develop settings for future model year updates, including the current-generation Outlander.

“It was on the back of this work that our MMC colleagues – led by Hiroshi Nagaoka, Global Head of Research and Development, who personally attended Australia – recognised MMAL’s capability in this space.

“With the new-gen Triton being so vital for this market, the decision was made to collaborate on Australian-market specification,” Dorrington said.

That resulted in a testing program that involved “a vigorous range of tests and benchmarking” for the new Triton, both in Australia and at MMC’s primary Japanese R&D centre in Okazaki.

“There were several focus points for Triton,” said Dorrington. “Most important was steering feel. We drive long distances and having steering that offers a clearly defined centre-point, to provide directional stability, makes the vehicle less tiring to drive.

“The adoption of EPS [electric power steering] has allowed us to reduce effort during parking and low-speed manoeuvres, which also assists when off-road. At higher speeds, steering feedback is improved.

“Finally, we wanted to give Triton the steering linearity, body control, ride and handling experience as close to a good SUV as possible, while retaining its traditional strengths.”

Mitsubishi said it tested over 100 combinations of front and rear suspension options in Australia, on a mix of public roads and proving grounds over several months, including several damper, spring and steering calibration combinations.

“Having access to somewhere like Lang Lang accelerates the process immensely,” said Dorrington. “We could evaluate changes on multiple road conditions back-to-back to set accurate benchmarks.”

In the end, the evaluation team decided on a final combination from four front suspension and four rear suspension options, in time for an intensive ‘Key Person Ride’ at the Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria formerly owned by GM Holden.

It was attended by senior MMC executives including chief product specialist Yoshiki Masuda and segment chief vehicle engineer for frame vehicles, Tetsuya Tobe.

Following extensive benchmarking against competitors and the current Triton, Mitsubishi says the result is a unique front damper and spring combination, plus unique rear shock specs for the Australian market.

The Japan-Australia collaboration also contributed to a global EPS tune and Dorrington said the new Triton would bring “a significant reduction in impact harshness, improved body control, enhanced on-centre feel and more linear steering with good feedback”.

“As with any new Mitsubishi Motors product, the R&D team first worked with each Triton market to understand their requirements, via a collaborative discussion,” said Tobe.

“Australia is a very important market for us, particularly in the light commercial segment, so from our initial discussions we created a plan to test the Triton in Australian conditions.

“We also tested extensively in other markets and at Tokachi and Okazaki Japanese R&D centres, but for Australia’s unique road conditions we were able to call on the MMAL team’s local expertise and support to ensure the Triton’s dynamics would compare favourably to the segment benchmarks.”

Australia is the world’s biggest Triton market outside Thailand, where production for this country commences in December, and the Triton was the Japanese brand’s top-selling model Down Under and the nation’s third most popular ute in 2022.

A full range of genuine accessories will be available for the new Triton 4x2 single-cab and 4x4 dual-cab, which will eventually be joined by plug-in hybrid and full-electric powertrain options, in addition to its new 150kW/470Nm 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel.

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