New Mitsubishi Triton topples Ford Ranger as towing/payload king

Figures released this week reveal the new sixth-generation 2024 Mitsubishi Triton has dethroned the Ford Ranger as the premium dual-cab 4x4 pick-up towing champ.

Based on calculations at both the 3000kg and the benchmark 3500kg braked towing capacities, the new top-spec Mitsubishi Triton GLS and flagship GSR rank first and second in carrying capacity at either weight.

The new Triton goes on sale in February and Mitsubishi has been promoting the fact its maximum braked towing capacity has risen by 400kg from the old model’s 3100kg maximum.

But Mitsubishi has only announced payload, gross vehicle mass and gross combined mass numbers this week for the GLS and GSR, which were tested off-road in South Australia by carsales last week. Those drive impression will be published on Friday.

The $59,090 GLS and $63,840 GSR (plus on-road costs) are dual-cab 4x4 pick-ups with an overhauled 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

They are pitched into the heart of the premium family dual-cab ute market, where towing capacity is a key selling point.

The GLS can handle a 665kg payload while towing 3500kg and the GSR 635kg. At 3000kg, the respective numbers are 815kg and 785kg.

These are significant numbers because they mean the Triton can carry a significant amount of people and their luggage when towing heavy loads.

That’s especially important if you’re heading off on holiday, particularly if going remote. It’s nice to be able to carry extra fuel and water…

Some ute-makers – as we reported here and here – claim towing capacities of 3500kg or more even though the remaining payload is miniscule.

Against those two new entrants we’ve compared dual-cab 4x4 auto utes with four-cylinder engines from logical rivals, led by the previous towing champ, the Ford Ranger.

The numbers for the four-cylinder biturbo Ranger XLT 4x4 dual-cab are 635kg and 785kg and they are 586kg and 666kg for the Ranger Wildtrak.

The Toyota HiLux SR5 manages only a 240kg payload at 3500kg, but ups that to 640kg at 3000kg.

In terms of maximum payload claims when not towing, the MY24 Tritons also lead the back.

That’s shown in the full chart below, which also covers off the Isuzu D-MAX LS-U and X-Terrain 4x4 dual-cab 3.0-litre four-cylinder autos, Mazda BT-50 XTR, LDV T60 Mega Tub, GMM Ute Cannon Vanta, Nissan Navara PRO-4X and the current generation Triton.

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