No V6 for next Mitsubishi Triton ute

According to its maker, the next-generation Mitsubishi Triton is being designed, developed and tuned to match the class-leading utes in the segment – which means the new Ford Ranger will be its primary target.

But don’t expect to see a V6 under the bonnet of the new Triton when it’s unveiled in the first half of 2023.

Details of the new Mitsubishi Triton ute are still a closely-guarded secret, but we know next year’s all-new replacement for Australia’s third most popular ute will be bigger, more luxurious, far more high-tech and, eventually, available with a powerful plug-in hybrid powertrain.

But when asked if a six-cylinder Triton engine is in the works to challenge the Ford Ranger and its mechanical twin, the new Volkswagen Amarok, and likely the next-gen Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi Australia’s senior manager of product strategy, Owen Thomson, indicated it would not.

“Emissions regulations are important and we’re yet to see how that will play out [in Australia], because everybody’s going to have to manage their fleet CO2,” he said.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out for Ford,” said Thomson when asked how Mitsubishi would respond to the high level of Australian demand for diesel V6-powered Ford Rangers.

“Internal combustion engines are becoming increasingly harder to engineer because the emissions regulations are getting tighter and tighter. Diesels for example, even now, run on a knife’s edge to balance emissions, driveability, combustion noise, all those factors.”

It’s expected the Mitsubishi Triton will continue its current policy of offering one mainstream four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, which at present is a 2.4-litre mill worth 133kW and 430Nm.

The strategy has worked thus far, but a new or heavily-revised four-cylinder diesel engine is set to close the gap with the Triton’s class-leading rivals, including the dominant HiLux and Ranger,

“Part of the course of development of the vehicle is that we always benchmark the top three or four competitors in the market. Always. And of course Ranger will be part of that. It would be remiss of us not to,” said Mitsubishi Australia’s product planning boss.

However, the Triton’s Achilles’ heel has always been its 3100kg towing capacity, in a class where most rivals can tow up to 3500kg, so we can expect the new Triton’s engine to deliver closer to 500Nm of torque and a bigger tow capacity?

“It’s really about tuning the product so it resonates with the market, so it doesn’t have any perceived weakness – that’s the number one thing for the product,” said Thomson.

“Triton’s been my baby for 10 years. We’ve been on a big journey and the next-generation ute will take things a step further in terms of just how good the new product is.”

Whether the new Triton will gazump the Ranger as the most complete ute on the market will be clearer by late 2023, but one thing is certain – it’ll improve its safety and technology credentials dramatically, via plenty of semi-autonomous driving aids and other safety enhancements.

“So we have to go to a very high level of ADAS on the next generation of Triton due to ANCAP protocols. From the start of next year is yet another ramp up of that,” said Thomson.

“It’s always part of the Australian requirement for Triton – it must be ANCAP five-star, no bones about it. So it will have a pretty comprehensive ADAS suite,” revealed Thomson.

Mitsubishi’s market-leading 10-year conditional warranty will continue to deliver strong customer appeal across a range of buyer demographics and industries, but given the uptick in luxury and technology – and the upward trend in materials and shipping costs across the industry – the days of bargain-basement Triton prices could be over soon.

Thomson observed that Mitsubishi Australia has been involved with critical development decisions and even testing of the new Triton since its inception, and it won’t be long before we see how much of an effect this local input has had on the new ute.

“It’s been a long-term project that we’ve had a voice in from very early on. And that’s a good thing for Australian customers, absolutely,” he said.

As we’ve reported, the all-new replacement for the fifth-generation Mitsubishi Triton that dates back to 2015 was delayed by a up to a year by the COVID pandemic and will form the basis of the next-generation Nissan Navara post-2024.

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