SHED: 2019 MITSUBISHI TRITON GLX+
OUR TIME WITH THE TRITON HAS ENDED AND IT WILL BE MISSED BY EVERYONE WHO BORROWED IT OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS.
OUR SIX months with the Mitsubishi Triton has come to a close, and while our hopes to take it out and about as we normally would with a long-term test car were thwarted by the Beer Flu pandemic, it has still seen plenty of use around town.
In fact, the Triton has probably seen more varied use than other vehicles we’ve had in the shed. The old adage of ‘you’re everyone’s mate when you have a ute’ has never been truer, and the Triton has been passed around the office to tow trailers and race cars, haul garden waste, pick up hardware from Bunnings and carry motorbikes in its tray. The Triton, therefore, has proved very versatile when it comes to carrying a load in its tub, and most said it did the jobs called of it without any fuss.
Versatility is the biggest trait of any double-cab ute, and the Mitsubishi delivers that in a value-packed Triton that is usually more affordable than the competition. The GLX+ is the second lowest in the range of double-cab 4x4 auto Tritons, yet for $41,490 drive-away it comes with all the features you need for a one-tonne ute.
The cabin is comfortable and easy to live with, even if it’s not as big as some of its competitors inside. There’s standard big screen info with Apple Carplay, a rear diff lock for off-roading and all the creature comforts you could want in this price range. It has a 945kg payload and 3100kg towing capacity and, significantly, the towing doesn’t eat in to your payload as much as it does on some other utes thanks to the 5885kg GCM.
The only real off-road driving we’ve been able to do in the Triton has been as a photographer’s car on a couple of photoshoots, and it was surefooted and competent on the tracks and simple to use for a less experienced four-wheel driver. This particular car was one from the original model launch on the rugged Warraweena Conservation Park in the Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia, where Deano was able to give it plenty of bush driving.
A feature we often debate the value of in a 4x4 vehicle is the availability of fulltime 4x4 as well as locked 4x4 high and low range. The Triton is one of the few 4x4 utes available that offers this, however it is not fitted in the GLX+. You need to step up to the GLS to get that in the Superselect system.
I’ve always argued you don’t need fulltime 4x4, but during a particularly wet time in Melbourne, I went looking for it in the 4x4 selector dial to curb the amount of wheel spin I was getting on the slick roads in 2WD. When pulling out in traffic, the wheels would spin and activate the electronic traction control and cut my throttle, potentially creating a dangerous situation. This is the case in most other 4x4 utes that are all part-time 4x4. So they are 2WD when on-road.
Full-time 4WD would have been a blessing in these conditions, but when I turned the dial,i found I only had locked 4x4, which is not suitable for on-road use. So there was a great argument for the full Super-select 4x4 system as found in the other Triton models and worthy of consideration for anyone buying a 4x4 ute.