Mitsubishi Express van on way
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited has announced its reborn Express mid-size delivery van will start from $38,490 plus on-road costs for the GLX shortwheelbase manual.
Officially on sale from July 6, the Express is essentially a rebadged Renault Trafic and at the entry level is powered by a 103kw-340nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.
A bigger 125kw-380nm 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel unit is also available, matched exclusively with a sixspeed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The automatic on the GLX SWB adds $4000 compared with the smaller-engined manual, starting at $42,490 plus on-roads, while the long-wheelbase variants follow a similar pricing regime with the GLX LWB manual starting at $40,490 and the auto set at $44,490.
All Express variants undercut their Trafic counterparts by $1000 although the French brand offers three extra variants which bookmark its range, those being the $36,490 Pro SWB, $38,490 Pro LWB and $52,490 Crew Lifestyle LWB.
Both Trafic Pro variants use a singleturbo version of the 1.6-litre engine, resulting in a lower 85kw-300nm output. Standard equipment on all Express variants includes remote central locking, Bluetooth and Usbcompatible audio unit, air-conditioning, cruise control, three-seat bench, manual height and lumbar adjustment for the driver’s position, fully adjustable steering column and rubber floor coverings in the cabin.
Left and right hand side sliding doors are also included, along with rear twin glazed barn doors that have 90-degree and 180-degree stops. Standard safety features include extended grip traction control, electronic stability control, rollover mitigation, ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, hill-start assist, rear park assist, driver blind-spot mirror in the passenger sunvisor and five airbags.
Automatic variants also score a reversing camera, dusk-sensing headlights and rain-sensing windscreen wipers.
Cargo space for the SWB is rated at 5.2 cubic metres, rising to 6.0 cubic metres for the LWB.
Payload ranges from 1115kg to 1200kg depending on the variant, while maximum braked towing capacity is similarly variable, limited to 1630kg on the 2.0 LWB auto but pushing up to 2000kg on the 1.6 manual variants. The 2.0 SWB slots in between at 1715kg.
The Express re-enters a segment dominated by the Toyota Hiace, which had recorded 1633 sales to the end of April for a 35.7 percent market share.