SECOND WIND

The biggest weakness of his Mitsubishi Triton is its looks, but it may also be its best feature, because nobody will want to steal it, jokes Pieter Hoepfner.

Ibought my 2009 Mitsubishi Triton in September 2020 for a paltry R80 000. The original owner had to emigrate to the Netherlands and was therefore in a hurry to get rid of his assets. I knew I’d make a profit if I then sold the pickup onwards.

At the time, I owned a 2011 model Isuzu KB300 D-Teq 4x4 and before that a Mitsubishi Colt that I really liked. The plan hadn’t been to trade in my Isuzu for a Triton, but after driving around in it for a while, I found it to be a really good ride. The Triton definitely drives easier than my Isuzu, because it’s not as heavy and its turning circle is smaller. I was up for a change and so the Isuzu had to go.

Other than the fact that the Triton was a nicer drive than my Isuzu, it is also equipped to suit my needs. The original owner improved it with an extra 60 ℓ long-range tank, wiring for a dual-battery system, a snorkel, 17” rims, a rear bullbar with a hitch, recovery points for a high-light jack, Escape Gear seat covers, a two-way radio and

Ironman shocks – and it has a 40 mm lift at the front and 50 mm at the back. So I could just load up my family and go on vacation.

My wife, Marli, and I, plus our three sons, Neil (11), Aldo (9) and Cillië (4), went to Jongensfontein for the December holidays and then tackled the West Coast route between Lutzville and Groenrivier. I knew this route before Drive & Camp wrote about it in the October 2019 issue – I’d done that trail a number of times with friends on adventure motorbikes long before it got so popular – and goodness, these days it’s busy! Virtually every bay sported a tent or caravan, but luckily we had booked a campsite in the Namaqua National Park.

We also took the Triton to see the snow in Ceres and went camping and off-roading quite a few times.

Next on our list are the Faces of the Namib tour, but I first want to get the canopy repainted silver and have a roof rack installed before we leave for Namibia. The white canopy is a bit much.

I’m not the kind of guy who names his vehicles, but Cillië calls our Triton a Monster Truck because of its high ground clearance. Marli came up with the name The Red Scare – not because I’m a communist or

anything like that, but because I’m an accountant who always buys sensible vehicles, usually white for their better resale value. The bright red Triton is therefore completely at odds with my usual choice in bakkie.

Power output

As I said before, the Triton drives great, but in terms of power delivery, I was disappointed. Because I owned a Mitsubishi Colt – and at one point also a Pajero Sport with an automatic transmission – I knew the Triton’s 2.5 turbodiesel with manual transmission was capable of much more. I took it to Mitsu Care in Brackenfell for a major service and asked them to map the ECU.

The mapping of the ECU cost me R2 800, but it was worth every penny and the Triton has been doing great ever since. In terms of power and torque, my 12-year-old Triton is now faster and stronger than when it was new. The diesel consumption, however, suffers at 8 km/ℓ – that is 12,5 ℓ/100 km.

I sometimes hitch a large trailer to move building rubble and garden waste to my local dump, and I have to admit the Isuzu KB300 is by far a better towing vehicle than my Mitsubishi Triton.

The Isuzu towed my trailer effortlessly while the Triton struggles with turbo lag at low engine speeds, but I’m used to it by now. You just have to help it along by revving the engine in the lower gears. Once the Triton gets up to speed, things improve dramatically. But no, I’ll concede that it’s not the best towing vehicle I’ve ever owned.

Wear and tear

Apart from the adjustment to the ECU and a new set of allterrain tyres, my Triton has not cost me a single cent in terms of maintenance in the six months since I bought it, and I have driven 12 000 km. Best of all is the engine burns no oil.

I did exhaustive research on this particular model and the only proplem that could possibly pop up is the brackets of the steering column that sometimes break, and then, apparently, the steering wheel literally falls into your lap – luckily that hasn’t happened to me yet. Touch wood.

The mapping of the ECU cost me R2 800, but it was worth every penny

2009 MITSUBISHI TRITON 2.5 DI-D 4X4

AGE APPROPRIATE. Pieter’s Triton has aged gracefully, with relatively few battle scars and fairly low mileage for a vehicle of its type and capabilities.

STANDOUT. The white-on-red colour scheme of the Triton and its canopy, along with the vehicle’s profile really does makes it stand out. Some of the modifications are obvious, such as the snorkel, all-terrain tyres and rear bullbar, but underneath the Triton’s skin also lie a long-range fuel tank and remapped ECU.