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Steve Kealy3 Oct 2009
REVIEW

Triton at the Station

Mitsubishi chose historic Mt Ive Station on the shores of Lake Gairdner as the venue to launch its updated MY10 Triton range

Mitsubishi Triton MY10  range review


The dream of many 4x4 wagon and ute buyers is to visit the Outback -- the real Outback. While many all-wheel drives hit bush tracks close to our capitals regularly, not nearly as many get to roll on the red dust of Australia's spectacular interior. Mitsubishi sought to fix that for at least a small number of its allocation of MY10 Tritons.


The Adelaide-based importer chose territory within its own state to launch the new Tritons. The Gawler Ranges of South Australia, in fact -- an area with a constantly changing topography, which offers a good selection of variable terrain in a relatively small area.


Using the historic Mt Ive Station as a base, the MY10 Tritons were pushed into service to transport us across fine red-dust plains, through salt-bush fields, up and over sand dunes, across flinty rocky outcrops and even as far as the fabled inland sea. It was supposed to be the dry salt beds of Lake Gairdner, but inexplicably, the otherwise flat and sterile scene of many of Australia's land speed record attempts was under three inches of water. Very, very salty water.


Mitsubishi staffers prudently decided that even though the Triton comes with a seemingly unburstable reputation and five-year/130,000km warranty, it would be foolhardy to take the entire fleet of cars out onto the saturated salt. As an aside, this writer can attest that despite being under water, the salt remains very sharp to naked feet. And the concentrated brine wasn't kind to bare skin either!


The Triton's new high output turbodiesel engine is omnipotent in its ability -- be it blasting up a sandy slope, inching over chassis-squealing rocks or lugging a load along the road. Mitsubishi's smooth transmissions would seem to be a perfect partner and, almost unladen as they were, the Tritons always seemed to be in the right gear at the right time.


Some obstacles, like the shin-deep soft and shifting sand quickly had the Tritons sinking inches deep, but none got stuck. And where 4x4 and even diff-locks might have been prudent, the Carsales Network team made an attempt with in two-wheel drive and with a bit of momentum, found that the Triton still wouldn't get stuck.


Noise, vibration and harshness are at sedan levels and it's sometimes hard to tell that the engine up front is a diesel.


Despite relatively mundane disc/drum brake specifications and elliptical leaf-spring rear suspension, the Triton is not compromised by either. Ride quality is good, but interestingly MMAL saw fit to add a little ballast to the trays of the utes on the launch to take some of the bite out of the springs.


Mt Ive is a working sheep station established in 1867 and spread across 900 square kilometres of often harsh but constantly-changing terrain. It is a typical working homestead, with sundry sheds and shearer's quarters scattered about.


There's a dry desert campsite and a small store and fuel is sold here too, so a fluctuating trickle of grey nomads appears, rest up for a few days and then disappear on up the track in their campervans like metallic white snails -- their whole lives packed neatly in their aluminium shells.


Once a year a different kind of snail arrives -- dozens of Dry Lake racing fans come with their purpose-built cars and bikes, intent on breaking some or all of the Australian Land Speed Records. Mt Ives is their base for two weeks as they commune with The Gods of Speed.


After inching across the square-jawed rocks of creek beds that haven't seemingly seen water in millennia, we marvel at a stout dry-stone wall, many metres long, high and wide -- a hand-built dam that holds back only the dry emptiness of drought. Triton's ability to creep forward and place its big rubber feet carefully is critical. Some get through clean, while others elicit squeals of rock-vs-steel protest.


Predawn temperatures drop below zero during our stay, but the Tritons cough genteelly into life and idle with a characteristic rattle before taking us to see the desert sunrise from a nearby peak. Efficient heaters quickly dispel the pre-dawn chill; later in the day, with the shade temperature spiking, the slightly noisy air-con makes the cabin too cold.


The broad country roads that bisect this terrain grow the inevitable corrugations -- low rock-hard ridges that can shake vehicles to pieces in months. The Tritons glide over them at speeds between 25 and 140 km/h and while the driver can feel a faint buzz through the steering, for passengers, there's just some extra road noise.


We zip along beside an arrow-straight and ancient fence-line, four strands of thick, unrepentant old wire passing through each post, each one a zealously exact six feet from the previous, and the next. The posts are branches of ironwood trees, hewn by hand with an axe, drilled by hand with an auger and planted in the unremitting ground by hand with a sledgehammer.


Kilometres of this fence stand long and tall, and we ponder at the years it must have taken a man, living out back with his horse, a rifle, a swag and his dog.


The Tritons are impressively dust-proofed too -- a column of a dozen or more vehicles puts up a billowing cloud of fine red sand that hangs in the air like laughter. Mitsubishi engineers visited most states in Australia to evaluate and upgrade the Triton's dust seals -- the original Japanese standard design wasn't even close to good enough for Aussie conditions.


But by far the most impressive improvement in the new models is the introduction of stability control. Indeed, Mitsubishi expects the availability of just this one feature to be a major factor when buyers are considering a new ute purchase. Quite how long it takes Toyota, Nissan et al to suddenly discover that they too, should offer this feature, remains to be seen.


The lack of stability control in this uniquely androgenous class of vehicle -- which might be used as a workman's toolbox Monday to Friday, as the family wheels after hours and a hobbyist's tow-vehicle on weekends -- is a skidmark on the reputation of the local car industry. And not the good kind of skidmark, either.


Deliberately trying to provoke slides on dirt and gravel roads, tracks and trails suggests that the Mitsubishi system will allow the Triton to move slightly before invoking various subtle tweaks to individual brakes to keep the plot going where the driver points it. Allowing the inside wheels to climb up the inside of off-camber corners in the hope of unsettling the suspension or invoking a slide prove futile and we gave up trying.


Arriving at some of those inexplicable track-wide oval depressions in the road just after the crests of hills at speed had the Triton crashing down on its suspension but nothing broke, the vehicle shrugged off the impacts and all the passengers remained seated -- if somewhat startled.


The seats are comfortable enough and access to the rear seat is acceptable, if not palatial.


Like most modern vehicles, the stout A pillars compromised three-quarter visibility slightly, but generally the multi-adjustable seating and steering position meant that most drivers will be able to get into a comfortable and commanding driving position for road driving. For real rough stuff, seeing over the high dash is a challenge for shorter pilots.


Is the Triton better than its peers? Judging by the sales figures many people think it is, and with these new upgrades, Mitsubishi has certainly closed the gap, if indeed there ever was one. But the competition isn't only about sheet steel, nuts bolts and horsepower -- it's also about resale value, spare parts supply, dealer reputation and reliability and that's where Nissan and Toyota (especially!) claim the high ground.


Where they lag a country mile behind the Triton now, is in safety. Mitsubishi has raised the bar with the simple fitment of stability control, and for the driver who considers passengers worthy of all the protection available, there is now a compelling reason to look only at the Mitsubishi.


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Written bySteve Kealy
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