Ringing in it’s 40th year of production, the 2019 Mitsubishi Triton has now been revealed to the masses.
Based around the same ladder-frame design, the new Triton has the new-generation front, dubbed ‘Dynamic Shield’ by Mitsubishi, plus a myriad of safety and engineering upgrades to keep it in-line, and perhaps ahead, of its competitors. The 4WD system has been enhanced, which Mitsubishi claims will deliver improved off-road performance, as well as a range of active safety and driver assistance systems.
For the body, the new 2019 Mitsubishi Triton, has received the Dynamic Shield facelift to the front, newly sculptured body curves, extended wheel-arches, and wrap-around tail lights at the rear. To the interior, the new Triton has been restyled. Offering the interior a more modern feel, while giving a more robust and solid feeling, the previous models interior did feel somewhat dated. The interesting question however, is how the new model will look with a bullbar, and how much of the new Dynamic Shield front will need to be trimmed away to fit one up.
The 4WD system has been updated, however retains the Super-Select or Easy-Select 4WD. Both 4WD systems offer an enhanced off-road mode, which has gravel, mud/snow, and rock settings. When off-road mode is selected, this allows the Triton to control the engine power, transmission and braking to control the amount of wheel spin and increases traction in each of the different settings. There is also a new Hill Descent Control which electronically controls the speed of the Triton, allowing safer negotiation of steeper and more slippery slopes.
To the Active Safety and Driver Assistance, the new Triton retains the ladder-style chassis, and independent front with leaf-spring live axle rear. On top of this, there is now Forward Collision Mitigation which can detect vehicles and pedestrians ahead, Blind Spot Warning which helps avoid side collisions when changing lanes, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, which assists in avoiding a collision when reversing. As an interesting addition, Mitsubishi have also added an Ultrasonic Mis-acceleration Mitigation System which mitigates the risk of accidents when you accidentally mash the go-pedal in a carpark.
On the mechanical front, Mitsubishi have also updated to a 6-speed automatic, from the old 5-speed, and increased the size of the front rotors and calipers to pull the Triton up just that much quicker.
Rollout is expected very early next year, with the first 2019 Mitsubishi Triton delivered to Aussie dealerships late in December 2018, with official release slated for early January 2019.
13 comments
That front is horrid..let’s hope it all gets cut away for the bull bar!!
Bloody ugly
unless they have changed the motor and the build quality it will still be the worst mainstream ute in oz. There is a reason they are cheap. You never see them on stations or mines in the outback because they are crap. Blown every Mitsy motor around 200K but have managed 500K in our toyotas and rangers and our cruises get a million. They don’t like extreme heat
The front kinda reminds me of the Predator (from the movie of the same name) when it takes off it’s helmet!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The front looks fantastic. The Hilux until recently looked terrible. Everybody has such a different opinion about vehicle appearance it’s hardly worth us posting them all.
Will be interested to see how a Bullbar is fitted.
Looks great.. I have been driving Triton for years, great vehicle at a great price. Value for money.
Not all utes go off road or need bull bars- how many Prado’s are running around the city never to experience dirt under the wheels.
As for quality, I’d take a Triton over any Chinese or Indian 4wd any day of the week.
Personally I reckon it looks like a Pajero Sport ute.
Sorry Steve, but your wrong. My Triton is getting close to 400K. Goes like a rocket, leaves my mates new Hilux for dead, sure its not the most comfortable but its a real work horse. Its my 3rd Mitso 4WD and I have no hesitation in buying another. Never been let down yet
Hard to tell if its coming or going No mention of motors ? I guess we will have to wait and see
I think your stretching the truth Steve to justify your love for Toyota and Ford. 500K out of a Ranger thats a lot of miles for a late model vehicle. One of those types that thinks he knows everything because you have a driver’s license. I guess you are also a mechanical engineer with masters in dynamics, a guru of FEA, vibration control and stress analysis.
Obviously the Engineers at Mitsubishi have enough confidence to endorse the corporate request for a 7 year warranty. I don’t see Toyota nor Ford offering that. Ford’s 3.2L inline 5 is a piece of rubbish and there is a reason they are replacing it. 5 cylinder engines throw out high levels of secondary harmonic forces. Opinions are always going to vary. I don’t own one, I have old Landcruiser with a sh-tload of kms (some 575K). Google Toyota 2.8L DPF issues.
Steve – Don’t like the heat? – That’s funny I served in Afghanistan where the temp gets into the 50s with the most technical horrendous terrain you can imagine that makes Australia look tame and after Toyota the next most common cars were Mitsubishi’s… Many of those were late 80s and early 90s models still running around…
So far as being the “worst mainstream ute” given they are the most popular after Ranger and Hilux that is a big call.
The 2019 Triton has better fuel efficiency, better power to weight ratio (even with it’s 2.4L )over the Hilux 2.8L, better maneuverability, better on-road and at speed handling, more forgiving suspension and more leg room in back and is safer with more additional features and yet cheaper than the Hilux.You can like and dislike what you want but your comment about extreme heat is BS and when the numbers, capability and additional tech/safety (especially of the new models) is actually considered better value for money than a Hilux. The fact you came to the conclusion that makes it the “worst mainstream ute in Oz” is laughable.
Mitsubishi hasn’t had the multiple mass recall, customer service, not informing new customers about DPF issues until caught out issues Toyota has last I checked either.
Hilux and Ranger are good trucks with the price tags to match but it’d be remiss to discount investigating if the Triton suits a persons need out of hands based on Ford/Toyota Kool-aid drinking groupies ignorant comments.
I’ve had mine – a GLS Premium – for a little over six weeks now. It’s measurably the most fun vehicle I’ve ever owned, and certainly a tick up from the Pathfinder I had two vehicles back. We’ve updated from something smaller to this to facilitate the amount of family travel we’re doing for MTBing, SUPing, fishing, hiking, music festivals (it’s on its way to Deni in October) and visiting my Mum who’s done the sea change thing.
Space-wise, it easily holds five adults and all our kit for a long weekend away, which was a key driver for the purchase.
In power terms, it’s good enough for our needs. The new gearbox has good intervals, and the engine offers decent power, though it jumps quickly to over 4K RPM (and back to around 2K) when you floor it off a standing start. It’s not a race car, so no biggie.
I’d have preferred more aggressive tires than the Bridgestone Dueler H/Ts it comes with, and I plan to put some Goodrich or similar on it soon enough. Minor quibble.
It’s not a performance vehicle like a Raptor in either price or feature terms, but at well under $60K with all the after-market changes ARB have done, it’s much easier to justify than even a Wildtrak or Rugged X, let alone the more than $80K a Raptor costs to get on the road. Admittedly, they’re not quite in the same class.