No other type of vehicle is as grateful for accessories as pick-ups. There are loading space blinds, front bars and cable winches, sidebars (?), loading space blinds, hard tops for the loading area, installations and superstructures for craftsmen and municipal companies. The flatbed trucks are workhorses for woods and fields, tractors for boat captains and hobby riders, and recreational vehicles for outdoor enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the selection has shrunk noticeably in recent years.
Ford and VW are renewing their Ranger and Amarok series together, and there’s the Toyota Hilux, but that’s pretty much it. Isuzu has always played a supporting role, and the Ssangyong Musso is just an extra in this country. The Nissan Navara has disappeared from the European market, as has the Mazda BT-50 long before it. Mercedes-Benz has discontinued the X-Class and Renault the Alaskan (both Navara derivatives), Fiat the Mitsubishi clone Fullback. Now, with the Mitsubishi L200, it has also hit rock solid ground. The last copies are now at the dealers.
According to us, the double cabin with its almost 5.30 meters length is more than stately. The other conspecifics can hardly keep up. At the rear, the body overhang is a good one meter. The bird view camera is a blessing, especially when maneuvering backwards in the city. Even if the mechanical components are old school with a robust 2.2 four-cylinder diesel and an automatic that is content with six gears, the L200 is not stingy with modern ingredients. Approach warning and lane departure warning are on board as well as blind spot warning and steering wheel heating as well as voice control. There are even heated and cooled front seats. However, it is somewhat surprising that the cruise control does not display the set speed.
You also have to live with the fact that the softly sprung chassis, in conjunction with the 20-inch wheels mounted on our example, under the fenders that are three centimeters wider, transmits the road surface directly to the steering wheel. But that fits the rustic charm. To our delight, there is still a CD player behind the foldable display of the infotainment system, while elsewhere there is often no longer even a USB-A plug, but only the type C connection.
Above all, the L200 is a workhorse that, thanks to 400 Newton meters of torque and all-wheel drive with reduction gear and differential lock, is also at home in more distant corners of the world. In this country, pick-ups primarily nourish the urge for adventure and the feeling of freedom among leisure users. Mitsubishi serves both with a special combination of accessories that also turns the used L200 into a camper.
The inflatable roof tent GT Pick Up from the Austrian supplier Gentle Tent is available as a place to sleep, and there is a pull-out slot for the platform that can be equipped with a kitchen module. This includes, among other things, a two-flame gas cooker, twelve liters of water, a large cutlery drawer and a sink as well as storage compartments. Additional outdoor equipment can then be placed on the optional cross members above the load compartment blind. If you are traveling as a couple, you will also find additional luggage space on the rear bench seat of the Mitsubishi.
The tent not only impresses with its very compact dimensions when not in use on the roof rack, but thanks to the air chamber system it also allows a kind of lounge area to be stretched over the pick-up platform in front of the sleeping area. This can be used even better if you use separate camping equipment instead of the built-in slot and the Gentle Tent transforms the loading area into a lounge when the weather is bad.
Irrespective of this, the Mitsubishi L200 trumps with its “Super Select 4WD-II” all-wheel drive system: It not only offers the choice between two and four-wheel drives, a lockable center and rear axle differential and a reduction gear, a hill descent control and an off-road mode for further adjustment of the engine parameters. On top of that, there is a towing capacity of 3.1 tons. Not much more is possible. (Jens Riedel/cen)