The Mitsubishi Triton has never topped the Aussie market in terms of its sales, but it has a rock-solid reputation as a value-for-money alternative to the bigger names in the realm, like Toyota’s HiLux and Ford’s Ranger.
Though the Triton’s price tag has been steadily rising in recent years, and the vehicle itself is feeling a bit old, it still makes a lot of sense as a budget-friendly buy.
So, is the Triton in top-spec GSR grade a decent daily driver and all-around adventure vehicle?
Price and features of the 2023 Mitsubishi Triton GSR
We spent seven days of mixed driving in the Triton GSR – including urban and suburban sealed roads, and a challenging day in the bush, at our off-grid 4WD testing ground, to push the Mitsubishi to its limits within the parameters of reasonable use.
But before we dive deep into how the Triton performs as a daily driver, let’s have a squiz at its features list so you have a better understanding of what your money gets you when you spend it on one of these Mitsubishi utes.
The Triton dual cab 4x4 in GSR spec as standard has a manufacturer-listed retail price of $56,940 (as at February, 2023).
The GSR’s standard features include a 7.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system (equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), paddle shifters on the steering wheel, leather-appointed seats, power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, LED daytime running lights, 'Multi Around Monitor', dual-zone climate control, 18-inch black alloy wheels, and more.
Our test vehicle also had a black bullbar with fog lamps ($4611), floor mats ($176), an under-rail tub liner ($642), tow bar kit ($1308) and a Redarc electric brake kit ($770), bringing the total cost to $64,447, before on-road costs.
Exterior paint choices for the GSR include 'White Diamond' (prestige), 'Sunflare Orange' (metallic, on our test vehicle), 'Graphite Grey' (metallic) and 'Black Mica' (pearlescent).
In terms of styling, the Triton manages to sharpen up its version of the generic look of most contemporary utes with Mitsubishi’s 'Dynamic Shield' front end.
The Triton has a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine – producing 133kW at 3500rpm and 430Nm at 2500rpm – and it has a six-speed automatic transmission. This is a well-proven pairing: not over-the-top exciting, in fact, it’s a bit sluggish, but it does the job nicely.
The GSR has Mitsubishi’s impressive Super Select II 4WD system and a rear diff lock. There’s a Super Select II 4WD dial to the rear of the shifter, which enables the driver to switch from 2H (two-wheel drive), 4H (4WD high range), 4HLC (4WD High Range with locked centre diff), and 4LLC (4WD Low Range with locked centre diff).
The driver can safely switch between 2WD (2H) and 4WD (4H, 4HLC) at speeds up to 100km/h.
The GSR has a button-operated off-road mode system, with Gravel, Mud/Snow, Sand or Rock settings, each of which tweaks engine output, transmission settings and traction control to best suit the terrain. It also has hill descent control.
The Triton’s cabin feels very comfortable and very familiar – part of this ute’s problem, because it feels more than a bit old.
The interior is well laid-out, and all controls are easy to locate and operate. The 7.0-inch touchscreen should be much bigger, but it is clear enough to avoid any serious usage issues. It also has in-built sat nav, but that offers less-than-ideal functionality so work off your phone rather than use the in-built system.
The cabin feels very cosy, and it’s a reasonable mix of leather accents on the seats and durable plastic surfaces almost everywhere else.
Seats are supportive, almost too firm, and the rear seat is, as always in a ute, better suited to accommodating two rather than three people, unless they’re children.
Storage spaces include the usual suspects – glove box, two cupholders up front, centre console with storage box and lid, moulded door pockets with bottle holders – and for back-seat passengers, there are seat-back pockets, bottle holders in the doors and a fold-down centre armrest with two cupholders.
There are two USB ports up front and two 12-volt plugs, and two USB ports for passengers in the back seat.
A roof-mounted air vent recirculates air from the front to the back seat.
All-around, the interior is a nice space, but it’s definitely feeling its age.
Official fuel consumption in the Triton GSR is 8.6L/100km on the combined cycle.
I recorded fuel consumption on test of 9.6L/100km.
The Triton has a 75-litre fuel tank, so going by those fuel-use figures I’d expect to get a touring range of about 750km, after removing 30km as a safe-distance buffer.
The Triton line-up has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, from testing in April 2015.
Safety gear includes seven airbags (driver's knee, driver and front passenger, driver and front passenger side, side curtain), AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, and more.
The rear seat has two ISOFIX child-seat anchor points and two child-restraint top-tether points.
Mitsubishi applies a 10-year/200,000km warranty (if all servicing is conducted at an authorised Mitsubishi dealership) and 10 years/150,000km capped price servicing and roadside assistance to its Triton.
Servicing is scheduled every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and averages $674 a year for the first 10 years on a capped price deal.
Driving the 2023 Mitsubishi Triton GSR
It’s reasonably quiet and comfortable and handles daily-driving tasks with very little fuss.
The Triton is 5305mm long (with a 3000mm wheelbase), 1815mm wide, 1795mm high, and has a listed kerb mass of 2000kg.
It has an 11.8m turning circle and because of its lightweight and relatively small dimensions, compared to many other utes, the Triton is quite nimble around the suburbs and in the city.
Visibility is okay all-round, except where it becomes pinched by the narrow design of the rear windows.
The tilt-and-telescopic-adjustable steering is well-balanced, but the irregular surfaces of rough country roads and bush tracks force a few jitters into the steering wheel.
The Triton has a mostly smooth auto and decent acceleration from a standing start, but it still exhibits noticeable diesel clatter when you’re on the go and it can be sluggish when overtaking.
The suspension set-up – double wishbones, coil springs and stabiliser bar at the front, and leaf springs at the rear – is not as skippy as once expected of all unladen utes, but it’s still a ute, after all.
Ride tends towards the harsher end of the rough-to-comfortable spectrum, but otherwise, it’s fine.
The Triton rides on 18-inch Bridgestone Dueler 684 II H/T tyres (265/60R18), which are fine on sealed surfaces.
Off-road, it’s pretty decent – nimble and torquey – and it benefits greatly from Mitsubishi’s Super Select II 4WD system.
As mentioned, Super Select II offers four modes: 2H (two-wheel drive, rear), 4H (4X4 but in an all-wheel drive mode, safe to use at high speed on bitumen), 4HLC (4X4/all-wheel drive with locked centre diff; off-road driving at 30km/h or so) and 4LLC (4X4/all-wheel drive with locked centre diff and crawler gears engaged; only for low-speed 4WDing (below 30km/h).
Super Select II worked well during dirt-track driving in 4H and a prolonged bout of 4WDing through soft sand on this test, with tyre pressures dropped to 20psi.
Low-range gearing is good, off-road driver-assist tech, such as hill descent control, is handy, and the rear diff lock is, of course, a real boost when it comes to safe progress during low-speed low-range 4WDing.
The Triton is easy to navigate along narrow bush tracks, tight turns and squeezed-in approaches to climbs, descents, and creek crossings that would force bigger utes to inch back and forth until they could successfully accomplish the manoeuvre.
Speaking of creek crossings, we never had the opportunity to tackle anything deeper than shallow mud puddles along bush tracks, but, for your reference, wading depth is a listed 500mm.
It has 220mm ground clearance (unladen), and approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 31 degrees, 23 degrees and 26 degrees, respectively.
Its undercarriage feels prone to rubbing the dirt while traversing more difficult terrain so you must drive the Triton with focus.
The tub is 1520mm long, 1470mm wide (1085mm between the wheel arches), and 475mm deep, with 865mm from floor height to ground.
So, it’s a small tray in the grand scheme of things – short and narrow – and it’s higher off the ground, so loading gear is that much harder for those of us who are vertically-challenged people.
A soft tonneau cover covers the cargo area and the tub has four tie-down points.
Payload capacity is a listed 900kg. Maximum towing capacity 750kg (unbraked) and 3100kg (braked).
The GSR has a GVM (gross vehicle mass) of 2900kg and a GCM (gross combined mass) of 5885kg.
Decent all-terrain tyres and a mild aftermarket suspension lift would help make the Triton an even more capable 4WD.
What we think of the 2023 Mitsubishi Triton GSR
The Triton is fun to drive, comfortable, simple to use, and you can rely on its combination of driver-assist tech and mechanicals – I’ve always been impressed with Super Select II.
Sure, it’s feeling its age but the Triton still makes a lot of sense as a family-friendly vehicle.
A new Triton is due here in 2024, but for now this current-generation Mitsu ute has plenty of credibility as a value-for-money purchase.
