mikeyb
07-04-2005, 02:05 PM
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-club-cab-2wd.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-double-cab-front-o.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-double-cab-rear.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-interior.jpg
UGLY!!! No wonder Dodge is building Mitsu's truck in the States!
Sneaked first shots of the new Mitsubishi L200 show a radically different design for the replacement for Britain's best-selling pickup, on sale February next year.
In a move that will have brought sharp intakes of breath at Mitsubishi's UK importer - which sells more L200s than any other vehicle - the designers have abandoned the current version's appealing straight-edged toughness in favour of a challenging, curvaceous look that draws on Mitsubishi's all-conquering Paris-Dakar rally truck.
The striking new pick-up will be available in double-cab, club-cab and single-cab formats, and in both four-wheel and two-wheel-drive. Despite the all-new shape, the Thai-built L200 sticks with tradition underneath, retaining a ladder chassis and rear leaf-spring suspension. This helps keep the payload above one tonne and therefore retains the pickup's all-important commercial status in the eyes of the taxman. Minus the vat, high-end versions of the double-cab 4x4 are likely to cost around £20,000.
L200 owners won't be pleased to hear the unloved 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine stays put, although Mitsubishi say it will be uprated beyond the 137bhp of the highest-powered current version. There will also be an automatic gearbox option for the first time. Ambitious dealers might be able to get hold of the more desirable 3.2-litre version, using the same diesel engine as the Shogun (but not officially coming here), however Mitsubishi in the UK has recently clamped down hard on dealers bringing in cheap new pickups from Thailand.
The awkward interior of the current pickup has been completely ditched in favour of a much more cohesive design with logically placed controls. However, the separate gearlever to select four-wheel-drive and engage the low-ratio gearbox has been retained in preference to an electronic button-shift used by the Isuzu Rodeo and new Nissan Navara.
The new L200 faces tough competition when it arrives. Its launch date trails behind the new Navara, here in August, and the new Toyota Hilux, which debuts in October. Both have leapfrogged the competition in terms of comfort, interior space and load capability, elevating the pickup closer to standard 4x4s than ever before.
http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=12569
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-double-cab-front-o.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-double-cab-rear.jpg
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/spyshots/M/mitsubishi/l200/03-large/New-L200-interior.jpg
UGLY!!! No wonder Dodge is building Mitsu's truck in the States!
Sneaked first shots of the new Mitsubishi L200 show a radically different design for the replacement for Britain's best-selling pickup, on sale February next year.
In a move that will have brought sharp intakes of breath at Mitsubishi's UK importer - which sells more L200s than any other vehicle - the designers have abandoned the current version's appealing straight-edged toughness in favour of a challenging, curvaceous look that draws on Mitsubishi's all-conquering Paris-Dakar rally truck.
The striking new pick-up will be available in double-cab, club-cab and single-cab formats, and in both four-wheel and two-wheel-drive. Despite the all-new shape, the Thai-built L200 sticks with tradition underneath, retaining a ladder chassis and rear leaf-spring suspension. This helps keep the payload above one tonne and therefore retains the pickup's all-important commercial status in the eyes of the taxman. Minus the vat, high-end versions of the double-cab 4x4 are likely to cost around £20,000.
L200 owners won't be pleased to hear the unloved 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine stays put, although Mitsubishi say it will be uprated beyond the 137bhp of the highest-powered current version. There will also be an automatic gearbox option for the first time. Ambitious dealers might be able to get hold of the more desirable 3.2-litre version, using the same diesel engine as the Shogun (but not officially coming here), however Mitsubishi in the UK has recently clamped down hard on dealers bringing in cheap new pickups from Thailand.
The awkward interior of the current pickup has been completely ditched in favour of a much more cohesive design with logically placed controls. However, the separate gearlever to select four-wheel-drive and engage the low-ratio gearbox has been retained in preference to an electronic button-shift used by the Isuzu Rodeo and new Nissan Navara.
The new L200 faces tough competition when it arrives. Its launch date trails behind the new Navara, here in August, and the new Toyota Hilux, which debuts in October. Both have leapfrogged the competition in terms of comfort, interior space and load capability, elevating the pickup closer to standard 4x4s than ever before.
http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=12569