Mitsubishi: Workhorse at home in Wisteria Lane

Mitsubishi Triton GLS. Photo / Supplied

Look what Mitsubishi's been doing while everyone was distracted by the new hero utes, Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50. The company has made a bunch of changes to its Triton and none has benefited more than the 2WD GLS. Think not only comfort and convenience, but more power.

In the Mitsubishi pecking order, GLS is as good as it gets in utes, so here's a truck that reeks of lifestyle and the suburbs; a car with a ginormous boot.

You're not likely to see too many tradespeople and rural businesspersons driving around in this version of Mitsi's curvaceous cargo carrier unless, perhaps, they're the boss.

The reason for lavishing extra stuff on the GLS 2WD is simple. As already noted by Driven, city families have taken to double-cab utes in serious numbers as the vehicles become more comfortable and those in the 'burbs realise what versatile vehicles they really are.

However, if you live in town and aren't planning on driving where you're likely to get stuck, why buy into the complication, weight and extra servicing costs of 4WD? Yup, Mitsubishi didn't think so either, hence the upgrades to the 2WD GLS.

Gone is the 102kW/319Nm turbo-diesel and in is the 133kW/356Nm unit. This means the braked towing rating jumps 500kg to a fairly decent 3000kg. Gone too is the manual gearbox. The truck only comes with a five-speed auto incorporating a tiptronic-type sport mode.

Mitsubishi gave the exterior a full-on bling job, including a honeycomb front grille similar to the 4WD's, a silver-coloured lower front panel, fog lights, rather nice side steps, chrome mirrors and door handles, a chrome rear step bumper and a high-mount stop light on the tailgate.

Despite being one of those sidetracked by the feature-rich Ranger and BT-50, I'm impressed with this Triton. Its cabin is nicely designed and comfortable and I love its chunky shift lever. There's Bluetooth, a better sound system, automatic air-con and more sound deadening. Just like a car.

The GLS 2WD costs $50,890 compared to $57,440 for the 4WD equivalent, but it's 10 grand dearer than the most basic 2WD double-cab ute, the GL. Probably worth it, though, just for the admiring looks.

The bottom line:
Mitsi makes Triton GLS a better fit for the suburbs, adding all sorts of gear and dumping the 4WD drivetrain. You're not going to get bogged in the mall parking lot, anyway.

Oops, wrong pedal?

The 2WD Triton GLS rides and handles better than the 4WD and has the reassurance of an electronic stability program, ABS and something new called Smart Brake. If you unintentionally hit the accelerator as well as the brake in an emergency - I guess it can happen - the system cancels the message from the accelerator and tells the brakes to go at it, hard.