New Mitsubishi Triton gets head start on commercial rivals

February 26, 2015 by Alastair Sloane

Mitsubishi has priced its new Triton range of 10 all-diesel commercial utes as its rivals gear up for a sales race that will be even more competitive this year than last. The commercial market saw record sales in 2014 and was dominated by the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux, each selling more than twice the numbers of rivals like the Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton, and Mazda BT-50.

Mitsubishi NZ sales and marketing manager Daniel Cook

But it’s a different playing field in 2015. The traditional main cialis 20mg

rivals – Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi – have new or updated models on the way. First up in April is the new Triton. It will be followed in June/July by the new Navara, roughly around the time of the facelifted Ranger. Later in the year comes the new Hilux, although there is talk it mightn’t land until early next year. Daniel Cook, head of sales and marketing for Mitsubishi Motors NZ, is looking forward to the head start Triton gets over its rivals, especially on the back of a year in which Mitsubishi became the fastest growing mainstream brand and commercial utes accounted for 20 per cent of all new vehicle sales. Cook expects a zero price rise for the new model to help perhaps double the 1599 units registered last year. “It’s exciting to offer customers important spec and safety enhancements, but immediately you get behind the wheel of the new Triton you know it is so much more than that: it is unbelievably better to drive and to enjoy,” Cook said. It is the first all-new Triton in nine years. The range is made up of three two-wheel- and seven four-wheel-drive models. Cook says Mitsubishi’s designers and engineers have taken a vast leap ahead in interior space and comfort, noise, vibration, and harshness enhancements.

A modern dial replaces the low-range gear lever

“There is also a bigger tray capacity, stronger body, a driver’s knee airbag, significantly greater torque, less frequent servicing, fuel economy from 7litres/100km (40mpg) and multiple technical refinements throughout,” he said. Under the bonnet is a 2.4-litre turbodiesel generating 135kW/437Nm and mated to a five-speed conventional automatic gearbox or a six-speed manual. There is no petrol engine option, unlike other markets. Four-wheel-drive models retain the dual-range transfer case but switching moves from the old-style lever to a modern dial near the gear selector. Mitsubishi says the change between two-wheel-drive and high-range four-wheel-drive can be done at speeds up to 100km/h. The range starts in price at $34,790 for the two-wheel-drive GLX single cab-chassis with manual gearbox through to $59,490 for the GLS four-wheel-drive double cab automatic.

If you are in a position to shell out upwards of NZ$600,000 for the 60^thanniversary Porsche 911 S/T or optional Porsche 911 S/T Heritage, you’ll no doubt want the signature titanium watch that goes with it. That’s how Porsche figures it anyway. Or, if you want the watch you’ll need to get the car. Both the car and the watch are limited to 1963 units, the year the original 911 model broke cover. The watch – Chronograph 1 911 S/T and Chronograph 1 911 S/T Heritage – and the car carry matching edition numbers. The watch is priced at $US13,500, or around $NZ22,200. The car, says Porsche NZ, starts at $NZ608,000. A “strictly limited number” will go into production for NZ early next year.

Eight European Union countries are pushing to weaken new EU emissions limits for cars, saying they are overly ambitious and unrealistic for carmakers to hit. The eight countries – France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – said in a joint paper that parts of the proposed Euro 7 regulation, including curbs on exhaust pipe emissions, should be scrapped entirely. They said the limits would force carmakers to invest in improving exhaust emissions performance, money which would be better spent on developing zero-emission vehicles. Taken together, the countries would have enough votes to block the proposal.

A go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move. The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque. The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.

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