The new Mitsubishi Triton has been awarded the maximum five stars in the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). The Triton is the first dual-cab pick-up truck to be tested and assessed against ANCAP’s current 2023-2025 rating criteria. The results apply to all 2WD and 4WD Double Cab variants sold in Australia and New Zealand.
Introduced in the two countries in February, the Triton demonstrated high levels of protection for the driver, front-seat adult passenger and child occupants in the majority of physical crash tests. Maximum scores were achieved by the passenger in the frontal offset test, the driver in the full width frontal and oblique side pole tests, and both child dummies in the frontal and side impact tests.
Opportunities for improvement were noted for the chest and upper legs of the smaller rear passenger in the full width frontal test where a ‘Weak’ chest score was recorded and a penalty applied for increased risk of abdominal injury in this crash scenario.
As part of the suite of destructive tests, ANCAP assesses the potential risk of injury to occupants of another vehicle if struck by the tested vehicle. The Triton was shown to pose a relatively moderate risk compared with other vehicles of its type.
According to ANCAP, this indicates a considered design by Mitsubishi, which minimises the risk the Triton poses to other road users. This considered approach to design was also evident in the pedestrian impact tests, where the grill and bumper scored well in assessment of risk to a pedestrian’s leg or pelvis.
“This rating demonstrates Mitsubishi’s determination and ability to design, build and deliver a five-star product. Dual cab utes are some of the highest-selling models in Australia and New Zealand – purchased in volume by general consumers and fleet buyers alike. In many cases, they’re a tool-of-trade vehicle, yet they’re also family staples, so it’s pleasing to see Mitsubishi strive for and achieve this five-star result,” said ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg.
“There is an established and well-recognised market expectation for five-star vehicles among the ute segment. The aspiration of manufacturers to achieve five-stars should extend across all market segments, not just those targeted by fleet buyers,” she added.
In collision avoidance testing, the Triton managed 70% – the score threshold for a five-star rating. The truck’s autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system is capable of detecting/responding to other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in a mix of scenarios; however it does not extend to the more sophisticated AEB scenarios such as avoidance in T-bone intersection crashes and head-on crashes. This limited its overall Safety Assist score.
Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) are also encouraged within the Safety Assist area of assessment, and the Triton offers a direct DMS as standard.
“Direct driver monitoring systems are relatively new across the market, with the Triton being one of the first direct DMS systems we’ve assessed locally. The Triton met ANCAP protocol requirements in alerting for fatigue and distraction, however Mitsubishi’s implementation of this system could be improved by reducing unnecessary warnings to the driver,” Hoorweg said.
In addition to visual warnings, the manufacturer can choose between haptic or audible DMS warnings in order to score points under ANCAP protocols. Distraction warnings when reversing, parking or during slow-speed manoeuvres below 10 km/h are not required or rewarded by ANCAP.
Already crash tested in ASEAN and launched in Thailand – where it’s made and exported – the Triton gets a new 2.4-litre engine codenamed 4N16, offered in three states of tune – 150 PS/330 Nm, 184 PS/430 Nm and 204 PS/470 Nm. The range-topping Athlete that we featured at BIMS 2024 gets the most powerful engine, mated to MMC’s Super Select 4WD-II system with Active Yaw Control (AYC). The new Triton is set to reach Malaysia before the end of 2024.
GALLERY: Mitsubishi Triton Athlete at BIMS 2024
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How many stars will P2 cars with sus safety feature gets?
nice vellfire looking truck