Mitsubishi L200 Review (2010)

On sale since the 1st March 2006 - the all-new Mitsubishi L200 starts at £13,249 + VAT for the 4Work Single Cab and rises to £22,924 + VAT for the range topping Barbarian Double Cab Automatic.

Mitsubishi targets two markets with the L200 - starting with the 4Work range which is aimed directly at the no-nonsense business user and the 4Life range which is designed for the lifestyle user, who might use their L200 during the day for work and then at the weekend for domestic duties and family life.

Mitsubishi's multi-award winning L200 pick-up has been revised with a new look inside and out, more standard equipment, better performance and improved economy and emissions for 2010 and is available in three body styles (Single, Club and Double-Cab).

Our test car this week is the Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian Double-Cab Automatic priced at £22,924 excluding VAT.

How It Drove - Performance

The L200 Barbarian is powered by Mitsubishi's all new higher power version of the Di-D 2.5 litre common rail turbodiesel engine which produces 175bhp /400Nm (350Nm with automatic transmission) the high power version has 13bhp more than its predecessor.

Our test car was equipped with Mitsubishi's INVECS-II five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission, featuring a sequential 'Sport Mode' with shift mapping tuned to optimise performance from the 175bhp high power engine.

Both the medium and high power output 2.5-litre Di-D turbodiesel engines return an official combined consumption figure of 34.9mpg (manual transmission) 30 mpg with the automatic transmission, with CO2 emissions for the medium power model of 215g/km and 214g/km for the high power. These figures put the L200 among the cleanest, most efficient pick-ups in their class.

Equipped with the automatic gearbox, the new L200 Barbarian will sprint from 0-62mph in 13 seconds and reach a top speed of109 mph. You do have watch out when pulling off as there is a noticeable lag from the turbocharger but once on the move the Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian feels relatively sprightly.

We cannot say the engine is as refined as the best diesel cars and it probably could do with some more sound insulation but it proved to be quite flexible and coupled to an automatic gearbox it was very easy to drive.

How It Drove - Ride and Handling

We were expecting the Mitsubishi L200 to be more of a commercial vehicle but we were pleasantly surprised by its car-like the manners. Mitsubishi's engineers set themselves the objective of developing a suspension system capable of delivering the kind of driving dynamics more normally associated with an SUV and whilst the ride is a bit soft and bouncy it is very good.

We would not call the steering precise although you can make reasonably good progress if you allow for the roll in bends - it can certainly hold its own on 'A' road but is less composed on country 'B' roads. We did find the brakes a little bit of the soft side but again you do get used to this and they do make a good job of stopping, considering the L200's weight and bulk.

Mitsubishi is the first manufacturer to fit a stability control system as standard to a pick-up. Warrior and Barbarian models are equipped with M-ASTC (Mitsubishi Active Stability and Traction Control), which makes a major contribution to active safety. M-ASTC combines the sensors used for the ABS system with measurements of the vehicle's steering angle, G and yaw rates to assess the available grip.

If the sensors detect the onset of under- or oversteer, the M-ASTC system will automatically apply the brakes and manage the supply of torque to individual wheels to help the driver retain control.

Independent studies have shown that stability control systems make a major contribution to road safety.

M-ASTC can be deactivated by means of a dashboard switch for off-road driving.