Mitsubishi L200 review

The upmarket Barbarian trim gets more sound deadening and its inch-bigger wheels have a more road-biased tyre, plus what's called 'standard' rather than 'heavy duty' rear springs. It's the Barbarian we tested. But otherwise it's the same as the base Titan version.

The engine is a solid performer. Thanks to the smaller turbo, it'll pick up (see what we did there) from low revs with nary a hint of lag, and then the second blower arrives to take you onward close to 5,000rpm. The autobox's gearshifts are smooth, and the lever allows you to manually over-ride. The engine sounds a little chattery, but nothing injurious to your ears – besides, the stereo is pretty competent.

Steering and brakes inspire confidence. You don't get any tactile feedback from the wheel or pedals, but they're accurate. The double-wishbone front suspension is nicely pliant and gives good directional stability.

But the live rear axle erases any sense this is car-like. It's suspended on three leaves per side. The first one sits slightly proud of the other two, doing nothing until the axle has drooped a bit under load. So in theory it's progressive-rate, allowing suppleness when unladen without being too soggy to shoulder a cargo.

Doesn't work out like that. Without a load on board, the rear end constantly shudders and shimmies and generally gives the impression it wants to jump up into the back seat.

So, a truck not a car. By the way, a little anecdote. Many years ago when four-door pickup sales were at their height because they attracted very low BIK tax, then Inland Revenue realised people were buying them to use as cars. A tax official rang Mitsubishi (different importer than now) and asked for a meeting. A Mitsubishi staffer drove an L200 up to London to meet her. He invited her to drive round Westminster's crowded streets and she quickly agreed, yes, it was a truck, and the tax problem went away. But then, he'd quietly taken the precaution of disabling the power steering first.

And off road?

The Barbarian's more sophisticated 4x4 system, 'Super Select II', is better for slippery roads and tarmac towing. But once you're properly out on difficult terrain, either system gives you immense confidence you'll get all the way there and all the way home.

Aside from long-travel suspension and the locking diff, you're helped by excellent electronic traction systems. Selectable modes (gravel, snow, mud, rock) recalibrate the traction electronics and accelerator. The only potential sticking point is the long rear overhang, which hampers your departure angle.

Beeps and bongs?

Both versions have more driver assist systems than the law mandates, and they're mostly not too overbearing. Although we were admonished far too often by the attention warning. We were paying attention dammit. You can use buttons in the steering wheel to disable them pretty easily.