√2024 Mitsubishi Triton ute on secret test mission in Australia

The next-generation Mitsubishi Triton ute is already undergoing secret tests in Australia ahead of expected showroom arrivals in 2024.

The 2024 Mitsubishi Triton ute is already on Australian roads amid a top secret engineering and testing schedule – but to date it has gone undetected by curious locals.

While camouflaged versions of the 2024 Mitsubishi Triton have been caught on camera in Europe, a number of prototype vehicles – and a team of engineers from Japan – have been testing locally since March 2022.

Australia is one of the biggest markets for the Mitsubishi Triton and has a key role in its development.

It is unclear how many prototypes of the next Mitsubishi Triton are in Australia or where they are testing.

“You haven’t seen them because we are very good at hiding them. Australia has a vast outback,” the boss of Mitsubishi Australia, Shaun Westacott, told Drive.

“Australia is a core market for the Mitsubishi Triton. We contribute very significantly to our parent company in multiple ways, including sales volumes, market share, and profit … and that includes a very close relationship around research and development of important future models.”

Mr Westacott said Mitsubishi has “teams of engineers here right now … intensively testing our vehicles on Australian roads.”

The executive declined to say how many Mitsubishi Triton prototype vehicles are in Australia, where they are testing, and nor would he outline the size of the engineering team.

“It is a significant engineering contingent, this is a very important vehicle and Mitsubishi understands the importance of this vehicle to Australian buyers,” said Mr Westacott.

Above: An artist impression of what the 2024 Mitsubishi Triton could look like.

While details remain under wraps, testing in local conditions is likely to include on-road and off-road durability, as well as towing and heavy load-carrying exercises.

Australia is also well known as a good location to test tyres and dust sealing in off-road conditions.

Spy photos from Europe show the next Mitsubishi Triton is much bigger than before and will be closer in size to the market leading Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.

Other key questions remain unanswered: will the next Mitsubishi Triton get a new engine or a revamped version of the current 2.4-litre four-cylinder? Will it come with four-wheel disc brakes (as per the top end versions of the new Ford Ranger and revamped Toyota HiLux Rogue)? Will it retain Super Select flexibility? What will happen to the Mitsubishi Triton’s class-leading, tight turning circle if the vehicle has a bigger footprint? And when will it arrive?

Mitsubishi Australia remained tight-lipped about timing for the next-generation Triton, however overseas reports have speculated it could be unveiled by this time next year and in showrooms in the first half of 2024.

Although the new Mitsubishi Triton is expected to form the basis of the next-generation Nissan Navara – following the partnership between the two brands since 2017 – for now there are precious little details on the Nissan variant of the same vehicle.

In the meantime, Mitsubishi Australia says it is business as usual for the current generation Triton until it is eventually replaced by the next model.

In the double-cab ute four-wheel-drive category, the Mitsubishi Triton is the third most popular model behind the market leading Toyota HiLux and second-placed Ford Ranger – and ahead of the Isuzu D-Max – despite being one of the oldest vehicles in the segment.

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