Mitsubishi L200 test drive since 2006 pickup

Look and raise it

Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi L200 Hard frame structure, turbodiesel, unreasonable rear bridge, springs, all -wheel drive, high clearance attributes of a serious SUV. Plus a cargo platform and a five -seater cabin Double Cab. They are real hard workers, not without, however, some comfort that attracts. Cars for farmers? Cargo SUVs for urban extremes? Image kara for the DJs? Chopped forms without gay cockery and other auto-barco. The Real Light Trucks. Serious, confident in the man's own strengths.
The homeland of pickups America. In English, Puck-up means to raise, choose. Here in the States they are leisure with fanaticism and pick up and selected. In the States, their patrimony, the place of nesting. By the number of sales of pickups with America, it cannot ... not only a whole African continent, but also a whole world. Is it a joke, last year, for example, the same Ford Ford Ford Ford in America has been more than 1 million pieces in America! Cheap, iron, reliable, comfortable, traditional. Russia has not yet been financially expensive to pickups, but the increasing interest in them in our country is quite justified by this universal symbiosis of a passenger car and a truck perfectly established itself in both the city and a rather complex off -road. With the advent of pickups in our sky, the time of great practitioners has come, those who managed to earn enough money, so as not to interrupt from Niva to the UAZ with a trailer, those who realized that rinsing an expensive jeep in the mud on the entrances to the cottage under construction is more expensive. Although, in relation to interest in pickups throughout Russia, we probably got excited. Rather, in megacities and in their environs closer to service centers. On the periphery, even if they know and dream of pickupa, the lack of full -fledged service and finance, as well as the sedimentary quality of diesel fuel, seriously inhibits the expansion of the range of their distribution. And in the future ... Most likely, everything in the same cities and environs, as well as for oilmen and gas workers, will soon become a loss as many.
At first, the upcoming comparison of the two pickups seemed to us ungrateful due to their almost identical design. Well, pickups and pickups what to compare them? The only difference in horsepower is six more in L200. But, having looked at them more closely, and also, having tasted them in practice, it turned out that there is something to talk about.
The dynamics would seem to be at all to remember dynamics when it comes to trucks. But what about? Of course, you should know how it all goes. And we admit, we got a lot of pleasure. Firstly, because they abstracted from generally accepted banalities of the type of acceleration, secondly, because any diesel itself is lucky in itself, and, thirdly, the sensations turned out to be funny. And largely due to a different gear ratio in boxes. The gear of the first gear of Ford turned out to be the diameter larger than the same gear on the L200. Ranger frankly did not want to go in the first gear, moaned, pretended to be a tractor, pretending to lean all his weight on the plow. After the first serious pressing on the accelerator pedal, he tried to cudder to throw the tachometer arrow into the red zone. But on the other hand, with the inclusion of the second program, Ranger quit his nonsense and joyfully jumped forward, accelerating powerfully on the fifth as much as 150 km/h. It would be possible to sell it yet, but the public road did not allow. Manipulations with transmissions and a motor in the range from two to four thousand revolutions did not cause any problems, moreover, Ranger not only did not fall out of the stream, but also allowed to go assertively, quickly and aggressively, sprinkling with headlights headlights. Mitsubishi, unlike Ford, did not play the theater of one tractor when accelerating, willingly, smoothly and powerfully accelerated alternately in each gear, but after 140 km/h he was noticeably sad and a set of speeds of up to 150 km/h produced very sluggishly, without without it, without without enthusiasm. But this does not mean at all that some parallel participants in the movement had to adjust it. In the general stream, he kept quite confidently, and even frightened his impressive hacking on the hood of some kind of slow-the-rose gaping on his left lane. And still think about it! We are talking about workhorses, about trucks with a body that are capable of in an unloaded state to form a decent competition to the passenger participants.
Outside the road, they are still more SUVs than cars. It's funny, but they are even more jeeps than jeeps themselves. By the properties and nature of the movement, according to the most off -road ideology, they are closer to old Defender are reliable, serious, without special excesses, on large, identical, by the way, wheels. And on disks and rubber. They continue to crawl even where a serious SUV risk frankly sitting on the belly. Frame, diesel, springs and powerful protection from below. Everyone got 20 km of a rather complex forest, in a spring blurry road, and both drove it at least in one direction, but with a load of about 300 a kilogram. They behaved at least reliably, but differently. It is unlikely that the plastic Kung Ford played a large role in this, how much he could weigh, but it was Ford on the road to our off -road that seemed softer. The amplitude of Ford oscillations, a vertical swing on a wavy blurry rut, as I move forward, constantly increased, and if I did not let go of the accelerator in time, then some of the waves necessarily ended with a tangible blow to the engine protection against the ground. After a couple of such unpleasant experiments, the hunting went quickly, I cut the second program, and Ford and I, slowly, arrived, the rest of the route arrived without any problems. I had to turn on the lowering once, and then for insurance, just in case, when the appearance of a huge, flooded mud puddles frankly scared me. But the jeepers say correctly: they are afraid of their eyes, do their hands. It turned out everything was not so scary, we would easily drive this place and just on all -wheel drive. Mitsubishi L200 has fallen more tests thanks to completely disgusting weather. Remember these vile May cold? So, before we moved from the asphalt to the L200 to the treasured road, snow fell in those places. You can understand my feelings ahead of 10 km of an absolutely deserted forest road along the reserve, the rut is filled with water and looks like a brilliant fat roller, the flows of melt water are in some places overplay the whole road, and we only have summer rubber and a complete absence of a channel tool, oh. Which we did not think in Moscow frivolously. In short, if you have nowhere to look for help. Believe I have never used the lowered! Firstly, the experience of traveling on this highway on Ford has already affected, and secondly, L200 simply flew on this bold coating as on wings. Of course, he went out and shook the insides on those very road waves, the untied cargo was rattled and rolled up, the rear wheels periodically slipped from the ruts to the sidelines, but he, sorry,, as a tank, powerfully, dashingly, confidently and quickly In some relatively even places, I even switched to the third gear. Cool! Just delight!
Ergonomics we have no right to bypass ergonomics. Yes, perhaps, we will also expand the topic somewhat observations on the external and internal structure. Picaps with single cabins in Russia unambiguously do not take root not practically. Because the second row of seats by most consumers is also used as an indoor trunk, which is absent by their nature in pickups. As for the landing and accommodation of passengers, it seemed to us that in Ford behind a little more space than in Mitsubishi. In Ford, for example, I calmly sat behind myself. In the L200, too, in view of their relatively small dimensions in height, but there I already had to put it on. 10 more centimeters, and I would reliably burden my head in the ceiling. However, in L200 it is much more convenient to sit behind the wheel, and if not for the thin rim of the steering wheel, then everything would be just perfectly two levels of adjustment of the chair, all the devices were clearly visible, it is convenient to reach everything. Ranger offers the driver, in our opinion, is not a high workplace, that is, if the chair itself is made convenient, then he clearly does not have enough adjustment in height of the pillow. Optionally, Ranger is richer not just condo, but climate control, two airbags, heated electric mirrors, electric glass and surrounding plastic look more expensive. In L200, gray plastic, air conditioning, electric stroke with the same mirrors and that's it. We got a relatively simple version without pillows. At almost the same prices, Ford with kung and pillows looks cooler.
In general, now about the inconvenience and shortcomings, as well as about the amenities and daughters adjusted for the working purpose of pickups. The reserve for both individuals is attached equally under the body. The process of its release is complicated and can turn in an off-road into a torture, because in order to remove it, you need to get an incredible length of the piece of iron from behind the back of the rear seat, stick it into a special fodder hole and rotate until the reserve on a special fastener drops out under the body. The lesson is dirty, unpleasant and dreary. But it seems that we are too addicted in this matter who will offer the place better? To remove, and place it, and so that it does not interfere. The rear window of the cockpit of Ford, even if there is a kung, is protected by a grate. Correctly and prudent, and suddenly the load comes across heavy and God forbid, it will shift during the off -road movement to the glass. Such an option is for Mitsubishi, but we got a car without it. Further, the bodies of our two pickups are treated only with paint, there is no protective composition at all. A booth is mounted directly on the Ford Council on top of the paint, which, although fixed quite firmly, but still, over time, in places of contact, the paintwork will protrude to metal. In L200, everything is the same, only without kung. And the sides are not protected by anything that they will have to load, say, boards or some other sharply angle luggage directly through the sides and the heart drenches with blood onto metal paint. Let's get back to the cabin. It is clear that no one was going to present high requirements for the quality of decoration there in dirty boots and in wet clothes, everything is clear. Our pickups are collected in Thailand and not without shortcomings. In Ford, after 100 km/h, a stream of air is made into the casing of the driver's door. And the higher the speed, the more annoying the noise became. At first we sinned on the mirror, then on the seals, but all the wrong. As a result, it was not possible to calculate the source of noise. And in L200 in the fifth gear, the box lever began to ring loudly. You touch it with your hand, let him go again begins to ring. Now glorious words about the daughters. Living in Russia, it is difficult to sing praise diesels. The dynamics are not the same, the fuel is not that the repair of a failed high pressure fuel pump costs the price of half the Lada. But, guys, at 500 km of run I poured diesel fuel in every car exactly the same as I fill the 95th gasoline into the Nissan Almera with a 1.4-liter engine for the same kilometers of mileage! Super! And this is taking into account the fact that the pickups did not go empty and gave out stable 120130 km/h of cruising speed on the highway. Then it is quite tolerant to drive a five of them, it is quite comfortable to get inside, regardless of the size of the rear doors, you can transport anything, as well as anyone, a dog, a cat and other animals, if a car with a booth. In general, in our opinion, a pickup with a booth is preferably a pickup with a gross body. Cung is calmer, aiming the body and a target of the load. So about the shortcomings, so we frankly got to the bottom.
HOW DO THEY LOOK
Nikita Rozanov
 
Outside: to look for harmony in their appearance is as pointless as trying to score a nail ... with a bottle. The body of this couple is created for another. The classic pick-up was created exclusively for work, and its style at all times was determined by the function and, in the least, artistic parameters. Hence some mechanism of the appearance, straightforwardness and simplicity of decoration. But look at their faces. All the efforts of the stylists are reflected here. As a result, recognition and expressiveness is achieved, which means that it is difficult to confuse this pair. Both have characteristic and proprietary cladding of the radiator, thanks to which everyone resembles its own: a Japanese donor of the Pajero Sport body details, and the American is a modern ideal of corporate beauty Ford SUV Terrible Excursion. The lateral appearance is not for aesthetes. A cargo platform with a folding rear side joins with an elongated cabin like a Cab without undertaking and through an impressive gap. The main advantage of cars is also noticeable here, the ability to install a hard roof. From this operation, the silhouette becomes integral, but the image loses originality and originality. Due to the two-tone color, the Ford looks smarter, and because of the plastic extensors of the wheel arches, more athletic and athletic than Mitsubishi, which compared to it is just an honest truck.
 
Inside: here both cars are not even trying to hide their true utilitarian destiny. The panels of the devices are ascetic in Social-style and with their style and design can be reminded of only the 80s. The rudders are radically four spiti and in this regard are devoid of any embellishment and jewelry. The upholstery of the doors are made simply in a harsh-rational style, which is especially unusual to observe in an American, albeit a fifth light car.
Summary: if you are fraught with a tight-on-board tadpoles-UAZ and you are looking for a replacement for him, then, having bought one of these pickups, you will fall into the top ten and at the same time there will be many new features in your image. And perhaps you will completely change the lifestyle.
Text Nikolay Ushanov photo Alexander Nozdrin
 

 

A source: Cars