Report 2

The Mitsubishi L200 has gone, replaced by a Mitsubishi ASX. Shock horror: the ASX is powered by a petrol engine. I haven’t had the courage to tell our esteemed editor yet. But fear not, Ian, because the L200 will be back once Mitsubishi has fixed a few electrical gremlins that we’ve been experiencing.

One of the problems is the recurrence of the door lock issue that Simon had during his stewardship of the L200. Although the upper door on the rear canopy appears to be shut, the car begs to differ. The result: the door open warning ‘bongs’ and the interior lights are left on. It also takes one or two attempts to lock the vehicle. The climate control is also playing up, with the windows steaming up when it’s raining and the system failing to cool the cabin when it’s hot. Warm air comes out of the vents, so we’ve been driving with the system turned off and the windows open. Finally, the L200 refused to unlock after a recent walk across the moors. After a dozen attempts, we resorted to using the key – very old school – at which point the alarm went off. Having failed to switch it off, we drove to a quieter part of the moors, hazard lights flashing and the alarm still sounding. Eventually, we managed to lock and unlock the car using the fob – problem solved. We haven’t locked the car since…

I hope it comes back soon, as I was just getting used to life with the L200. For obvious reasons, it’s very similar to our own Isuzu D-Max, offering the same raised driving position, cavernous load area and go-anywhere toughness. In the six years we’ve owned it, we haven’t had any problems with the D-Max (touch wood), although it’s currently SORN, it’s sat in the paddock with a smug look on its face. That’s if a D-Max can look smug. We’re averaging 28.5mpg, which is remarkably close to the official claimed 29.1mpg. Not a particularly economical vehicle, then, but we’ve been getting around 30mpg from our D-Max 2.5-litre turbodiesel over the past few years. I could list many reasons why I’d choose a pick-up over an SUV, but fuel economy wouldn’t be one of them.

If I had to choose one small, but significant, detail on the Mitsubishi L200, it would be the damped tailgate. The undamped equivalent on our D-Max is heavy and cumbersome, especially if you’ve got your hands full. In the L200, the gas struts stop the tailgate from crashing down when you open it, so it’s a little like having soft-close drawers in your kitchen. I know later D-Max models have a damped tailgate, so I’ll be looking into retrofitting a gas strut to ours.

All being well, the L200 will be back before the next update. I’m not sure a report on a Mitsubishi ASX with a 2.0-litre petrol engine would be too welcome at Diesel Car towers.

Date arrived 10th March 2020
Mileage 4,840
Economy (WLTP combined) 29.1mpg
Economy (On test) 28.5mpg