Mitsubishi L200 Savana
Now before any of you off-roaders get all giddy about this new Mitsubishi—take a deep breath. This is for Brazil, not the USA. Which is really a shame, as this is far more interesting than the current Dodge Dakota-based Raider. Speaking of which, when was the last time you saw a Mitsubishi Raider on the road?..
I don't think I've
ever seen one...
At any rate, this Brazilian Amazon swamp rat, er, L200 Savana is powered by a 2.5L SOHC turbodiesel, which is available in two states of tune. The power is then delivered to the ground via a 5-speed manual tranny, and the chassis has been beefed up to match the task at hand. It also has a really cool fender snorkel for those water crossings, and a really nasty looking set of off road rubber mounted on black steelies. There's even a small ladder mounted to the back of the cab for those times you need to get up on the roof rack to pick coconuts. We're talking about one serious straight-from-the-factory off-road pickup here——and I love it!
Full story here.
- Permalink | Comments (12)
- Posted by: Bob Holland March 28, 2008, 4:00 AM
- Categories: Mitsubishi, Trucks
Wow, that's awesome. That would be highly competitive here in the States.
Looks like the last generation of the Nissan Frontier.
I think thats a great looking truck.
Before anyone gets too excited, there's just no way that diesel engine would ever meet our emissions standards. I don't think Brazil even uses low-sulfur diesel yet.
Same for crash test standards, this is surely a generation or two behind.
On the other hand, if you're willing to move to Brazil, diesel costs little more than half what gasoline costs. So this would cost about as much to fuel up as a Prius.
You see these things all over the sand dunes of Cumbuco, Ceara. That's in the Northeast.
Cool truck. But can anyone tell me what that snorkel is for? I've seen them on plenty of Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols in Australia, but I never understood what they were for. They do look cool though.
I dig it too.
I wish we had the options that exist in other countries (while matching our regs). My wife and I have been to a few islands and I've seen diesel pickups and mid-sized SUVs that I wish we could have here. One thing I saw in St. Lucia in '97 that I wanted here and did make it here was the small / midsize 4 door pickup. They were everywhere there and only available in HD full sized trucks here. I'll keep wishing.
BTW - funny you mention the Dakota based Raider....I thought the same thing about a month ago - had yet to see even one on the road. Last week.....I saw two in one week!
The snorkel is for what I mentioned: crossing streams so that water doesn't get sucked into the engine.
It may also be a benefit in really dusty areas too, as the air intake is now up high and less subject to dust.
I see a Raider almost every Saturday in this backwoods town in PA (McAlisterville) when I coach soccer up there. Besides that, I've maybe seen one other Raider on the road.
As for the L200, this is AWESOME! What off-roader wouldn't love this thing?
<whine>Whyyyyyyyy!?!? Why do other countries get all the best vehicles???</whine>
Seriously - what great cars are U.S.-only?
We might get the Mitsubishi trucks back to the USA again. Looks like Dodge is going to drop the Dakota due to poor sales. Also, I miss the old real Mazda B series trucks.
Ah thanks rsholland I didnt see your explanation uptop.
I love those snorkels, they add so much character to a car. Even though the styling is outdated on the Mitsu, it still looks badass.
I just took the time to look through the gallery.....okay....now I'm sold! (and I'm no Mitsu fan either!)