Mitsubishi Strada

Overview

Commercial pickup vans and mini trucks have come a long way all around the world and for the Philippines, scenario is similar. From being considered to be reduced to just workhorses, this segment has seen quite a lot of developments and feature-additions over the years.

One of the oldest and most successful pickup vans in the Philippines is the Mitsubishi Strada, which is said to have the golden touch even till date. The current iteration of the Strada was launched back in 2015. However, it received quite a lot of updates in the following year (2016), including changes in the mechanism.

The current generation of the Mitsubishi Strada is more like a comfortable, easy-to-drive and stylish model. Of course, the three adjectives weren’t the most suitable ones around a decade back. But the present day Strada has been such impressive. After all, the competition from the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, and Toyota Hilux is easy to put away.

Interior & Features

The interior of the Mitsubishi Strada is plush and is an eye-grabber. The layout looks straight out of the Montero Sport and there isn’t a second thought. However, one thing that can put off the occupants is the excessive use of hard-touch plastics instead of the soft material. But that could be expected any day from a car that is built to mainly move goods.

Apart from this, the double-cabin is pretty spacious with ample amount of legroom. However, the GLS trims are slightly mediocre for the shoulder room as the width is marginally lesser than the other trims.

Having said that, one can easily argue that the Strada is not as plush as it may appear to be from the outside. But when you find out that features like an automatic climate control and audio controls mounted on the steering wheel have been added to the cabin, the room for complaints reduces to a very fine line. Moreover, the presence of a touchscreen infotainment system on the dashboard is something amazing to be had.

The steering wheel has a telescopic adjuster, which makes it a matter of convenience for drivers of all height and arm length. The fabric upholstery is not outrageously plush but is very much in line with the standard comfort additions.

Exterior

The Mitsubishi Strada seems to have the same silhouette as the Montero Sport. However, upon careful inspection, you will find the pickup to be sleeker than the Montero, despite not being as stylish. But with all the sleekness and styling, the Strada is one of the most attractive models in the segment.

The Mitsubishi Strada rides on 16-inch or 17-inch wheels, depending on the variant. The front portion is more rounded and chiseled than any of its competitors, which are either edged sharply or rounded to be extremely timid.

The Strada would be the perfect example to show how much the pickup truck segment has evolved. The angles and the edges on the body have definitely come a long way. The practicality comes at the swept back headlamps and the small yet attractive tail lights. The pickup van is suspended over Double wishbone coil spring at the front and rigid elliptic springs with telescopic travel.

This Mitsubishi pickup has a long 3,000 mm wheelbase and can easily take on the rugged roads as the ground clearance is pretty high at 205 mm.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Mitsubishi Strada is a powerful pickup van and gives the drivers ample grunt at their accelerator pedal. Currently, the Strada is offered in two engine trims, out of which the more powerful engine variant was introduced recently.

The company offers the 2.5-litre engine variant in two states of trims, based on their transmission. The 5-speed manual gearbox units make 136 hp of power at 4,000 rpm while making 324 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm. Both 4x2 and 4x2 (rear-wheel-drive) are available. However, the automatic transmission trims are more powerful and are capable of churning out 178 hp of power along with 400 Nm of torque. But even with the high power, an AWD mechanism is not given as an option in the automatic trims.

The 2.4-litre engine variants are basically found in the higher trims. The 2.4-litre motor can make a maximum power of 181 hp and a peak torque of 430 Nm. Plus, in this engine trim, the variants get both RWD as well as AWD available for the automatic transmission.

The steering wheel is slightly on the heavier side, just like any other pickup vans. However, the maneuverability is not very difficult as the car is pretty slim and can be easily handled in the traffic.

The pickup offers a mixed performance in the fuel efficiency department. On an average in heavy traffic, the mileage metre reads at a meager 8.6 kmpl. However, out on the highway, with the cruise control kicking in, the pickup offers a more practical 14.7 kmpl.

Braking & Safety

Pickup vans aren’t ideally meant to be the safest car in the segment. However, the Mitsubishi Strada offers a pretty good number of such features. The car may not have disc brakes for all the wheels (rear wheels get 11.6-inch drums), but the braking is pretty active and safe. ABS and EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) are given as standard across all the trims.

The top end GT trims are equipped with MASTC (Mitsubishi Active Stability and Traction Control) system and Hill Start Assist. Plus, barring the base variant, all the other trims have reverse parking camera given as a dealer option. Two SRS airbags (for driver and front passenger) are given as standard. However, the top-spec gets seven airbags including side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags.

Seatbelts are given for all the five occupants’ seats, but ISOFIX is not available in the base variant. Even tyre pressure monitoring system is not added to the base model.