2024 Mitsubishi Triton vs 2023 Nissan Navara

What's the difference?

With its new looks and twin-turbo diesel engine, the new Mitsubishi Triton GSR should entice those wanting a handsome-looking family ute that can still tackle serious off-roading adventures. It misses out on a third-child seat option which will deter some families but I like its ownership benefits and on-road manners. My son really enjoys utes in general and had a blast making the tray his fort this week.

The SL Warrior is a good-looking, well-engineered and practical package that provides an alternative entry point to Warrior ownership. 

However, its low-$60K pricing also pitches it against more upmarket rivals like the Ford Ranger XLT, Mazda BT-50 GT and Toyota HiLux SR5.

So, when comparing relative values, do Premcar’s unique body/chassis enhancements compensate for the SL’s shorter safety menu and vinyl-floored workhorse cabin to justify its price? 

That comes down to intended use and personal priorities - and only a buyer knows what they are. 

I quite liked the old styling of the Triton, it looked sleeker than its rivals but the new GSR sports a beefier roadside presence with its black accents - which are found on the 18-inch alloys and big sailplane (or sports bar), as well as in the darker grille and badging.

The redesigned front showcases a squared-off shape which accentuates the work-horse toughness you associate with utes.

The interior has also seen a redesign with a dashboard headlined by the shiny new tech screen and has more soft touchpoints across it. The traditional gear shifter and handbrake, as well as all the buttons and dials will appease old-schoolers but the black leather upholstery and contrasting orange stitching should pull in modern ute drivers wanting comfort and practicality.

Its simpler specification results in a less cluttered appearance than the fully-loaded PRO-4X, with the SL’s lack of side-steps visually accentuating its higher ride height. 

We like the work-focused look and its wipe-clean vinyl floor would be well suited to tradie duties.

The interior, with fabric-trimmed two-tone upholstery, offers a visually pleasing and practical mix of contrasting chrome, satin chrome and textured hard surfaces, which show how base-grade ute interiors are moving increasingly upmarket. 

The front seats are supportive but a more prominent left footrest for the driver would enhance this. 

With adjustable air conditioning vents in the rear of the centre console, rear seating is also comfortable, but head and shoulder room are marginal for tall adults, particularly when travelling three-abreast. 

For those that draw the short straw and end up seated in the higher central position, with their knees squeezed together between the front seat backrests and head pressed into the roof lining, this will only be tolerable for (very) short trips. 

The cabin up front feels spacious and I have plenty of room for my 168cm height. My seven-year old son and I love the side steps and grab handles, as the 228mm ground clearance can lead to a few unladylike grunts when getting in and out.

The front seats are very comfortable but I am surprised the passenger seat isn’t powered in the top model. 

The individual storage is excellent for a ute with two glove boxes, four cupholders, two drink bottle holders, a deep middle console, phone cubby and a sunglasses holder.

They’re very old-school but I still love the practicality of the dash-mounted cupholders and that the cup insert can be slid back to make more room for a larger drink or item.

There’s not much to access on the multimedia system in terms of customisations but it is dead-set simple to use. You get built-in sat nav, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay and the CarPlay is easy to connect to and maintains its connection.

The traditional analogue instrument cluster and the 7.0-inch digital display panel offers a lot of safety customisation, which is handy while on the go and makes the car feel pretty solid.

Charging options are good up front with a single USB-A and -C port plus a wireless charging pad.

The back seat is comfortable enough behind my driving position but might be squishy for an adult behind a taller front occupant. You get decent amenities with ceiling-mounted directional air vents, fan control, a USB-A and -C ports plus a 12-volt socket.  

The back row sees decent individual storage with two map pockets, two device pockets, two cupholders in the fold-down arm rest, as well as, a drink bottle holder in each storage bin.

The tray is decently sized and can fit a Euro pallet and has a 1030kg max payload limit, which means all your hardware trips should be good to go. The GSR model doesn’t have a cover but you can add one as an accessory at extra cost (multiple options ranging from $900 for a soft cover to $4200 for an electric roll top). It would make the grocery shopping a bit easier as I filled the cabin on my run this week due to the rain!

There’s no assisted tailgate, which makes it a bit harder to open and close. I would definitely invest in one if you have kids around because it's a heavy tailgate and you wouldn't want it to fall onto an unfortunately place head.

With its 2033kg kerb weight, the SL Warrior’s useful 100kg GVM upgrade to 3250kg means it has an enviable 1217kg payload rating. 

It’s also rated to tow up to the category's benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer but to do that would require a huge and impractical 840kg reduction in payload to avoid exceeding its 5910kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time). 

That would leave only 377kg of payload capacity, which could easily be used up by a crew of four large adults without luggage.

As a result, we reckon braked towing limits should always be based on a vehicle’s GVM. In this case, that would lower the tow rating from 3500kg (few if any owners would need that much anyway) to 2660kg, which is still a sizeable trailer and would allow you to keep the full 1217kg payload rating. That would not only be more practical, but also safer for towing.

The floor of the almost-square load tub is 1509mm long and 1560mm wide. However, with 1134mm between the rear wheel housings, it won’t fit a standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallet but it will take a Euro pallet. The four load anchorage points are located low where you need them.

Cabin storage includes a large bottle holder and bin in each front door, plus an overhead glasses holder and single glove box. 

The centre console offers a small open cubby at the front, two small bottle/cupholders in the centre and a lidded box at the back.

Rear seat passengers also get a large bottle holder and storage bin in each door plus a fold-down centre armrest with two small bottle/cupholders. 

The rear seat’s base cushion can also swing upwards and be stored vertically if more internal cargo space is required. 

The SL Warrior, like its sibling, is available only as a 4x4 dual cab ute. It comes standard with the Navara’s familiar 2.3-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel and a choice of six-speed manual gearbox ($58,000) or seven-speed torque converter automatic, like our example, for a list price of $60,500, plus on-road costs. 

That’s $11,400 more than a standard SL Navara and for that extra spend you get a bespoke package of off-road equipment, starting with unique body decals and 17-inch alloys wearing Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres plus a full-size alloy spare.

There's also a winch-compatible hooped bull-bar with integrated LED light-bar, black Navara-branded underbody bash-plate, wheel-arch flares, load tub-liner, 3500kg tow-bar and rubber floor mats. 

Big changes underneath include a 40mm increase in ride height to 260mm. This substantial gain in ground clearance (25mm from tyres, 15mm from springs) results in the approach angle improving from 32 to 36 degrees and virtually no change in departure angle with a tow-bar fitted. 

The suspension has been retuned with new springs, shock absorbers and jounce rubbers. The new front spring rate provides more front-end support and less body roll while the revised shocks produce improved compliance, noise isolation and reduced ‘float’ when towing and/or carrying loads. These changes also bring a useful 100kg increase in its GVM rating.

In addition to Premcar’s hardware, the SL’s standard equipment list includes automatic headlights with halogen DRLs, tailgate assist, a rear bumper step, a reversing camera and rear diff lock. 

Inside, there’s a six-speaker multimedia system with 8.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, plus four USB ports, two 12-volt accessory outlets, 7.0-inch instrument cluster display with digital speedo, and more. 

So, although based on the entry-level model, it does offer numerous useful features. The optional 'Pearl White' metallic paint on our test vehicle adds $650.

All 4WD Tritons feature the same new 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel engine that produces 150kW of power and 470Nm of torque, both figures up from the previous model.

The GSR features a six-speed automatic transmission and high- and low-range as well as a rear differential lock. 

The GSR has seven different terrain modes - 'Normal', 'Eco', 'Gravel', 'Snow', 'Mud', 'Sand' and 'Rock'. Combined with its braked towing capacity of 3500kg, weekend adventuring can definitely be pursued!

Nissan’s Euro 5-compliant 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel features two-stage inline turbochargers that provide excellent lag-free response and ample output. 

It produces 140kW at 3750rpm and 450Nm of torque served at full strength between 1500-2500rpm.

It’s well matched with the snappy but smooth shifts of a seven-speed torque converter automatic, with overdrive on its top two ratios minimising engine rpm and maximising economy on highway hauls. It also offers manual sequential-shifting which can be handy when carrying and/or towing loads in hilly terrain.

The 4x4 transmission is dual-range part-time with shift-on-the fly electronic 4x4 engagement up to 100km/h, plus there’s an electronic rear diff lock.

The official combined fuel-cycle consumption figure is 7.7L/100km and my real-world usage came out at 8.7L after doing a lot of open-road mountain trips and some urban stuff. So, the diesel engine is pretty darn economical!

Based on the large 75L fuel tank and official consumption figure you get a theoretical driving range of 974km.

Nissan claims average combined consumption of 7.3L/100km but after our 300km test, of which about one third was lugging a heavy payload, our figure calculated from fuel bowser and trip meter readings came in at 10.3L/100km. 

So, based on our figures, you could expect a ‘real world’ driving range of around 770km.

The new engine is powerful and has solid pick-up without any unnecessary ‘champing at the bit’ movement throughout the back. It’s very smooth with its power delivery.

The new-gen Triton sports a new chassis and suspension, the latter feeling a bit springy over big bumps but during general driving it absorbs the road pretty well. Like it’s predecessor, I would still say the ride is more 'trucky' than refined but there’s heaps of comfort for long-haul driving. 

The cabin is mostly quiet which isn’t always the case for a ute and it’s only in heavy rain you have to raise your voice to chat. The tall ride and windows have provided good visibility, too.

With at times torrential rain during the test week, the GSR hit some serious situations - overflowing causeways, pot-holed roads and muddy banks but always feels sure-footed.

The GSR is a substantial car sitting at 5320mm long, so you get a bit of overhang at the kerb side. As such, you can find yourself getting a bit choosy with car spaces. But on a whole, it’s not hard to park because the 360-degree view camera system is so damn good. Well done, Mitsubishi.

It’s not hard to climb aboard without side-steps. The driving position is good and although there’s no adjustable lumbar support, there’s more than enough in the seat's backrest to keep your spine straight. 

As previously mentioned, the only thing missing is a big left footrest to support a decent-sized boot.

The steering feel, like the PRO-4X Warrior, is the best it’s been in a D23 Navara and the ride quality and handling improvements resulting from Premcar’s tuning are commendable. 

Despite the raised ride height, body roll is controlled during cornering and when combined with the baggy tyre sidewalls it has a supple but disciplined ride over bumps. We didn’t get a chance to take it off-road but we’d expect similar ride and handling gains.

Cabin noise is pleasantly low at highway speeds, given our expectation of tyre howl from its off-road biased tread patterns. 

The engine requires only 1750rpm to maintain 100km/h and 1900rpm at 110km/h which is smack-bang in the middle of its peak torque band where throttle response is at its strongest.

To test its load-carrying ability we forklifted 770kg into the load tub which with our crew of two equalled a 940kg payload. 

Although the rear coil-springs compressed about 80mm under this loading they still maintained about 60mm of static bump-stop clearance, which was more than enough to ensure it didn’t bottom-out on our test route.

The engine’s 450Nm of torque easily conquered our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h with this load on board and its engine-braking on the way down was equally robust, which for a four-cylinder engine with only 2.3 litres displacement is commendable.

The Navara has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating, albeit awarded in 2015. 

There are seven airbags plus active features that include AEB, forward collision warning, trailer-sway control, hill-start assist, hill descent control, reversing camera, and more. 

However, no blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert or rear parking sensors, plus non-adaptive cruise control are indicative of its base model origins. 

The rear seat has three top-tether and two ISOFIX child seat anchorage points.

If you service though Mitsubishi, the Triton comes with a 10-year or up to 200,000km warranty, which (in terms of duration) outstrips every other offer across the board. If you don't service through Mitsubishi that warranty period drops to five-years/100,000km.

The Triton comes with capped-priced servicing for 10 years, or up to 150,000km and services average $584 each, which is good for the class.

Servicing intervals are also reasonable at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Five years/unlimited km warranty plus five years 24-hour roadside assist. 

Scheduled servicing every 20,000km/12 months whichever occurs first. 

Total capped-price of $3292 covers the first five scheduled services up to five years/100,000km. An annual average of $658.40.