New Mitsubishi L200 here in May as £36k Ford Ranger rival

Mitsubishi will return to the UK market in May with its new L200 pick-up truck, for which prices will start at £36,295 (excluding VAT).

That positions it between the Ford Ranger (£30,800 ex-VAT) and the Toyota Hilux (£40,436 ex-VAT).

A Commercial variant (£37,495 ex-VAT) ditches the rear seats to create a more discrete, secure cargo area separate from the load bed.

The L200 will be offered in double-cab configuration as standard, in kind with its two main rivals.

All versions will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with a six-speed automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.

Detailed specifications have yet to be announced, but in other markets this engine puts out 201bhp and 347lb ft of torque.

The L200 is capable of towing up to 3.5 tonnes or carrying a payload of a tonne.

Two trims, Titan and Barbarian, will be offered in the UK, the latter (£39,995 ex-VAT) gaining the ability to engage permanent drive to all wheels and several terrain modes.

The L200 will soon be joined in Mitsubishi's new UK line-up by the latest Outlander plug-in hybrid SUV.

Both models were key in the brand’s success before it retreated from the UK in 2021.

It remains to be seen which other models will be offered by Mitsubishi in the UK, but Frank Krol, the brand’s European head, said in 2022 that it would need “more than one” electric car upon its return.

That suggests it will import the new Eclipse Cross crossover, effectively a rebadged Renault Scenic, because it has no other suitable EVs in its global line-up yet.

An EV is needed because of the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which will require a third of every volume brand’s car sales to be electric next year.