Cars and bakkies are like wives; you have to live with them for a while before you really get to know them. So it was with the Mitsubishi Triton 2.5DI-D double cab.
The SA launch of the Triton was held in late March 2007 in the Atlantis sand dunes north of Cape Town; there we learned, during one exciting day of roaring up and down intimidatingly steep, bone-white slopes, that the air-conditioning works superbly and that Mitsubishi's new bakkie is astonishingly capable in sand provided you keep the revs - and the speed - up.
But now I've seen a different side of the company's first SA-market diesel byusing one for a week on my daily commute and a long trip - partly on good dirt roads - out in the country.
It's huge; its tail stuck out of the parking bay at work even when I parked the nose almost touching the wall and I took more than my share of space in the shopping-mall car park but the truck's height made it easy to spot and empty bay.
It's slow. It has lots of turbo lag, takes 14sec to get to 100km/h, 11 to accelerate from 80 to 120km/h, 14 from 100 to 140km/h and an interminable 36 to cover a kilometre from rest (though three more engines have been launched subsequent to this test).
Top speed at sea level is a respectable 163km/h but it needs a long, long run to get there.
It's heavy. 1865kg unladen and takes some stopping, needing an average of 3.6sec from 100km/h, but the anti-lock brakes are very well modulated and it doesn't pull to either side. But it returned 10.4 litres/100km over the test period.
It's noisy. The 2477cc, common-rail turbodiesel gives 100kW at 4000rpm and a very capable 314Nm at 2000rpm but you get the full Massey-Ferguson rhythm section at idle and at anything beyond 2700rpm (110km/h in fifth) it sounds like it's working hard, even though it isn't.
It's bumpy. The front double-wishbone suspension soaks up anything you can throw at it but the rear leaf springs are harsh and choppy - especially with nothing in the load bay.
The steering's vague. It never settles down on the open road - you have to steer it every centimetre of the way. It tightens up appreciably in all-wheel drive but still gives little feel as to exactly where the big Triton is actually going.
It looks funny. The front is all butch and Village People while the rear of the cabin curves up and around like Cinderella's coach and the wheel arches are way too big for the standard 16" alloy rims and 245/70 boots so it looks unfinished from the side.
Space station
It's huge inside. The front seats are wide, deep and business-class comfortable while the rear bench is way better shaped than most in its class and easily takes three bodies or pull down the centre armrest, pop your drinks in the cup holders and relax to the nice noises from the CD/MP3-compatible audio system.
The seats are trimmed with a pleasantly textured fabric (leather R8000) and the cabin is finished with quality plastics, smoothly styled and nicely fitted.
There are big pockets - with bottle-holders - in the doors and cup-holders in the centre console while a lidded box under the centre armrest keeps cellphones, CD's, garage remotes and house keys out of sight.
The fascia is neat and has three overlapping dials; something we didn't discover at the launch was that the instrumentation is backlit with a classy, soft blue light that doesn't mess up your night vision.
Completely intuitive
The three big knobs for the self-regulating air-conditioning look like they came out of a lucky packet but their operation is completely intuitive and the system works a treat - on "defrost" it cleared the windows in less than a minute after the Triton had stood outside all night.
The screen at the top of the centre stack houses the most comprehensive trip data computer I've seen, showing fuel consumption, range, ambient temperature, compass heading, what you're listening to, and more.
The mirrors and windows (including the one at the back of the cabin) are power-operated, locking can be remote-controlled and the big chromed mirrors work superbly (they need to); driver and front passenger each have a crash bag and pre-tensioning seat belts.
The bakkie is remarkably competent off-road with a choice of two or all-wheel drive and a low-range transfer box. The centre and rear differentials can be locked and you can change from two to 4x4 at up to 100km/h.
The load bay is rated for a ton (1045kg) so you can take plenty of toys with you over a weekend.
Bottom line
Don't buy a Triton for round-towning; imposing as it is, its size and clumsiness will eventually become a nuisance; for R307 900 you can get a lot more performance and comfort from a luxury sedan.
But if Out There is where you're at, it'll take you and your extreme toys there and back in surprising comfort, provided you're not in too much of a hurry. Think of it as your ticket out of the rat race.