Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2015 | Page 78

Westridge Garage
200 Great Preston Rd, Ryde
Tel: [phone]
www.westridgegarage.co.uk

W

hen I was a young kid I loved Tonka
Toys, what boys didn’t? Now I’m a bit
older I suppose a bit of this still remains
in the blood. I think the new Mitsubishi
L200 is a real stunner, a perfect boys toy,
and I would probably say its one of the
best pickups on the market at the
moment. For those of you out
there who are watching their
pennies the L200 offers the
best value for money.
The latest L200 in the
Mitsubishi stable offers
over 300 improvements on
the previous model.
This is a pickup with heaps
of ground clearance! One of the
great things about this pickup is that it
will go anywhere and tow a decent payload.
On these points the L200 ticks all the boxes
with flying colours.
I drove the manual L200 Barbarian model
which is their best offering within this
range. This model comes standard with
including dual-zone climate control, sat-nav,
DAB radio, a rear-view camera and leather
upholstery, super select 4 wheel drive,
heated seats, electric drivers seat. Not a bad
offering for £23,799 (ex VAT).
Selecting 4WD is a lot easier because the
system is now electronic for the very first

78

www.goilife.co.uk

Mitsubishi L200
Barbarian
time, and can be changed while travelling at
speeds of up to 62mph. There are two 4WD
systems on the L200; the Easy Select on the
4Life, and Super Select on the Titan, Warrior
and Barbarian trim levels.
The L200 is certainly a striking machine,
and all the more so in Barbarian trim,
which has a whole heap of chrome
trim on the outside, as well as a
sports grille, leather upholstery,
puddle lamps and LED mood
lighting. Admittedly, the
plastics in the cabin are built
to last and therefore not as soft
to touch as you may be used to,
but the build quality is good; and,
besides, some people may even like
the fact that the materials reflect the truck’s
roots as a working vehicle.
All L200s are set up as double cabs, which
means they have rear doors and a second
row of seats. As long as your passengers
can cope with the climb into the rear (due
to the great ground clearance), they’ll find a
huge amount of headroom; and unless you
carry an inconsiderate front passenger who
pushes their seat right back, there’s plenty
of legroom, too. True, the narrower centre
seat means it’s a bit of a squeeze to fit three

adults across the rear seat, but whether
you’re taking a couple of colleagues to work
or your family away for the weekend, you’ll
have no problem fitting them in.
Driving the L200 is enjoyable, it has oodles
of ground clearance which will prove useful
for those who intend to use the L200 for
what it was designed for. The power is
supplied by a 2.4lt engine which can be a
tad noisy at times, especially if you’ve come
from an SUV, but again I keep emphasising
that this is primarily a works vehicle.
If I was in the business that required this
sort of vehicle would I buy an L200? The
answer is a resounding YES!
• Model: Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian
• Price: £23,799 (exc. VAT)
• Engine: 2.4-litre turbodiesel, 6-speed manual
• Power/Torque: 178bhp/317lb ft
• 0-62mph: 10.4 secs
• Top speed: 111mph
• Economy: 42.8mpg
• CO2/BIK tax liability: 173g/km/LCV rate
• Braked towing capacity: 3100kg
• Max payload: 1,045kg
• Cargo bed dimensions (length/width/
height): 1470/1470/475mm