Mitsubishi L200

[NickBristol]

Afternoon all,

The X5 is a write-off and was, to be honest, not really very practical at anything. I had sleepless nights at the thought of what transporting anything that had claws or had even seen mud or water would do to the leather :yikes: It was lovely but I'm not exactly mourning its loss.

As a replacement I'm thinking of a Mitsubishi L200 double-cab (4Life, Warrior or Animal model as the insurance on the above will cover it ). Does anyone here have any experience? What are they like in various conditions? Are they good on motorways as well as rural roads? I'm going to be moving to a rural environment pretty soon, and using it more to work on renovating the house and gardens (filling the back with rubble, bricks, soil, dogs, children in pushchairs etc) as well as the general shopping and commuting drive.

Cheers for any help and any alternative suggestions...

 

[EdS]

Is it going to be a company vehicle? If so watch the tax - they are in the process of altering the tax on double cabs due to the number of people "bending" the rules as they were classed as a commerial vehicle (1000kg pay load) rather than car thus cheaper tax class.


Not a bad motor though.

Why not get a nice smaller car and a and cheap Landy/Disco for the same money.

 

[tenbears10]

A mate got one recently and is chuffed but it drinks fuel on the motorway commute he has to do now he changed jobs. He + his better half did take 2 racers 2 mtbs and loads of gear to the alps in the summer (they left the kitchen sink but only just) and there was more than enough space. No need for racks for the bikes just in the covered load area.

The warriors are the more speccie versions but then if it is replacing an X5 ( what were you thinking) then a bog standard one would be a bit of a shock to the system.

Bill

 

[Lurch]

My brother has a Warrior, he's quite chuffed. He's a farmer and uses it to carry animals/feed/whatever. Quite noisy. He also has the power upgrade chip thingy which makes towing etc a bit less grief.
A mate has one and he has just bought a Landy 110 instead because of the larger capacity inside.

 

[Rob]

I have had an L200 for a couple of years now. I have done the power pack thingy etc. I use it on and off road.

I will put some more info on later about tax, mpg, problems etc, etc later, as the nasty systems admin is about to take the servers off line.

 

[Rob]

OK. Now the nasty admin has let me back on.

If you are used to an X5, get the power pack, or you will be upset. It is a heavy vehicle, and the extra hp really makes a difference.

As for company vehicle tax. At present, it is taxed like a van (about 125 per year), in 2007 this will go up to about 500. Still not bad compared to a car. If you are buying for work, this is a commercial vehicle, so you can get tax releif.

mpg - depending on how heavy your foot is. When I got mine, I could get 400miles out of a 60L tank, nowdays I am lucky to get 300 - especially if it is all motorway driving.

Servicing on mine is a £100 oil change every 4500, followed by a bigger service at the alternate 4500. I think they have increased the intervals in later models to 9000 for a service (inc the oil change).

General driving is very good. Mel and I enjoy driving it. It is ok offroad, but the paintwork will scratch at the slightest thing. I have driven it round an off-road course used for training, and it was ok. Turning circle is like a supertanker though.

Anything else, let me know.

 

[NickBristol]

Cheers for all the excellent info. All much appreciated, especially about the power upgrade. Had better look into that if I go ahead. Seen a few on the web which look good and worth a proper look.

Servicing is a bit on the frequent side tho isn't it? Hope it is 9k now or else it'll be in the garage all the time!

A bit of noise would be good, total silence at 70mph (ish) on a motorway is more than a bit disconcerting. Dont want too much noise tho obviously.

Any other alternatives? Apologies if this is covered in the what 4x4 thread - I've not read it yet :roll:

 

[Rob]

The noise isn't too bad - even at full pelt. Just get them to fit a 12CD Multichanger to it

 

[Squidders]

Sorry if I'm joining this thread a little late.

A good climbing mate of mine got a Warrior version of the L200 and it's fine other than it's road handling in the wet. The problem is that there is no weight over the rear wheels and it has a tendancy to just lose it with no warning.

It was comfy enough, we took it for a few trips to france and it drove easily enough up embankments etc. We didn't test its full off road potential but he likes it and it's handy for lugging stuff around on.

My father has a discovery and it's brilliant in Wales where they live, he uses it for towing the horse box, collecting hay and straw and pulling ford transit vans out of ditches in the snow. I would recommend one highly if you want a noisey and disconcerting ride with great off road capabilities

 

[Lurch]

A good climbing mate of mine got a Warrior version of the L200 and it's fine other than it's road handling in the wet. The problem is that there is no weight over the rear wheels and it has a tendancy to just lose it with no warning.

Pretty much true of any pickup of that style, made slightly worse by the relatively high power of the Warrior with the chip upgrade.

My first 'off' was a hilux on the Sunday morning following my test, slightly too hot on a wiggly corner :shock:
Only knocked the number plate off the front, but did a bit of ploughing in the hedge. Fairly sure Pater didn't twig.

 

[outdoorgirl]

We looked at the L200 when we were buying, and went for the HiLux instead. We have the single cab though (no kids to transport!)...

The HiLux has never let us down, although being a few years old (we bought 2nd hand) it's a bit noisy and doesn't really do much over 60 on motorways...

Great for load space and towing though - we've transported weaners (30lb piglets) in the covered load space (using the agri cover with the mesh door), and towed an agri trailer to transport the baconers to the abbatoir!

Pretty much indestructable (as proved by Top Gear recently) - we had a knock with a Mercedes C180 on the Gloucester ring road a couple of months ago; we were stationary waiting to get onto the next roundabout, and the car came out of a slip road, tried to go around us into the outside lane, and missed! :shock: We had to replace the tailgate and lights, have some respraying done etc. - his car was a write-off... He was most annoyed that a) the automatic transmission and safety features 'locked' the car up (all the brakes locked out and the car couldn't be moved) and b) none of his 14 airbags went off! ):

 

[NickBristol]

Cheers for the info people - still not made a decision so it all helps. :biggthump Glad nobody was hurt in your accident outdoorgirl. You should tell the Merc driver to get a Beamer - every single air-bag went off in the X5 which was a little pointless as it was empty at the time, unless you count the transit that was embedded in the side of it...

Bit concerned about the rear-end sliding out in the wet so that'll be an extra thing to keep in mind when it pours.

What about tyres? Do you find a need to change between a road / off-road hybrid to pure road or pure off-road?

Getting a bit tempted by a navara now, mostly as I like the advert on the telly, the little people remind me of fraggle rock for some reason :rolmao:

 

[Rob]

As for a slippery rear end :shock: it adds to the fun. If you are getting a pick-up, you will inevitably find this.

Depends what you are used to I spose. How many people (other than BMW drivers) have rear wheel drive nowadays.

Nothing to stop you slipping it in to 4x4 mode if it starts getting lively

 

[Squidders]

Lurch,

Happy birthday mate!

 

[outdoorgirl]

Tyres: Well, we've had the thing two years and are just about to get new tyres, at least on the front. We don't do a lot of long-distance driving, it's mostly journeys under 20 miles each way. We've never felt the need to swap tyres over, but then we don't drive real off-road, just muddy fields - nothing rocky.

Hope it helps...

 

[Lurch]

Lurch,

Happy birthday mate!

Cheers geeza!
Not that I'd be wasting my time on my PC on my birthday :?:

 

[mojofilter]

OK. Now the nasty admin has let me back on.

If you are used to an X5, get the power pack, or you will be upset. It is a heavy vehicle, and the extra hp really makes a difference.


mpg - depending on how heavy your foot is. When I got mine, I could get 400miles out of a 60L tank, nowdays I am lucky to get 300 - especially if it is all motorway driving.

Servicing on mine is a £100 oil change every 4500, followed by a bigger service at the alternate 4500. I think they have increased the intervals in later models to 9000 for a service (inc the oil change).

General driving is very good. Mel and I enjoy driving it. It is ok offroad, but the paintwork will scratch at the slightest thing. I have driven it round an off-road course used for training, and it was ok. Turning circle is like a supertanker though.

Anything else, let me know.

I had, untill recently, a shogun sport animal, which is essentially the same but is not a pickup.;

I would agree with everything rob has said, especially about the delicacy of the paint and the poor fuel economy, I never got more than 320 miles to a tank in a year. The turning circle is for some strange reason, far better on the shogun than the L200 :?:

The one thing I will add is that I didnt find the driving position very comfy for a long run.

stuarty

 

[havingagiraffe]

Don't forget to budget for the cost of a hard top to cover the bed. I was amazed at how expensive they are. Galvanised Ivor Williams canopies start around £300, and posh fiberglass ones aren't far short of a grand by the time they've been painted.