Mitsubishi L200 | Road Trip

4 January 2021 Redazione Lifestyle, News, Road Trips, Stories, Tested

When you get close to this Mitsubishi L200 you start feeling two very specific sensations: the imposing presence of the ready-for-war set-up and the desire to escape the city and reach places that would not be possible with a random car.

Words by Alessandro Marrone / Photos by Bruno Serra

It is a rather delicate moment, the one in which turning your eyes to the right you can’t see the edge of the road, while lowering it to your left you realize that the huge knobby tire of the L200 is literally overlooking the ravine. If wind would come, it would be panic, let alone if in this very moment someone comes from the opposite direction. Absurd, all good intentions and the fact that I lied to my colleagues and assured them that it would have been a quiet walk on a wide and lonely white road shatters into a thousand pieces as soon as the silhouette of an old Defender steps in front of us. I have to reverse and give way, honoring the road right of way for those who are uphill and the spirit of friendship that seems to unite the owners of off-road vehicles, especially when you meet up here, in a remote and uncontaminated piece of paradise.

Not without risking to reach the valley in record time, but crumpled up like a kicked can, I move the L200 with an ease that you wouldn’t believe possible, at least not after you burn more calories to get on board than during a whole weekend at the gym. The beauty is that thanks to the improved ground clearance made even more important by the particular set-up of this very specimen and to its gravel-focused tires, you can virtually climb on any type of obstacle, thus limiting maneuvers to clear the road for those coming from the opposite direction. The following moment you put into Drive using the automatic gearshift lever and straighten the steering, which, as standard on a pickup, is reduced to such an extent as to favor maneuverability and “navigation” on rough and slippery surfaces, at the expense of precision once on everyday roads.

We have come this far because when you get close to this Mitsubishi L200 you experience two very specific sensations: the first is the imposing presence of a front-end made much more aggressive thanks to the recent updates to the thinner LED headlights and the ready-for-war set-up put together by the guys at Mitsubishi Motors Italia and the second is the desire to escape from the city and reach places that would not be possible with a random car, where you can breathe deeply a bit of that freedom cornered by an infamous 2020. The Alta Via del Sale has not been a casual choice, because among the many white roads a stone’s throw from our offices, the images of some glimpses ‘bout this former military road that connects the Piedmontese and French Alps to the banks of the Ligurian Sea have definitively convinced us that it would be the ideal place to immerse ourselves in one of those adventures that are all in all rare for a people like us easier to find at the wheel of some supercar dealing with the asphalted hairpin bends of some Alpine pass.

Not this time and never like today am I happy to crawl at 30/40 kph, often having to put the wheels out of the single lane (two-way) and take full advantage of the climbing skills of the L200. It is a particular model – I have already told you and you can easily notice it by looking at Bruno’s pictures – but underneath a set-up ready for anything we find the Double Cab version with 5 seats and 4 doors, powered by an in-line 4 cylinder turbo-diesel 2.3-liter with 150 horsepower. To allow the L200 to move with ease, a torque of 400 Nm takes care of it, which is delivered at just 2,000 rpm, an aspect that on slippery surfaces and distributing traction on the rear axle only, will make the rear widen as if you were on a Corvette. In this context, traction is compulsorily set on both axles and both its height from the ground and the tires available make advancing on the Alta Via del Sale a child’s play, allowing us to enjoy the spectacular panorama that makes its way among the blanket of morning fog. Keep in mind that a Mitsubishi L200 is not a grand tourer for white roads, it is still a vehicle purely aimed at working purpose and this means that the engine is noisy – especially when the car is stationary – that the cockpit and the external panels are solid but more devoted to practicality rather than precision. In short, the L200 is a working vehicle that will certainly not make life easy when you are in the city center and you will have to park its 5,305 meters in length.

Traffic on the Via del Sale is sporadic, especially during the week, and among the numerous open spaces and the opportunity to climb almost everywhere to get out of the car and admire the landscape all around, you soon feel kidnapped by an uncontaminated place, an almost prehistoric world in its wildest beauty made of rock, green expanses and with only a thin strip of land that runs through it up to incredibly scenic points such as the famous Boaria hairpin, where we really have to stop once again even for a few shots with the drone and above all to observe the others face it and thus realize the ease with which the L200 is able to overcome traits that are anything but easy on a motorcycle or with less aggressive off-road vehicles. Wherever you look now, even in the void of a ravine engulfed by fog, you feel more in symbiosis with the environment around you and after a few more kilometers we stop for a quick packed lunch.

With wet grass due to a height of almost 2,100 meters, we decide to sit in the cargo compartment equipped with an intelligent box to stow objects that you do not want to leave in sight in the cabin and sit on the solid bulkheads, made even more muscular with black roll-bars that complete the set-up of our model. The ability to turn any type of terrain simple is also thanks to the low gears that get you out of the hindrance without making you realize how much you would have struggled with a different vehicle, all comfortably seated in the spartan cockpit of a pick-up designed for harsh situations, those works who mean to load bulky, heavy objects and perhaps tackle paths in less than perfect conditions. If you ask me, an L200 put down like this also winks at the weekend, both because aesthetically aggressive and at ease even when it comes to driving for the fun of it, but also because it offers you the capability to reach wonderful places like this path that connects Limonte Piemonte with Monesi di Triora.

With the fuel gauge ready to light up and the last stretch of road less scenic and mainly immersed in the dense vegetation of the Ligurian Mountains, we move the L200 towards the asphalt, ready to wash away the mud from wheels and mudguards, jump on board again and come back to the office with the great satisfaction of having experienced that taste that only similar adventures are able to offer. It is certainly not the ultimate car, after all it is designed as a light-duty truck, but in the exasperation of an extreme set-up it gives a sense to the simplest movements, making them fun, still facilitating and giving a little spice to the working environment which I assume can be used most of the time. For us it was the best way to set out to discover a magical place, where for once horsepower and aerodynamic downforce do not count, where you just need to forget your mobile phone in your backpack and enjoy the adventure.

MITSUBISHI L200 Double Cab 2.2 DI-D 4WD AT

Layout   –  Front-engined, rear/all-wheel-drive

Engine  –  4 cylinder 2.268cc – turbodiesel

Transmission  –  6-speed automatic gearbox

Power  –  150 hp @ 3.500 rpm

                      400 Nm @ 2.000 rpm

Weight  –  2.035 kg ca.

Acceleration  –  n.a.

Top Speed  –  171 kph

Price  –  from € 33.850