Test Drive: Mitsubishi L200 Sportero

I've always been a fan of Mitsubishi cars & trucks, up until recent style changes. After the CK4 lancer-era of mitsu's, the change to more unorthodox exterior design put me off. It seemed like Mitsubishi gave up on conventional styling and ran with a more space-age, futuristic look. It may have appealed to younger buyers who don't have the exposure to older-generation cars with classic looks, but IMO it didn't do much to revive Mitsubishi's slumping car-sales in the late 90's / early 2000's.

Which brings me back to the 2009-2010 Mitsubishi L200 Sportero (a.k.a. Triton). Space-age design is obviously bred into this generation of Mitsubishi's venerable pickup truck. Gone are the boxy, rugged and masculine looks of the 1990's era workhorse, replaced by an aggressive looking front which channels the spirit of the Evolution Lancer and a very modern interior (probably more modern that it should be). The curvy, egg-shaped design is a bit unsettling but settles down by the time you get to the tray.

This time, I didn't get to test-drive a brand-new L200 from the dealership, instead I test-drove a friend's relatively new (early 2010) Mitsubishi L200 around the Savannah and up to the lookout on Lady Young road.

Test Drive: Nissan Navara D40

Nissan's powerhouse pickup has been giving many names, one of them (my favourite) is "Mother Trucker". The Navara certainly earned that moniker, because this is one "mother" of a truck. Big, imposing, spacious, powerful and designed by Americans, the Nissan Navara was meant to conquer the market for light trucks and compact pickups. Borrowing much of its DNA from it's bigger cousin, the Nissan Titan (what an awesome name), it's easy to see why this truck became one of the best-selling vehicles in the UK and Australia. Even down in our little twin-island republic of Trinidad & Tobago, the Nissan Navara is definitely one of the market leaders in truck-sales. Let's take a look at this mother-fu... *ahem*.. mother-trucker.

"One bad mother"

Test Drive: Mazda BT-50

The Mazda BT-50 can probably best described as "The Quiet Workhorse". It gets the job done quietly, efficiently and without much fuss. Being the sister-truck to the Ford Ranger, it shares the same chassis and engines as it's twin, with subtle styling cues to the front fascia and rear tail-lights to separate the two. Given the Ranger's hard-earned reputation for being an almost bullet-proof workhorse with decent urban manners, the BT-50 should be expected to give similar performance figures.

After driving it around the Queens Park Savannah and up Lady Chancellor Hill, I came to the conclusion that the BT-50 is almost like a faithful horse from back in the cowboy-days. It'll be there for you when you need it, whenever you need it.

Test Drive: 2010 3.0L D4-D Toyota Hilux.

Vehicle : 2010 Toyota Hilux
Specs:
- 3.0 D4D 1KD-FTV with Variable Geometry Turbocharger, Common-Rail diesel
- 4x4 Automatic transmission
- Limited Slip Differential
- Full leather option (leather seats, shift knob, steering wheel)
- Full power options (powered windows, power steering, power wing mirrors, powered driver's seat adjustments)
- CD player/MP3 player

I've been watching the Toyota Hilux for some time now, but I've always put it in the back of my mind, due to the relatively more expensive list price of the truck (as compared to other pickups with similar trim). I'm aware of the resale value of Toyota's, as well as the reputation for reliability & dependability of these trucks (a la' Jeremy Clarkson and his failed attempt to kill a toyota hilux on Top Gear) but I've always wondered how could they justify their high price.

I got my answer when I test drove the Hilux this past weekend.

Welcome to my brand-spanking-new blog!

... take a deep breath.... smell the new plastic, unwrap the shrink wrap.
 Ahhhh....

Don't you just love that "new blog" smell?


Welcome to my new blog, 'TriniTruckBlog'. This is just a small site with collections of some thoughts, musings and insights to some of the pickup trucks available in my home country of Trinidad & Tobago.

I've been driving a Nissan Frontier, 2002 model, 3.0 litre turbocharged, direct-injection ZDD30T for almost 3 years now. Ever since I started driving it, I fell in love with the concept of "diesel power" and the frugal fuel-economy of these engines. Couple that with the "cowboy-workhorse-dependability" as well as rugged reliability and my infatuation was sealed: I loved pickup trucks. From hauling 5 bags of cement and 100 bricks, to hauling the family dogs to the beach, to just cruising around town or rushing to work - my pickup does it all for me (and much more).

And yet, there are so many more pickup-truck options available in Trinidad, and I feel pretty enthusiastic about them all (esp. the Ford Ranger and Nissan Navara). I do hope that you'll enjoy reading through my blog, my musings, reviews, test-drives, commentary, rants and technical data that I've gathered through much reading & research about these wonderful vehicles.


Diesel Powah!!!