Mitsubishi Triton lines up as next dual cab to offer five-star safety

Fresh from completion of rigorous local testing, the new Mitsubishi Triton has been awarded ANCAP’s maximum five-star safety rating. The Triton is the first dual cab ute to be tested and assessed against the current 2023-2025 rating criteria.

The Mitsubishi Triton demonstrated high levels of protection for the driver, front-seat adult passenger, and child occupants in the majority of physical crash tests. Maximum scores were achieved by the passenger in the frontal offset test, the driver in the full width frontal and oblique side pole tests, and both child dummies in the frontal and side impact tests. Opportunities for improvement were noted for the chest and upper legs of the smaller rear passenger in the full width frontal test where a Weak chest score was recorded and a penalty applied for increased risk of abdominal injury in this crash scenario.

As part of the suite of destructive tests, ANCAP assesses the potential risk of injury to occupants of another vehicle if struck by the tested vehicle. The Triton was shown to pose a relatively moderate risk compared with other vehicles of its type. This indicates a considered design by Mitsubishi, which minimises the risk the Triton poses to other road users. This considered approach to design was also evident in the pedestrian impact tests, where the grill and bumper scored well in assessment of risk to a pedestrian’s leg or pelvis.

“This rating demonstrates Mitsubishi’s determination and ability to design, build and deliver a five-star product,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

“Dual cab utes are some of the highest-selling models in Australia and New Zealand – purchased in volume by general consumers and fleet buyers alike. In many cases, they’re a tool-of-trade vehicle, yet they’re also family staples, so it’s pleasing to see Mitsubishi strive for and achieve this five-star result.”

“There is an established and well-recognised market expectation for five-star vehicles among the ute segment. The aspiration of manufacturers to achieve five-stars should extend across all market segments, not just those targeted by fleet buyers.”

In collision avoidance testing, the Triton’s performance was sound, with all aspects of the Safety Assist assessment combining to a score of 70% - the score threshold for a five-star rating. The Triton is fitted with an autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system capable of detecting and responding to other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists in a mix of scenarios, however the Triton’s functionality does not extend to the more sophisticated AEB scenarios such as avoidance in T-bone intersection crashes and head-on crashes. This limited its overall Safety Assist score.

Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) are also encouraged within the Safety Assist area of assessment, and the Triton offers a direct DMS as standard.

“Direct driver monitoring systems are relatively new across the market, with the Triton being one of the first direct DMS systems we’ve assessed locally. The Triton met ANCAP protocol requirements in alerting for fatigue and distraction, however Mitsubishi’s implementation of this system could be improved by reducing unnecessary warnings to the driver,” Ms Hoorweg said.

In addition to visual warnings, the manufacturer can choose between haptic or audible DMS warnings in order to score points under ANCAP protocols. Distraction warnings when reversing, parking or during slow-speed manoeuvres below 10km/h are not required or rewarded by ANCAP.

“Utes in our market generally have longer model lifecycles than passenger cars, and this presents a clear opportunity for Mitsubishi to introduce additional functionality and improved performance of on-board systems with future product revisions.”

This five-star ANCAP safety rating applies to all 2WD and 4WD Double Cab variants on sale in Australia and New Zealand.

Full details on the safety performance of the Triton can be viewed here.