Following the completion of local testing, the new Mitsubishi Triton has been awarded ANCAP’s maximum five-star safety rating, applicable to all dual cab variants. Introduced to Australia in February 2024, the Triton is the first dual cab ute to be tested and assessed against the current 2023 to 2025 rating criteria.
“This rating demonstrates Mitsubishi’s determination and ability to design, build and deliver a five-star product,” said Carla Hoorweg, Chief Executive Officer at ANCAP. “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.”
The 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. 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 said it assesses the potential risk of injury to occupants of another car if struck by the tested vehicle. The Triton was seen to pose a relatively moderate risk compared with other vehicles of its type. According to ANCAP, this indicates a considered design by Mitsubishi, minimising the risk the Triton poses to other road users. This 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.
In collision avoidance testing, the Triton’s performance was sound, with all aspects of the safety assist assessment combining to a score of 70 per cent – the 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, but the functionality does not extend to more sophisticated AEB scenarios such as avoidance in T-bone intersection crashes and head-on crashes. This limited its overall safety assist score.
ANCAP said driver monitoring systems (DMS) are encouraged within the safety assist area of assessment, with the Triton offering a direct system 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,” said Hoorweg.
In addition to visual warnings, the manufacturer can choose between haptic or audible DMS warnings 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 onboard systems with future product revisions,” said Hoorweg.