As far as pickup trucks go, it seems that the Mitsubishi Triton is one of the safest
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.
Moreover, 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.
In collision avoidance testing, the Triton’s performance was also sound, with all aspects of the Safety Assist assessment combining to a score of 70 percent, the score threshold for a five-star rating.
On top of that, 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. What’s more, Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) are also encouraged within the Safety Assist area of assessment, and the Triton offers a direct DMS as standard.
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.
This five-star ANCAP safety rating applies to all 2WD and 4WD Double Cab variants on sale in Australia and New Zealand. Well, there you have it, it seems as far as pickup trucks go, the Mitsubishi Triton is one of the safest out there.
