GALLERY: Mitsubishi Triton Athlete, new range-topper

Last week, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) launched the 2021 Mitsubishi Triton Athlete, the new range topper that replaces the Triton Adventure X as the most feature-rich and expensive Triton. MMM has gone for an aggressive look with the new Athlete, which easily stands out in the range. Here’s a full gallery.

The biggest contributor to the Athlete’s bold look that big black Dynamic Shield nose. It consists of a gloss black under garnish and gloss black radiator grille. This black section replaces the regular Triton’s silver trim and chrome cheekbones. The Thai-market Athlete has Mitsubishi script embossed below the diamond logo – we don’t get this double branding, and that’s no bad thing.

It’s more black on the sides, which once again replaces all silver or chrome trim on the regular Triton. The side mirror caps and door handles are in gloss black (they were in chrome on the Adventure X), and the side steps are also dark (was silver). The previously two-tone 18-inch wheels are in black here, and the Athlete adds on aero type window deflectors a.k.a. door visors.

Dirt track-style graphics are a thing for trucks these days, and the Triton Athlete wears such decals. It’s big, covering almost half of the truck and extending into the front doors. The side stripes have “Triton Athlete” emblazoned near the tail lamps. No decals on the tailgate, but there’s an Athlete badge on the right side. Of course, the bumper and handle trim are in gloss black.

Inside, the new range-topper comes with orange stitching on the leather-wrapped steering, gear knob and handbrake lever (but not on the seats), plus LED illuminated scuff plates. By the way, our leather seats are still in black, unlike the Thai version, which is rather heavy on orange inside.

All else remains the same as the Adventure X, which means under the hood is a 2.4 litre MIVEC turbodiesel with 181 PS and 430 Nm of torque, paired to a six-speed automatic transmission (with steering shift paddles) and a Super Select 4WD-II system with hill descent control.

In the safety department, the Triton Athlete comes with safety features described by MMM as class leading. The list of kit includes Forward Collision Mitigation (FCM), Blind Spot Warning with Lane Change Assist (BSW with LCA), Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Ultrasonic Misacceleration Mitigation System (UMS), Auto High Beam (AHB) and seven airbags (front, side, curtain, driver’s knee).

The Athlete also comes with an all-round monitor (360-degree parking camera), dashcam and 7.0-inch touchscreen head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

Available in the signature Sun Flare Orange Pearl colour you see here (first introduced in November 2020 for the Triton Adventure X), White Diamond and Jet Black Mica, the Triton Athlete is priced at RM141,500 on-the-road without insurance (pick-up trucks don’t get SST exemption). That’s RM3,600 more than the superseded Adventure X.

Too aggressive or expensive for you? Below the Athlete are the Triton AT Premium (RM121,000), Triton MT Premium (RM113,300), Triton AT (RM105,990), Triton MT (RM100,200) and the workhorse Triton Quest (RM79,890). What do you think of the Triton Athlete? Tough guy rivals include the Toyota Hilux Rogue and Ford Ranger Wildtrak. The new Isuzu D-Max is launching very soon.