Maybe you were like me – you saw the ad on the TV, and wondered what they were doing promoting the Triton as a family vehicle. Then the shot swings round to reveal it is in fact advertising the new Challenger. With the benefit of a closer look, its somewhat tricky to pin down where the Challenger fits in the Mitsubishi hierarchy. It is larger and performs better than the Outlander, yet I would prefer to ride in the Pajero for the sake of comfort and general security.

However, the Challenger is actually a bit of an enigma, and not a bad car at all, once you allow for the difficulties involved when it is stacked up against the mighty Pajero. The cabin has an unequivocally Triton-esque vibe, as if they have just repainted the sets with a single coat of watercolour. Leather seats and implicit Sat Nav are somewhat marred by the hard plastic casings scattered throughout.

The space is soaring, like Notre Dame or Saint Peter’s Basilica. Heads and legs wave free in the breeze, and five adults can be comfortably accommodated. If one so wishes, there is also the option to upsize to a seven-seater. And wait until you see the cavernous chamber awaiting you in the boot. 1813 litres makes for a substantially increased cargo space, ranking with the best of them. All of this combines to ensure that the Challenger is up to the demands of the most ambitious family holidays.
Pop the hood, and you will be confronted with the Mitsubishi 2.5-litre V4 diesel engine, giving off 131kW and 400nM of torque. This deals easily with the Challenger’s 2 tonnes of weight, especially as it comes coupled with a flexible five-speed transmission. The biggest selling point for this car, and what justifies Mitsubishi’s investment in its development, is the impressive fuel economy that works out at 8.3l/100km with a manual transmission, or 9.8 per 100 with an auto.

Sounds buffering remains unchanged from the Triton, so the engine can be heard from miles away with the windows up or down. It is at its loudest when started from cold and takes around 10 minutes to go from a welding drone to a slightly more respectable, but still irritatingly noisy, tractor style dull roar.

On top of this, big old cabins and boots mean that manoeuvring the vehicle round swerving bends is akin to driving an elephant across a tightrope, with the big steering ratio meaning more turns to get where you want.
The challenger makes use if a three-link live coil and stabiliser rear suspension gig, meaning a comfortable ride but shoddy, unresponsive handling. A whole range of body rolls go down when sweeping the leviathan round the twist.

IT is off-road, of course, that the Challenger makes its name. It figuratively walked over anything thrown at it. In most cases, the four wheel drive was all I needed to get over the rocky hills and plough through the damp creek beds on the family farm; meanwhile, for harder terrain I made use of the low range four wheel drive mode in addition to centre and rear differential locks further increasing traction.

The Challenger’s suspension articulation is amazing. The off-road juggernaut has no problems maintaining traction, even when a wheel is fully extended.

Approach and departure angles are also reasonable at 35 and 26 degrees respectively. The optional tow bar further decreases the departure angle, but can be removed for off-roading situations. With 220mm of ground clearance, the Challenger bypasses all rocks and body damaging protrusions.

At first glance, the Challenger seems to be a lost cause. If you take a closer look though, it presents a fantastic case for families after a large 4WD with plenty of room inside for both passengers and luggage. The way it performs off-road also confirms that it’s the 4WD king of the Mitsubishi range.

If you’re happy to sacrifice the luxury of the Pajero, the Challenger provides the best alternative option at an affordable price. To top it off, it doesn’t look too bad either.