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Christopher Jackson | 9/6/2007 | Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi has been out of the pickup game for a while. Fans of the nigh-indestructible Mighty Max of the 1980s have lamented this fact for some time, as Mitsubishi has concentrated on the car side of the business for the past decade or so.
For 2006 the diamond-star logo returns to a pickup truck, and the result promises to be one of the most impressive debuts of 2006 on the truck side of the business.
For its return to truck-dom, Mitsubishi has taken advantage of DaimlerChrysler's engineering expertise, and most of the Raider's components are borrowed from the new mid-size Dodge Dakota pickup. This seems fitting, as the Raider moniker was originally attached to a Dodge-badged Mitsubishi Montero. With Mitsubishi's unique sports car-influenced style and attitude however, the Raider is a wholly different truck, and it breaks new ground in its market.
It may be a Dakota clone under the skin, but Mitsubishi got the best sheetmetal, inside and out. Designed at Mitsubishi's California design studio, the Raider is one of the best-looking pickups out there, successfully combining sports car influences and flowing lines with pickup truck sensibility. A bold single-bar grille dominates the front end, with chrome wrapping under the headlights and a distinctive character line that forms the wheel arches, similar to Mitsubishi's Endeavor SUV. The Raider's upper surfaces are smooth, contrasting with the highly sculpted sides. At the rear, the taillights are clear with chrome elements. It's one of the best-looking pickups out there. Mitsubishi offers the Raider with an extended cab or with a four-door double cab. We drove the work- and mud-ready DuroCross; the Raider also comes in LS and luxurious XLS models. The DuroCross comes standard with adventurous equipment like mud guards, side steps and a standard bedliner, as well as foglights and skid plates for four-wheel drive models. It's larger than the Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier, but not quite as big as a full-size truck.
The dash is unique too, with a simple, three-gauge design and drastically uncluttered layout. Smooth surfaces abound. Some controls are hard to find at first--the 4x4 switch had to be pointed out to us--but the simple layout works well for a pickup. The seats are comfortable front and rear, and the console offers storage for small items. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, oversized side mirrors and other truck must-haves. Uplevel options abound, from Sirius satellite radio to a Bluetooth hands-free phone link. The rear seats are large enough for full-sized human beings, too, so long as you don't leave them back there very long.
The Raider is decent on the road, benefiting from improvements to the Dakota's ride and handling. Coil-over shocks are used up front, with steps taken to reduce camber change when the suspension moves. The Raider's got good steering feel, as a result. Off-road it can be a bit of a handful, as the Durocross' oversize tires and long wheelbase add up to a bit of head-toss when the road gets severely uneven. A fully boxed frame provides a solid foundation, and includes the innovative impact-absorbing hexagonal frame tips used on the Dakota.
Unlike its competitors from Japan, the Raider offers a choice of V6 or V8 power. The 3.7 liter overhead-cam V6 makes 210 horsepower and is similar to the powerplant that has proven itself in Dodge and Jeep products. The 4.7 liter V8 is basically the same engine with two cylinders added, and boosts power to 230 horses. Both engines are "old-tech" single overhead-cam mills. No multi-valve foolishness here; the Raider is a simple pick-em-up at heart. The V8's fuel economy is surprisingly good, too, with a highway figure of 20mpg. Properly equipped, the Raider will tow up to 6500 pounds.
It's a good-looking truck, and a fine way to re-introduce Mitsubishi to the pickup truck market. The improved design gives this truck a much more modern feeling than the square-rigged Dakota. The Raider is available now, with starting prices ranging from $19,810 for a 2WD V6 to $33,920 for the full-Cleveland XLS AWD with a V8.
Specifications:
All specs are for the 2006 Mitsubishi Raider.
Length: 219.9 in.
Width: 71.9 in.
Height: 68.6 in.
Wheelbase: 131.3 in.
Base price: $19,810 (2WD V6)
Engine: 3.7 liter V6 or 4.7 liter V8
Drivetrain: six-speed manual or four-speed automatic (V6); five-speed automatic (V8)
Horsepower: 210 @ 5200 (V6); 230 @ 4600 (V8)
Torque: 235 @ 3600 (V6); 290 @ 3600 (V8)
Est. mileage: 15/20
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