Rear disc brakes in development for new Mitsubishi Triton
The new Mitsubishi Triton has stuck with rear drum brakes despite a more powerful engine and heavier body. But an upgrade to rear discs is on the way.
The just-revealed 2024 Mitsubishi Triton is poised to introduce rear disc brakes – but the upgrade will need to wait for an updated model due in a few years from now.
Despite a larger body said to be five to 10 per cent heavier than before, an all-new frame and a more powerful engine, the Mitsubishi Triton has not made the leap to rear disc brakes, and retains old-school drum brakes at the rear.
Most versions of the new Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok, all GWM Ute and LDV T60 pick-ups from China, and all SsangYong Mussos from South Korea now offer rear discs – but the Toyota HiLux, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 retain rear drum brakes on nearly all models as they are cheaper and still reasonably effective.
Chief product specialist for the new Mitsubishi Triton, Yoshiki Masuda, told Australian media an upgrade to rear disc brakes is planned for Mitsubishi’s new ute alongside more advanced safety features.
“At this moment the rear is a drum, but in order to be compatible with some more ADAS [advanced safety] and auto parking [features], we want to have a rear [disc] brake – and for performance as well,” the executive said.
“Maybe sometime [at a future] upgrade, a minor model change, we would like to consider discs.”
A ‘minor model change’ – also known as a ‘facelift’ or ‘mid-life update’ – is industry speak for a major update for the current generation of a vehicle approximately in the middle of its planned life cycle.
Based on the nine-year life cycle of the outgoing Mitsubishi Triton, an upgrade to rear disc brakes may not arrive until 2027 or 2028.
When asked to clarify if rear disc brakes are in the plan for a future model update, Masuda-san said “definitely”.
The executive said this model upgrade could also see the introduction of a widescreen 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster – to match the Ford Ranger and VW Amarok – replacing the current 7.0-inch screen and two analogue dials.
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