Mitsubishi D50 Reviews

This popular ute has just received a specialist Australian boost.

Is there a more important vehicle category in dual-cab-devoted Australia than utes? I’m not sure there is. And I’m also sure that, in a segment that has sat stagnant for years, there has never been a more exciting time to be picking the best and brightest in the country.Where do we start? Maybe with China’s full-throttle assault on the segment? Or with the rise of plug-in hybrid petrol in a diesel-dominated market? Or Kia turning its hand to a ute for the very first time? Or BYD, for that matter?See what I mean? It’s an exciting time to be picking the best ute in Australia as part of the ongoing 2026 CarsGuide Car of the Year (COTY) awards, and the days of it being a two-way battle between the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger are well behind us.But to pick a winner, we first need to choose the best of the best that will be battling for the top prize. So without further adieu, this is the CarsGuide Car of The Year top-10 shortlist for sub-$85K Utes.This category's winner and two runners-up will be announced on February 6, 2026.Perhaps no other ute has been quite as surprising as the barnstorming BYD Shark 6, which has not only taken the fight to the established giants of the ute segment, it has done it without a diesel engine in sight.Instead, a plug-in hybrid powertrain does the heavy lifting here, with BYD arguably doing more to electrify the ute segment than any model to come before it. Our reviewers love the on-road refinement and the value-packed feature list, but concede its towing capacity lags its major rivals.It’s also on our shortlist because of its segment-altering drivetrain, which has forced several mainstream ute makers to follow its lead.A classic and the best-selling ute in the country for a reason. The Ford Ranger is on our shortlist for its driving dynamics (it’s among the most car-like utes on our list), which takes nothing away from its ability to get down and dirty in terms of towing or off-road capability.What really drew praise from our judges, though, is the breadth of the Ranger’s offering, with worksite-ready versions, family friendly versions, hardcore off-road versions, and a choice between several diesel engines or plug-in hybrid powertrains.That said, some pointed to the PHEV solution offering little in the way of real-world range.The unsung hero of Australia’s automotive world (it is, after all, often one of our top five best-selling vehicles), the Isuzu underwent a fairly major update that ironed out some of its more agricultural qualities with some design, cabin and technology updates.The D-Max was praised by our judges for doing exactly what it says on the tin, and delivering exactly what many ute buyers are looking for, with little fuss or fanfare. But some wonder whether it feels new and fresh enough.The entry-level cars also get a bigger smaller engine, if that makes sense. With the old 1.9-litre diesel swapped out for a 2.2-litre unit that’s both more powerful and more efficient. Tick and tick.Kia burst onto the ute scene with the boldly designed Tasman, a ute that really does look like few others on the road.Our judges were unanimous in praising the Tasman’s delightful and tech-filled cabin experience and its road manners, and reports of its off-road prowess are impressive, too.Its looks seemingly remain controversial, at least among the buying public, but there’s little doubting Kia’s first ute has plenty of substance, no matter what you think of its style.Sure, the BYD Shark 6 has been getting a ton of attention, but the LDV Terron 9 has been quietly plugs away as one of the biggest, and thus most practical in terms of tray, utes in the segment.And with 520Nm of torque at its diesel-powered disposal, it’s pretty punchy, too (as a vehicle this size probably needs to be).Our reviewers praised the space on offer in its tray, the strong value-for-money argument and its imposing street look, but were less sold on the lack of a power outlet in its tray and a sometimes lumpy power delivery.The BT-50 tends to stick out a little bit, both in the ute segment (where rough and tough is the design order of the day), and in Mazda’s own lineup, where the dual-cab ute rubs shoulders with mostly premium and polished SUVs.Early last year, Mazda addressed both those issues, deploying an Australia-led design overhaul intended to make the BT-50 “sportier and tougher”, clearly separating it from the rest of the brand’s lineup, and appealing more to traditional ute buyers.Our reviewers loved the look, the diversity of the range and the lux feel of the top-spec models, but didn’t love the too-firm suspension and the lack of a true hero model.The Chinese brand’s first-ever ute isn’t strictly its own, or at least not entirely. The MG U9 is a sibling to LDV Terron 9, which also appears on our shortlist.Our reviewers loved the U9’s interior space, especially in the impressive backseat, the ute’s sharp pricing against the established competition, and the nifty automatic step that deploys beneath the tailgate — described as “the nicest and definitely the easiest” way to climb into the tray.The active safety tech, however, impressed us less.The Mitsubishi Triton is a household name, albeit one that’s been left behind by the HiLux, Ranger and D-Max in recent years. A new generation arrived in 2024 that aimed to fix that, delivering more space, more power, more practicality and more space in the cabin.We loved the smoother drive experience, its warranty coverage (provided you service with Mitsubishi), its more modern-feeling cabin and its workhorse credentials.The less-positive notes included a clunky stop-start system and over-active safety tech.A new HiLux is big news in Australia, and while Toyota has opted to carry over a lot of key ingredients from the outgoing HiLux, they've also moved to address key complaints, like ride comfort and cabin technology, and to introduce a new look.And while our reviewers praised the updates, they also wondered whether Toyota had gone far enough in the face of new and stiff competition.The Volkswagen Amarok hasn't made quite the sales splash in Australia that its Ford Ranger relative has, but the German brand's ute has attracted plenty of praise from our reviewers, who love its style, its interior packaging and materials, and its on-road manners.Less positive is the sticker price of the high-end variants, and the sparse backseat amenities in the more affordable models. 

Mitsubishi's tough new 4WD icon will arrive this year.The new Mitsubishi Pajero will be released towards the end of 2026, according to Japanese outlet Best Car. Mitsubishi Motors president Takao Kato made the announcement at the Tokyo Auto Salon this year.“We will launch a new cross-county SUV in 2026,” Kato said. It has not been confirmed what will underpin this new Pajero, but it is rumoured to be based on the current Triton ute from Mitsubishi.This means it would get a ladder frame chassis, which would give it riugged off-road ability but poorer on-road driving dynamics.The fact Kato said it would be a "cross-country SUV" could mean it would follow in the footsteps of past Pajeroes and use an SUV-like monocoque structure. Land Rover's Defender uses the same setup.Mitsubishi Australia’s GM Product Strategy & Product PR Bruce Hampel told CarsGuide late last year both underpinnings have their pros and cons.“The old Pajero was a monocoque as well, right? So people don't even really think of that nowadays. It was just the Pajero, this durable off-road vehicle. So what are they expecting? Are they expecting another monocoque from us, or is it a body on frame?," he asked.“I think Land Rover has done a lot to prove that it can be achieved with a monocoque. And I guess with a monocoque you get the improvements in terms of the on-road handling, the lack of… body-on-frame shake, without really causing too many limitations off road.“But it's a very expensive car to engineer and develop. Watch this space, which path we head.”The off-road pedigree of the Pajero sees the car shape up as a rugged rival to Toyota’s LandCruiser and the Nissan Patrol. Speculation around a new Pajero has been growing in the past year.It looks like if the new off-roader comes to Australia, it will just be called the ‘Pajero’ and drop the ‘Pajero Sport’ name of the outgoing model.Earlier this month, the brand teased its new Pajero in a video to celebrate its Ralliart pedigree.The video ended with footage of the 2007 Mitsubishi Pajero Evo Dakar Rally vehicle, followed by a shadowy clip of what looks likely to be the new Pajero.CarsGuide spotted the incoming Pajero in camouflage in Western Victoria just before Christmas, likely being tested ahead of a potential local arrival.Production on the last Pajero ceased in 2021, where it was replaced by the Pajero Sport in Australia.The Pajero Sport was axed from Mitsubishi's Australian line-up in 2025, after it failed to meet new Australian Design Rules.Mitsubishi Australia at the time said a replacement would head our way in the future, but was not sure it would be called the Pajero Sport. This lends support to the fact the new off-roader will be called Pajero.

To torture a well worn Mark Twain reference, if Australia’s 2025 new vehicle sales numbers are anything to go by, reports of the diesel engine’s death are greatly exaggerated.According to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries VFacts registration data, for the full calendar year of 2025 diesel-powered vehicles across passenger, SUV and light commercial segments totalled 364,605 units, only 1.7 per cent lower than 2024’s overall number (370,818).In fact, sales of diesel-powered passenger cars were up 1.3 per cent year-on-year (10,372 vs 10,242) with diesel SUV sales rising no less than 6.0 per cent (122,603 vs 115,670).Diesel light-commercial sales were down 5.4 per cent (231,630 vs 244,906) while plug-in hybrid commercials went from zero in 2024 to 20,634 last year.A coincidence that 18,073 examples of BYD’s Shark 6 PHEV dual cab ute found homes last year? We think not.The Ford Ranger was the best selling vehicle in 2025, but it wasn't alone at the top.Traditional diesel-heavy sellers the Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Everest and Toyota Prado filled the third to sixth slots on the 2025 overall sales leader board with others such as the Mitsubishi Triton lifting year-on-year volume, too. Only the second placed Toyota RAV4 Hybrid managed to break up diesel's dominance atop the new car sales charts last year.Of course, nothing stays the same forever and given the rapidly shifting form of the Australian new vehicle market and the increasing impact of the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) regime there’s a chance the diesel engine’s status may have changed dramatically by the end of 2026.But for now, it appears diesel power isn’t headed for the automotive graveyard just yet.  Australian diesel vehicle registrations:

Australian four-wheel drive fans rejoice, a new Mitsubishi Pajero is on the way.

The Australian new car market is going through one of its biggest changes to date.A wave of budget-focused Chinese brands has washed over the market in the past two years, eating away into the sales of many established carmakers.The emergence of new technologies such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles will change the cars we drive forever.Despite that, some things have stayed the same. Diesel-powered utes and 4WDs are the dominant force in Aussie motoring, but new models are snapping at their heels.Here are the best selling 100 vehicles in Australia during the past year.

Mitsubishi has just slapped a new face on its popular Triton workhorse, but there’s a catch.The new look ute is a special edition only available in Thailand, dubbed the Mega Cab Street Edition. But could it point to a future new look Aussie version?Thailand is where the majority of Aussie-bound utes are built, and the South-East Asian nation is more mad for utes than Aussies, so they sometimes get special treats not for us.It is still very rare that a model gets a completely new face for one variant, which could point to a future facelift for the polarising-looking ute.The current Triton was launched in Australia in early 2024, which means it isn’t due for a proper facelift for a few years yet, but the company might tweak its styling to help boost sales.The biggest change is a new front grille. The Street Edition ditches the three slate grille design of the standard Triton for a blacked-out layout that has shades of the brand’s diamond badge theme.The front lighting signature varies slightly with the bottom fog lights featuring a tweaked shape. And the coloured highlights connecting the three levels of front lighting are gone, too.The lower bumper has been changed to black rather than body colour, which combined with the black grille gives it a meaner look.There aren't the same chrome highlights which feature on several Aussie delivered models.Thai-delivered vehicles are less well equipped than Australian versions, and the Street Edition is a base low-riding version. This means there isn’t much to crow about.It has 17-inch black alloy wheels, and it is only available with a Mega Cab layout, which is a two seat cabin with a sizeable storage area behind (usually called extra cab in Aus).Mitsubishi and other big-name ute makers are under pressure from a wave of new, affordable models arriving from China.These models are often updated very quickly in response to customer demand and feedback, which may force some more established rivals to follow suit and make running changes to vehicles outside the four to five year mid-life update schedule.

These are officially Australia's favourite cars.

Mitsubishi has just teased its new Pajero large SUV as it draws closer to an official reveal.The brand has released a promotional video celebrating its rallying heritage, with clips of its previous success and its most recent triumph with the Triton ute. Towards the end of the video on the Mitsubishi YouTube channel, the new Pajero is featured driving along a road in dim lighting for roughly five seconds. While we get little more than a silhouette, the front light design matches up with a camouflaged version of the Pajero spied by CarsGuide in Australia late last year.  The video confirms a more boxy overall design on the new Pajero as spotted on the spy pictures of the pre-production test mule.It further reveals straighter window frames and a flat roofline as part of the design tweaks. It is expected Mitsubishi will drop the ‘Pajero Sport’ nameplate altogether to revive the ‘Pajero’ name, which was retired in 2021. It has been previously reported the new Pajero will be based on the new-generation Triton ute, supporting the increased likelihood of a body-on-frame chassis.This chassis set-up highlights the next Pajero's potential for rugged off-roading capabilities.The soon-to-be outgoing Pajero Sport battles in the hotly-contested large SUV segment, where it mustered more than 5500 sales in 2025 up to the end of November, which is a roughly 19 per cent drop on last year. It trails several of the big hitters in the segment such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X which combined for nearly 30,000 sales in 2025. The new Pajero is likely to form part of the brand’s Momentum 2030 plan, which will see a comprehensive revamp of the Mitsubishi range over the next five years. It will focus on developing new energy cars such as those with hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric powertrains.It is unclear when we may see the speculated Pajero in full form, but this latest teaser from the brand indicates it's edging closer to the showroom.Regardless, it is unlikely we will see the Pajero back in Australia before 2027. 

In the age of increasingly dominant Chinese car brands, how can Japanese favourites stand out?