The Australian car market is a new model richer: the Mitsubishi Express. However, the practical Mitsubishi is less Japanese than you’d expect given its name.
Last year it was announced that Mitsubishi as an alliance partner of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi would eventually get its own version of the Trafic, a van and passenger bus that is also part of Nissan (NV300) and Fiat (Talento) and that until recently also if Opel / Vauxhall Vivaro was sold. Mitsubishi’s variant has now been presented in the form of this brand new Express.
The new Mitsubishi Express is available purely as a right-hand drive variant, which is due to the fact that Mitsubishi’s bus is only available in Australia and New Zealand. It should come as no surprise that the Express is virtually indistinguishable from its alliance brothers and sisters. The Express has Mitsubishi logos on the front and in the interior it is purely the Mitsubishi emblem on the steering wheel that gives you away in a bus of the Japanese brand.
On the engine list of the Express to be produced in Sandouville, France, just like the Trafic, Talento and NV300, there is a 140 hp and 340 Nm strong 1.6 diesel and a 2.0 that kicks it up to 170 hp and 380 Nm. In Australia, the Trafic will face cars like the Ford Transit and the Toyota HiAce not available here. The Express actually follows the Delica, a Mitsubishi bus whose order version was sold as L400 in the Netherlands and where a Space Gear called passenger version was also available.