There’s room for a tougher Ford Ranger Raptor rival in Mitsubishi Australia’s showrooms, the company says.
The company has unveiled its most powerful crew cab yet – the 2026 Mitsubishi Triton Raider – which goes on sale next month and will take on the Ford Ranger Tremor.
In conversation with Daily Sparkz Speaking at the unveiling, Mitsubishi Australia general manager of product strategy Bruce Hampel said the Triton Raider was a pioneer of potentially even more capable off-road models.
“We believe there is that opportunity – and I think we’re testing the waters here now (with Triton Raider),” he said. “What we’re looking at is whether customer demand for these types of products is really there – if so, we can go further, right?”
Tuned locally by Melbourne-based Premcar, the Triton Raider features upgraded off-road suspension and steering, wider 18 x 9.0-inch ROH alloy wheels and off-road tires fitted in Australia, as well as exterior and cabin visual enhancements.
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Despite being more powerful, Mr Hampel said it was positioned against the Ford Ranger Tremor and Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, which are priced at about $75,000 before on-road costs – a price Mitsubishi has not previously targeted.
That positioning means the Triton Raider can’t yet match the performance – or $90,690 (before on-road costs) price – of the Ranger Raptor, but that doesn’t mean Mitsubishi isn’t gearing up to grab a piece of Ford’s pie.
“Across the range we may be able to use the Raider concept on other nameplates, but we may also look to take the Triton to a higher level again,” he said Daily Sparkz.
The Ford Ranger Raptor was developed in Australia. The first generation was launched in 2018 and features advanced off-road suspension, including Fox dampers, immediately putting it in a class of its own.
The second generation, launched in 2022, addressed the original’s main criticism by replacing the 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine producing 292kW and 583Nm, providing hot hatch-like acceleration.
While rivals have launched more off-road-focused variants of their U-models – including the Toyota HiLux GR Sport – and Nissan has commissioned Premcar to develop the Navara Pro-4X Warrior, the Ranger Raptor still lacks a real competitor and remains the benchmark for performance dual-cab U-models in Australia.
Premcar boss Bernie Quinn said at the same event that the Melbourne-based company was prepared to step in if Mitsubishi opted for a more extreme Triton.
“We will always be there to support,” he said. “Nobody knows what the cap is yet. I mean, the cap is just getting higher and higher, especially with crew cabs. So I imagine this (Triton Raider) is the first step and then we push further from the cap.”
MORE: Explore the Mitsubishi Triton showroom
