Our Vans: Mitsubishi L200 2.4 MIVEC
6 July 2016: Attack of the clones
The Details
| Current mileage | 4001 |
|---|---|
| Claimed economy | 42.8mpg |
| Actual economy | 34.1mpg |
Given the onslaught of new pick-ups, you'd be forgiven for assuming that every single model is brand spanking new. That's the general idea of new things, isn't it? Grey men in design studios, engineering shops and production lines, spending years meticulously developing things. In this case: a big, burly pick-up truck that will plough through the opposition and emerging as the outright winner.
Well, as always in the automotive world, things are not what they seem. A few weeks ago Fiat jetted a few of us off to Italy to witness the monumental unveiling of its all-new Fullback pick-up truck. So, off we went to Turin to see what Fiat had built. Only, when the covers were removed, the 'all-new' Fiat was not actually all that new. In fact, it was nothing more than a Mitsubishi L200. Albeit it with a new grille and a different badge.
Fiat isn’t alone in rebadging other manufacturers’ pick-ups as its own. Rumour has it that the incoming Renault Alaskan will be based on the Nissan Navara, while the Mercedes-Benz pick-up - due in late 2017 - could also be rather Nissany in its construction and appearance.
To be fair to the manufacturers, building a new pick-up isn't particularly cheap. Most require millions of pounds and years of development time. Given the economic uncertainty in the world, it's perhaps unsurprising to see some manufacturers are keen on avoiding this and instead hiring someone at another factory to slap their badge on an existing model. And then let the PR machine to do the rest.
The Mitsubishi L200 and Fiat Fullback are almost identical, so which should you buy?
Given the shameless cloning that's going on, it's hardly surprsingl to see pick-up buyers getting confused. After all, how can you choose between two vehicles when they're almost identical on every level? Well, that's easy, you choose the one that gives the best value for money.
Take for the Fiat Fullback, for example, in LX trim it is similar in performance, spec and price to the L200 Warrior double cab. What's more, the Fullback is backed by Fiat's dealer network, which is larger than that of Mitsubishi’s, so if something goes wrong, you have more chance of getting the problem fixed out of office hours. That said, few pick-up buyers are going to buy a vehicle based simply on how many dealers it has behind it or how nice the staff are.
Instead, it will come down to money and who is willing to cut the best deal. On this front, having two identical vehicles is the perfect bargaining chip for pushing hardnosed sales staff for the lowest price. Fiat not willing to knock money off or throw in a free load cover? No problem, tell them you're off to the Mitsubishi dealer around the corner...
Since returning from Italy and reviewing the Fiat Fullback I have found that my L200 has continued to slowly improve its fuel economy, with an average of 34.1mpg. This has mostly been achieved by driving on my own to and from Heathrow, with cruise control active though. Over the next few weeks I'll be using it as family transport. Will the fuel economy continue to improve? Probably not.
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