First introduced in 1978, Mitsubishi Strada completes 40 years in the market

MANILA: The Mitsubishi Strada is one of the most reliable names among all pickup vehicles across the globe. It was first introduced back in 1978 as the L200 model. However, for the home country (Japan), it was called the Forte. And over years, the name has just turned plush as we know it today as the Strada.

The car has now completed 40 years of market presence and earned the name of being a very reliable vehicle and has brought mobility to over four million customers around the globe. Yes, that is the number of units the company managed to sell to date.

The first car that was built in the year 1978 had a carrying capacity of one tonne and was easy to drive. However, to add ruggedness to the pickup truck, the company added its first ever 4x4 drivetrain to the vehicle in the year 1980. With the introduction of the mechanism, the company said that it laid the foundation of the present day AWD that we find in the Montero, Pajero and even the latest Strada itself.

The Mitsubishi Strada that is currently on sale in the Philippines market is available with two engine options but with three different tunings. The base models get a 2.5-litre engine which can put out a maximum power of 136 PS and a peak torque of 324 Nm. The other models have a 2.4-litre unit that makes 181 PS of power and 430 Nm of torque. However, with the same motor, GLS 4WD manual variant makes 178 PS and 400 Nm of power and torque respectively. Barring the GLS 2WD AT and MT, all other motors get a turbocharger linked.

With four decades of presence of the Strada, Mitsubishi is now working on the next generation of the pickup but hasn’t come up with any official word regarding its time of introduction. All we know now is that it will be based on the company’s latest design language and might look similar to the Montero Sport.