Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

a friend is asking about JDM 4X4 pickup trucks. theres the Strada, of course, and theres a Nissan, and the Hilux. but seeing as im partial to Mitsubishi's and their motors, id like to see him in a Strada. but of course the usual questions...
Parts?
Handling?
Off Road?
Towing?
Bed size?

what do you think?

The Strada is comfortable but much as I love the Mitsu's, it doesn't hold a candle to a solid front/rear axle Hilux with the dualcab and 3L engine. That is a 'real' truck. You can't kill them.

It depends what they want to use it for.

The Hilux is a workhorse and the Strada is more comfortable and nicer riding.

Engine parts are the same for both. Drivetrain and electrical will be easy (NA 4runner/Toyota pickup) for the Hilux.

The Hilux will rust quicker than the Strada.

parts seem to be alright. I've been able to get a few things either for a mitsu mighty max or dodge ram 50 as a interchange.

handling: shocks were gone when I first got it so it leaned alot in the turns. still leans a little with new shocks(mighty max parts again, but only fronts, rears are 2" longer than the mighty max for some reason and I haven't looked for them yet), but thats probably because I test drove a few early 2000 toyotas prior to buying this...technology

turning radius sucks, and you can't do much about it. I've got a thread somewhere on here about it. I might have changed mine by 2 feet (max), so I'm somewhere around 42 feet
turning diameter
strada - 44 feet (outside to outside) standard
others (yota, chev...) - 34-37 feet

the box:
little over 4 feet long (quad cab, short box)
39" between the wheel wells
can't recall if I've been able to fit a 4 foot plywood between the rollbars or not. my mind says it wont fit, but i'd have to measure.

carrying capacity: I've had 2 large loads worth mentioning
1 - 760kg of concrete, gravel and dirt. I could feel the load since all the weight was in the box, I wouldn't want slipery roads and fast speed with that much weight though. brakes worked fine, just longer to stop, obviously.

2- 11 people plus camping gear. I believe the estimate was something like 2500 pounds. 6 ppl in the cab, 5 ppl in the box and gear everywhere, including straping to the roof and rollbar.
We were on saturna island. I never went highr than 40 or 50 km/hr. a couple good climbs (13% grade). the truck was fine, it climbed great in second gear and decended great using the transmission only.

haven't done any towing yet, but expect it to be something very similar to the delicas.

4x4 capability, I've been happy with it. did a newbie run with island4x4 last summer and outperformed a few other stock vehicles (trooper, 82 yota with a smaller diesel in it, can't remember anythign else). THere was a hilux there that did better than I, but he had a locker, beadlocks and 33's. I also had my crappy stock shocks in at the time, so can't get a good comparison.

hope this helps a little.

awesome info, thanks!
if you get a chance to see how plywood might fit in there, let me know, my friend is a carpenter.

I think that the Strada is the best.The parts are really easy to find(body,mechanical,steering,suspension,etc...)trough any
Mitsubishi or Dodge dealer or any auto parts shop.Engine same as Delica and i think 4d56 is more reliable than many
toyota or nissan 4cyl. turbo-diesel.

The ride is good on the road,probably better than a toyota with a solid front axle.And off-roading depends largely on the
quality of the driver.Just see how good can be a Delica in off-road.

The plywood(4x8) fit in the box but over the wheel wells and is too long outside.Not the best for plywood.For studs,all is OK,even a 12 feets 2x12 can fit.
Just to close the box and put studs over the roll-bar!You can also open the rear sliding window.

Also,no problem with a trailer.When box is too short,just tow it!I often have a trailer on back,Sea-Doo,woods,gravel,etc...

I really like the Strada and recommend it to anyone.