We recently reported that Honda will be selling its own version of the Mitsubishi Triton. The badge-engineered pickup will target the ASEAN markets and should arrive by 2028. The first offspring of the Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance is the Australian and New Zealand market Nissan Navara. Will Honda’s version of the Triton be a mild superficial facelift as with the Navara, or will the brand do more? Based on the image of Honda and its better financial position, I have a feeling it would do more than just slap a Honda grille and badge on the Triton.
Being this late into the production cycle of the current Triton, Honda will probably keep most of the sheet metal untouched and redesign parts that are bolted on. In terms of identity, the vehicle’s face is very important. To shed off the Mitsubishi-ness, I decided to move away from the split headlight design. To ensure the relocated light clusters fit, the corners are pushed further forward than on the Triton.
The overall look is a blocky interpretation of the familiar Honda SUV front end, a bold grille flanked by slim headlights. A faux skid adds a bit of ruggedness and breaks the monotony of the black lower trim. Moving to the sides, I gave it full-length wheel arch moldings that are less bulky than the ones on the Triton Athlete. The blocky detail on the top of each arch is a styling cue borrowed from the Honda Passport TrailSport. Moving to the rear, I went for a cleaner angular red and clear taillight design. At the center of the tailgate is the ‘H’ Honda logo; this keeps the rear tidy. Sporty 18-inch seven-spoke silver and black wheels complete the look.
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Some of you might be wondering about things like whether the upcoming Honda pickup will get the new 4N16 diesel mill with variable geometry turbo or electrified powerplant options. Realistically, all of this is up to Mitsubishi since they are the ones doing the engineering. So, keep an eye out for any Triton updates; this would serve as a preview of what the Honda pickup could receive.
How will the Honda pickup be positioned? It would likely lean on the sporty, premium, lifestyle angle rather than Mitsubishi’s all-around image that spans from entry-level commercial fleet variants all the way to high-end variants.
If Honda’s pickup looked like this, would you consider it over the original Mitsubishi-badged version? Let us know in the comments.
