Disclosure: Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation very kindly lent me a 2023 Mitsubishi Strada Athlete 4WD for seven days. It came with a full tank of diesel and an RFID card with plenty of load. AutoFun Philippines paid for additional fuel and toll fees.

You never really know the true potential of someone or something until you put them or it to the test.

I’ve been teaching for nearly a decade now – starting out part-time by teaching high school debate at my alma mater. I hardly knew those kids, but I surely learned more about them when I tested their mettle in writing, oratory, and persuasion during those 10 months.

Although some were reduced to tears (not hyperbole, apparently) from the rigor of the course, they gained vital skills that helped them in college and, later, their own careers. Even after the terror, some of them even became my long-time friends.

It’s the same with motorsports – throughout my career, I’ve seen a bevy of immense talent, ranging from young sim racers to 40-somethings who have just come to the game (better late than never).

And as with my high schoolers (just without the crying), a rigorous program has produced truly exemplary drivers.

Indeed, one of my newest students is on an intensive training course with me for 2023. Part of this requires me to join him on tracks like the Batangas Racing Circuit, which is nearly 200 km back and forth from my house in Quezon City.

And for that weekend, I just so happened to be testing what some consider to be a tiresome car for long journeys – the 2023 Mitsubishi Strada Athlete 4WD.

Stealthy, mean looks

The current Mitsubishi Strada is on its last legs as its successor, the 2024 Mitsubishi Triton, will be launching globally on July 26, 2023.

The timing is about right – the Strada has been in production since 2014. It had been launched in the Philippines on March 2015, then facelifted to its current state on January 2019.

Nonetheless, this eight-year-old Athlete, with its Jet Black Mica paint, black 18-inch alloy wheels, and blacked-out trim, looked timeless and almost menacing.

The LED headlamps and DRLs, which were placed high on the hoodline, flank the prominent Mitsubishi grill, while the turn signals and auxiliary lights take up the space on the lower bumper.

Down the side, the “sports bar,” the cool “Strada Athete” graphics and the tailgate spoiler made it stand out as a top-of-the-line model.

Finally, the large, plastic-lined bed is ready to handle all sorts of heavy loads.

Lively but plasticky interior

I didn’t really haul anything with the Strada Athlete 4WD, spending nearly all my time behind the wheel.

And herein lies the great irony with many modern pick-ups – these must have the looks and capabilities to be a “king on the road” but be plush enough to make one feel like royalty.

In this respect, this top-spec Strada does rather well with its orange leather interior (now mellowing into an attractive tan in this well-used test unit). The hide is good quality, especially on the padded center console.

This pick-up also uses the same powerful Calsonic air-conditioning system as Nissan. That’s why I started feeling like a fiesta ham in a chest freezer even if the thermostat was only 23 degrees Celsius, while it was nearly 40 degrees Celsius outside.

However, the Strada’s utilitarian origins were certainly apparent with the acres of hard plastic on the dashboard and door cards. Rear-seat accommodation is also better suited to two instead of three, especially with the center-rear seat being narrow and stiff.

The ceiling-mounted fan is a nice touch, although it’s not quite as cold as the one in the Nissan Navara, which also has a more sedan-like cabin.

The 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system is likewise outdated, especially as it doesn’t offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

Rides like a truck

On the move, you’d expect an unladen pick-up truck with leaf-spring rear suspension to have a firm and bouncy ride.

And you’d be right – the Strada Athlete 4WD does not enjoy potholes, addressing its vehement objections directly to my spine. And it doesn’t help that the driver’s seat lacks adequate thigh or side support.

The big Mitsubishi’s ride is similar to the pounding that you’d get from its long-time rival, the Toyota Hilux. Younger pick-ups like the Ford Ranger and the Nissan Navara are more cosseting on even the most pockmarked pavement.

But on truly smooth roads and expressways (and even the occasional rutted dirt road), the Strada felt absolutely just right, whether it was on my Batangas drive or my even longer trip to and from Pangasinan (watch out for our stories from that).

Meanwhile, the steering is quite heavy yet offers very little indication of where the front wheels are. There are also reassuringly powerful brakes controlled by a rather spongy pedal.

Goes like a train

But when you press the go pedal, you'll understand why it’s called the Athlete.

Under the hood is Mitsubishi’s excellent 2.4-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 turbodiesel pumping out 181 PS and 430 Nm of torque. This is mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox with the company’s Super Select 4WD-II electronic transfer case.

The flexible powertrain can pootle around gently below 2,000 rpm and absolutely go for the gold medal as full boost kicks in at 2,500 rpm, with this behemoth surging all the way to redline.

And even though it had two fewer gears than its Montero Sport sibling, the Strada was always in the right gear at the right time, with kickdown absolutely spot on (something Jetour should emulate for its X70).

On those long trips to the north and south, the effortless power and superb all-around visibility made handling such a big car quite easy. It also helped that the Strada Athlete 4WD came standard with blind-spot monitoring, all-around parking sensors, and front-collision warning.

However, the four-wheel-drive system made this Athlete a heavyweight. It’s 110 kg bulkier than the rear-wheel-drive Athlete, which I feel is more than enough, even for lightly rutted dirt roads.

This resulted in rather strong fuel consumption – 6 to 9 km/l in the city and 14 to 17 km/l on the expressway. Cruising at 100 km/h was at a steady 1,650 rpm.

A surprise performer

In total, I did over 530 km of non-stop expressway driving in the Strada Athlete 4WD, on top of plenty of city driving.

And even though its specifications are better suited for farm trails, testing the Strada Athlete 4WD thoroughly on the beaten path revealed that it was no one-trick pony. In spite of the sometimes choppy ride, it always felt secure and steady, however far I drove it. 

Again, you never really know how good someone or something is until you put them to the test. And even though it’s quite old in car years, this ₱1,827,000 Mitsubishi can still deliver, although its younger rivals are starting to outpace this Athlete in certain games. 

But the all-new 2024 Triton, named after the Greek god of the sea, could swing things back in Mitsubishi’s favor.

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