Mitsubishi’s Express badge is back, entering Australian showrooms in July this year.

MITSUBISHI HAS confirmed specification for its new Express van, seeing the reintroduction of the commercial badge in Australia since it left our shores seven years ago.

Launching locally in July this year, Australia and New Zealand are the first markets to offer the new-generation van from Mitsubishi. Or is it?

The new Express is produced by Renault in France, Mitsubishi leveraging its alliance partnership to synergise costs. Given the Renault is one of the most affordable offerings ($32,990 plus on-roads) in the market, we expect Mitsubishi will be looking to undercut the Renault Traffic locally and offer its current seven-year warranty – mind you, pricing and warranty are yet to be confirmed.

Specifications that count are that the van will be offered in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase body lengths, offering 5.2m3 and 6.0m3 cargo capacity respectively. Both come with dual sliding doors like the old models, and the rear glazed barn doors have both 90- and 180-degree bump stop locking positions. The rear bumper also comes with an integrated step.

There will be two engines; a 1.6-litre turbo diesel producing 103kW and 340Nm that’s mated exclusively to a six-speed manual transmission, and a more powerful 125kW, 380Nm 2.0-litre turbo diesel that can be optioned with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Standard equipment includes 16-inch steel wheels (full-size spare under the floor), rear-view camera in the rear-view mirror for automatic models, cruise control, hill start assist, automatic stop and go, rear parking sensors, Bluetooth radio with USB connection and an integrated phone cradle.

Safety includes ESC, TSC and five airbags, but there’s no automated emergency braking. AEB is available in the competing Toyota Hiace, however, that Japanese rival is likely priced around $8000 more expensive than the Express which will be priced closer to its on sale in July.

Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO, Shaun Westcott, said that there will be a number of accessories available for what should be a cut-price van offering for commercial operators.

 “Mitsubishi is known for bringing Australians a range of flexible, dependable and capable vehicles, and the Express retains these Mitsubishi characteristics.

“For customers who need more flexibility, we will offer both short and long wheelbase, our dual sliding doors and a number of accessories to ensure easy configuration of the van for different business requirements.

“We think these practical features – along with a strong value proposition – will make businesses and fleet managers consider the Express when it comes to building more capability into their business.”

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Mitsubishi Express van Australia specs: