Mitsubishi Canter

I have been driving a 7.5T Canter for 3 months now and here follows my review:

Good points:

The brakes are good, smooth and responsive

The cab heater is good with enabling the cab temperature to be finely controlled.

The steering is ok with a reasonable turning circle - not as good as a DAF but similar to an IVECO

Bad points: Where to start there are so many!!

Ride Comfort

By far the worst of the worst bad points is the ride comfort. This is awful and IMHO dangerous. Even on a mildly uneven surface at 30MPH the truck bounces wildly. As for speed bumps, 10MPH is too fast. If you hit a bumpy surface on a corner the truck will lurch either towards the nearside or offside partially leaving the road surface. This can lead to you being sent towards oncoming traffic.

Due to the ride, nothing stays where you put it in both cab and cargo area. Items will break free from any straps, straps will break. If the cargo items are not very well packaged they will get damaged.

If you have the suspension seat on anything less than maximum hardness, your backside hits the floor and your head will nearly hit the roof

Rear View Visibility

This is poor to non existent. Due to the fact that the cab is much narrower than the truck body even with the extended mirrors you have no idea what is behind you for 300 yards on a straight road. There are no blind spot mirrors, no forward proximity mirror. Anything on the nearside close to the vehicle disappears so you have to be extra careful when moving from the middle lane to the nearside lane and at junctions turning left.

Engine Power and Torque

The engine has little to no torque and will simply run out of steam on a slight gradient especially if you have ECO mode selected. The engine is weak to asthmatic with poor acceleration especially when fully loaded.

Exhaust Brake

This does nothing except make a noise and illuminate an indicator on the instrument panel. It will not slow you down on a gradient

Automatic Transmission

Simply the worst Auto box I have driven. At a roundabout you have to press the accelerator 2 to 3 second before a gap appears. If you wait for the gap and then hit the accelerator by the time you start moving the gap has invariably gone.

Cab Storage

The storage bins are made for a 10 year old size hand. Do not put anything in the centre lower bin that is small as you cannot get your hand into the bin to retrieve it. The upper storage bins will take an A4 ring binder - just - but don't expect it to stay in place as it will fall on you during the trip due to the bumpy ride. The door bins are shallow, narrow and almost totally useless. Even a cloth will not stay in the bin.

Sleeper Pod

OMG what a bad way to spend a night out. If you are a midget and a contortionist then you will be fine. If you are a regular sized Englishman then God help you. Just getting into the pod is a work of art and muscle power. The hatch on my sleeper pod is less than 18 inches square so I have to put both arms through first and haul up the rest of my body into a fetal position once up so I can close the hatch, make the bed, get undressed and get into my sleeping bag. God again help you if you have forgotten something like locking the cab as you have to reverse then entire process to get out and then get in again. TIP- take an empty 5L screenwash container with you in case you need to fill it during the night.

The night heater will boil or freeze you. Set it to 19 degrees and the pod will heat up to 24 degrees as the volume is so small that when the heater cuts off the pod will continue to warm up beyond the set temperature. Oh and by the way you cannot even sit up in the pod.

Others:

Fuel consumption is poor at around 15 to 17 MPG. Less than a comparable DAF or IVECO due to the fact that the engine and transmission have to work extra hard just to maintain reasonable speed and acceleration

No cruise control

No lane departure

No steering wheel controls. These would be useful for the radio as trying to even adjust the volume is tricky due to the bumpy ride

If you see an amber SAM warning on the instrument cluster and look in the user manual it will tell you that this indicates a problem with the SAM module - really helpful. what it actually means is you have a bulb out although some bulbs will trigger the warning and others won't

Recommendations if you are considering a Canter:

Use only for a maximum 3.5 Tonne body and for day work only

Conclusion

This truck is a shocker and again in my humble opinion bordering on dangerous for a 7.5 Tonner. I am surprised that this truck is even legal on UK roads due to the poor rear and side view visibility with a large truck body behind.

If you care about your cargo and have a little thought for your drivers and care about MPG avoid this truck!!!

Finally I have just picked up a Canter from Hatfield due to a broken prop shaft so mechanically the truck is weak

I have a 2013 Fuso 413 with 70,000 lkms on it serviced every 5000 lkms number one cylinder valves drop and destroyed the piston the head the injectors the parts is $10300 to rebuild this engine new engine is $17000 have no warranty really not happy look after my work trucks Thus model as had so many recalls never buy a Mitsubishi again hasn’t even done at lest 100,000 lkms

Love my 2013 4x4 Fuso canter BUT front end has a real problem ! Pulls left and scrubs front tyres real bad. I have a mate with same truck, has same issues ! 2 front end "professionals" have 2 different solutions but no guarantees Hoping someone can assist, love the truck just not the front end HELP

Looks cheap inside, drivers seat like a deck chair, auto box smooth but takes forever to change down, rolls around on corners has no suspension just bounces around, very slow on hills with no weight on it, no cruise control, If you need to carry 3 ton and dont care about your drivers then it might work for you.

This is my second Canter, been very reliable and always up to the job when needed. Only downside is cost and availability of parts.

I bought my 2008 Fuso truck brand new for $35,000 since then I have put over $30,000 into repairs. The truck is in the repair shop more than on the road. The truck has less than 100,000 miles on it and it is sitting in the repair shop again. I would not recommend a Fuso truck.

This is my second Mitsubishi Truck. The first served me well but they don't build trucks like they used to. Here is a list of repairs and you be the judge: May 2013 Purchased

Jan 13 - Recall Parking break lockout+oil filter head. Feb 2013- Gears locked-New Transmission, Mar 2014 Towed, Newly designed Transmission, April 2014-Service another 2 Recalls, June 2014 - New Transmission, Sept 2014-New Rear Brake Pads,Oct 14-Service another 2 Recalls- Inline Fuel Filter & Oil Cooler hose, Nov 14-Recall weather Kit, Jan 15 - Engine Light on, Feb15-Engine light on, Mar 150 Engine light on March 2016- Engine light on, June 2016- Air Conditioning Unit replaced hoses all showing wear and tear. Finally, complained to dealer about rust around windshield where my other trucks have none after 8 years. Told by dealer they received similar complaints. I read warranty to dealer 4 year Anti Corrosion Perforation Coverage, told Mitsubishi Service Agent said this is covered by 3 year warranty and I must pay for repainting. Unsightly. Do not buy this truck.

Have been stranded with this truck 3 times. Towed to the dealer. Many safety and other recalls, Transmission replaced, DEF tank replaced. All before 8000km. DO NOT DRIVE THIS TRUCK WHERE THERE IS NO PUBLIC TRANSIT. Have requested Mitsubishi assist in removing this truck from our fleet and getting us into another more reliable truck. Have spoken to all levels of management with no success. All they will do is keep fixing it until the warranty runs out. Finally put my foot down and demanded to speak to the president and they diverted my file to their lawyers. Nice customer service! Best experience ever. Thinking a can of gasoline and a pack of matches might be a better option, but I like my insurance agent too much.

Have been stranded with this truck 3 times. Towed to the dealer. Many safety and other recalls, Transmission replaced, DEF tank replaced. All before 8000km. DO NOT DRIVE THIS TRUCK WHERE THERE IS NO PUBLIC TRANSIT. Have requested Mitsubishi assist in removing this truck from our fleet and getting us into another more reliable truck. Have spoken to all levels of management with no success. All they will do is keep fixing it until the warranty runs out. Finally put my foot down and demanded to speak to the president and they diverted my file to their lawyers. Nice customer service! Best experience ever. Thinking a can of gasoline and a pack of matches might be a better option, but I like my insurance agent too much.

This truck will put you out of business. Two transmissions and engine rebuilt three times.