Granted, it's a pickup truck. Don't expect levels of refinement associated with luxury sedans or top-tier SUVs, let alone the
fabulous job that Mitsubishi's interior team did with the new Eclipse. But this said there are more soft-touch plastics in the Raider than in the majority of its rivals. Panel fit is also good, and all the switchgear is at the higher end of mid-grade - again it's a pickup truck so let's not compare it to a Bentley Continental GT. Some of the kudos should go to DaimlerChrysler, which designed and engineered components like the Raider's heating, ventilation and air conditioning module and audio interface, but of the items that are all Mitsubishi, such as the dash and centre stack housing, great work.
The most impressive interior update has to be the Raider's seats. Comfortable, supportive, great looking: all terms that do them justice. As you may know, last year I enjoyed having a long-term Mitsubishi Endeavor in our West Coast office, and therefore had gone on at length about its supportive chairs, plus I find the new Eclipse rivals anything from Volvo in this department, so I shouldn't be surprised that the Raider follows this positive trend.
The four-spoke steering wheel is thick and meaty with well placed thumb indents,
exactly the way truck guys like it, which just happens to be the way sports car enthusiasts want the most important human-machine interface made. Behind the wheel is a nice efficient gauge package with sporty white-faced dials, each easily legible unless sunlight is bright, which can, depending on which angle it is coming from, cause a distracting glare.
But this is a minor item in a cabin which is so well put together it would redefine the midsize pickup truck class if it weren't for the new Toyota Tacoma, which is also very good. But the Tacoma doesn't offer some of the features available in the Raider, such as its aforementioned Bluetooth connectivity and one of the best audio systems I've ever heard in any truck.
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| There are more soft-touch plastics in the Raider than in the majority of its rivals. Panel fit is also good, and all the switchgear is at the higher end of mid-grade. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
The most impressive interior update has to be the Raider's seats. Comfortable, supportive, great looking: all terms that do them justice. As you may know, last year I enjoyed having a long-term Mitsubishi Endeavor in our West Coast office, and therefore had gone on at length about its supportive chairs, plus I find the new Eclipse rivals anything from Volvo in this department, so I shouldn't be surprised that the Raider follows this positive trend.
The four-spoke steering wheel is thick and meaty with well placed thumb indents,
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| The Raider's cabin is so well put together it would redefine the midsize pickup truck class if it weren't for the new Toyota Tacoma. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
But this is a minor item in a cabin which is so well put together it would redefine the midsize pickup truck class if it weren't for the new Toyota Tacoma, which is also very good. But the Tacoma doesn't offer some of the features available in the Raider, such as its aforementioned Bluetooth connectivity and one of the best audio systems I've ever heard in any truck.