Mitsubishi Raider Review

2009 Mitsubishi Raider LS Extended Cab

Though it's known mostly for its sporty cars and SUVs, Mitsubishi has been slapping its badge on small pickups in the U.S. market for almost three decades. In fact, one of its first U.S.-bound products was a compact pickup truck rebadged as a Dodge.

Today, there's the Mitsubishi Raider. The brand's only pickup offering, its aggressive styling allows it to slot in well with other fearlessly styled products in the Mitsubishi line. However, underneath the Raider's bulging fenders is essentially a midsize Dodge Dakota pickup.

This lineage does give the Raider a few advantages. It has plenty of towing capacity and it handles better than most competing pickup trucks. But there are plenty of drawbacks as well. The V6 is anemic, and the Mitsubishi Raider also lacks a long-bed option and the refinement of its competitors. Safety features, too, are woefully inadequate. As such, most compact or midsize pickup shoppers will be better served by competing trucks such as the Nissan Frontier or Toyota Tacoma.

Current Mitsubishi Raider

The current Mitsubishi Raider, which debuted in 2006, comes in two body styles: a "Double Cab" crew cab, which has four full-size doors, or an extended cab, which has two reverse-opening rear doors and a longer (though still not long) cargo bed. The only available trim level is the LS. The standard equipment list is sparse, but a number of options packages are available to spruce things up.

All Raiders are equipped with a 3.7-liter V6 engine capable of 210 horsepower. A six-speed manual transmission is standard and a four-speed automatic is optional. Rear-wheel drive is standard, while four-wheel drive is optional.

The Raider's cabin is spacious. The Double Cab has a respectable amount of room for four adults. The rear seats flip up and reveal built-in storage trays. The extended cab doesn't have as much interior space, however, and its rear seats are quite cramped. Style-wise, moreover, the Raider has a long way to go. Fit and finish isn't up to the standards of competing models, and there isn't much to distinguish this pickup's cabin other than a bit of aluminum trim and a few white-faced gauges.

In road tests, we found the Mitsubishi Raider to be stable and steady on all manner of roads. The pickup's shift-on-the-fly 4WD system provides especially good traction on rough terrain. The two major downsides are under the hood and in the safety department: The V6 is downright slow, and neither side curtain airbags nor four-wheel antilock brakes are available. Your local Mitsubishi dealer will probably cut you a deal on a new Raider, but keep in mind that many competitors offer safer and more capable pickups. In this case, the old buyer's adage -- "you get what you pay for" -- holds true.

The Raider underwent only minor changes until 2008, when Mitsubishi aggressively decontented its midsize pickup. Previously available with a 4.7-liter V8 and in a number of trim levels, the '08 model was deprived of the optional V8 and also lost the formerly optional side curtain airbags and four-wheel antilock brakes. We weren't crazy about the pre-'08 Raider, but it was certainly more competitive when outfitted with this optional equipment. As such, if your heart is set on a used Mitsubishi Raider, we'd advise focusing on well-equipped models from 2006 and '07.

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* Edmunds.com maintains vehicle data as far back as 1990.