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One for two: Navara tuner tweaks Triton
Richard Bosselman
April 9, 2026
Having made Nissan’s sister ute feel special, Premcar has now given the Mitsubishi donor a ride and handling rework.
THE third party expert that tailored a special suspension tune for the new Nissan Navara has now concocted the same kind of treatment for its Mitsubishi twin.
While identifying that the core points of difference that have led to a new Triton Raider hitting sale in Australia soon are the same kinds of changes its effected for the Navara, most obviously for the flagship Pro-4X, Premcar has enforced these were entirely separate projects, with no cross-referencing.
In material shared today for the Raider’s unveiling at the Melbourne motor show, Mitsubishi Australia and Premcar shared that suspension changes are the most significant revisions.
The rework includes a new front and rear damper package claimed to improve ride comfort and vehicle control.
An internal rebound spring within the front dampers is intended to maximise suspension control, a unique front spring and jounce bumper (bump stop), and "improved wheel control on a wide variety of surfaces”.
Premcar’s involvement in engineering a regional suspension setup for Navara also included the addition of an internal rebound spring within the front dampers, fitted across the Navara range.
Premcar says the Raider has a Mitsubishi-specific internal rebound spring and a unique valve code.
A 25-millimetre front (15mm from tyre and 10mm from spring) and 15-millimetre rear height increase applies to the Raider, plus a 20-millimetre track width increase.
For both Mitsubishi and Nissan, the Premcar development also sees the fitment of a new rim and tyre package. With the Raider it’s an 18-inch ROH wheel shod with Bridgestone AT002 rubber. Navara Pro-4X goes to 17 inch rims with Toyo Open Country 265/65s.
Design changes include side decals in brushed bronze and Raider badging on the tailgate, front headrests and centre console, along with a black front grille – rather than the GSR's body-coloured grille – and a unique front bumper design.
Raider is a special edition revision based on the Triton VRX, the most expensive of the Triton variant sold here, though at $59,990 is it substantially cheaper than the Nissan, which costs $67,690.
The standard VXR and the Pro-4X were subject of a MotoringNZ.com back-to-back assessment last week.
Australia market pricing for Raider has yet to be shared and chances of it coming across the Tasman aren’t high, suggests Reece Congdon, Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand head of marketing and corporate affairs.
However, he’s not closing the door entirely: “We’re always looking at opportunities for Triton.
“The Raider isn’t something on our immediate radar but no doubt you’ll see other Triton variants and limited edition models in the future.”
In providing background to the Raider project, Mitsubishi Australia product strategy manager Bruce Hampel told Australian media Premcar's existing work with Nissan made it an ideal partner, as there is a similar culture and quality expectations, and they form two of the car brands in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
"The fact that Premcar had already convinced Nissan that they meet the requirements, it was easy for us to go in as Mitsubishi and convince ourselves that they have the appropriate levels of quality and engagement," Hampel said.
"These programmes are done by Mitsubishi (Australia) and Nissan Australia independently. There's no discussion, no collaboration at all.
"In a way, it's coincidental that we've both ended up at the same supplier, but they're good reasons why it made sense as well."