On The Road
In general the driveline felt pretty sound round our Kent light-vehicle test route, until the unladen climb up the M20 where it couldn’t hold more than 55mph. To be fair most chassis-cabs seem to struggle up this hill, but considering that the Canter has a newly designed 125hp engine it really should have done better, even allowing for its low mileage.
The instruments include a rev counter – not typical 3.5-tonne fare – which helps the driver get the best from the engine and the five-speed box. But struggling to maintain momentum up hills tends to highlight any gaps in the gearbox ratios, and on the run up the more demanding Titsey Hill a significant gap duly made itself apparent between third and fourth.
This is hardly uncommon among five-speed boxes, and the Canter’s overdrive fifth was bound to spread the gaps a little further apart. Perhaps a six-speed box would close the gap, although it would incur a weight penalty.
The Canter 35 provides a pretty functional driving experience and it can hold a steady 70mph on the motorway as well as anything we have tested. In town it has no trouble keeping pace and pick-up from standing start is good.
The exhaust brake comes into its own when trying to hold a steady speed down steep hills with a payload to build up momentum. It also saves wear and tear, and no doubt some cash, particularly if it’s used on the approach to a roundabout or junction while simultaneously dropping through the gears.
The steering wheel takes six turns lock to lock, sometimes more steering than is comfortable. On the plus side the Canter’s manoeuvrability is the best in its class, making it versatile enough for just about any driveway or housing estate. The elaborate wing mirrors will keep you on your toes as they are a fair bit wider than the nominal 2.06m overall width.
Mitsubishi has done well to ensure that there is no excuse for overloading the axles – there’s plenty of scope for diminishing loads, as the front and rear axles have 1.8 and 2.5-tonne ratings respectively. For this test a straightforward Tipmaster tipper was fitted, complete with a tonneau cover.
Cab Comfort
Our Kent route offers just about everything a driver will encounter in a day’s work: motorway, dual carriageway, A-road, B-road, town centres, speed bumps and village high streets. To its credit the Canter 35 provided a comfortable ride throughout.
Mitsubishi says it has revamped the cab with “the driver in mind”. As well as the adjustable wheel you get a seat that’s meant to suit just about any shape or size of driver, but sitting over the font axle does restrict where the driver can rest his feet off the pedals.
Getting in means sliding onto the seat rather than stepping into the cab, and when the driver’s door closes, it takes up just a little of the space for our tester’s longer-than-average right leg, which gets a little irritating after a few miles.
Even for taller drivers there’s plenty of air between scalp and ceiling, but the further away from the dash you go the more you have to reach for the handbrake. Just one more reminder that you can’t please all the people all the time.
Forward vision is excellent and those wing mirrors are highly effective, practically eliminating any blind spots down the near and off-side. Storage is pretty good too.
It won’t cater for everything, but vital items like paperwork can be stored out of the way behind the centre seat with bags hurled in the passenger footwell or, if running three up, in the back.
There are also plenty of nooks and crannies for bens, phones and fags with twin cup holders in the centre and twin gloveboxes.
