Did you notice something different with these L300s? Apart from the fact that they're painted black, you may have noticed it is in a pick-up configuration. And if you look closely, it has a different name.
Thanks to our insider, here we have the Philippine-made Mitsubishi Colt. No, this is not in any way related to the old Mirage from years ago, but it's none other than the evergreen L300.
But why the name change? For starters, this black L300 is not for the Philippine market. Instead, it's actually an export model heading to Indonesia. Yes, we are exporting vehicles to one of our Southeast Asian neighbors.
This is part of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC)'s strategy to make the Philippines a regional hub for their light commercial vehicles (LCV), which we reported two years ago. In fact, this is the first time that we have spotted the L300 Colt out in the wild. This means Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) has indeed pushed through with producing the L300 for export.
Indonesia has recently shifted to Euro 4 emission standards, and apparently, their locally-built Colts were still using the 4D56 diesel engine that's only Euro 2 rated. But in the Philippines, the L300 has already been upgraded to accommodate the 4N14 2.2-liter turbo diesel that's Euro 4 certified. Hence the choice for Indonesia to source their models here in the country.
Hopefully, other manufacturers would follow in Mitsubishi's footsteps, as this would definitely boost our economy.
So, the next time you see a batch of black L300s on a carrier, these are not Black Series models. But we do like the thought of having a black L300 in the country. Mitsubishi, hear us out, please?
