JOURNEY

It wasn’t too long ago that I had just gotten back from Borneo Safari, and along came another assignment to go off-roading in Sabah, once again. The wide grin on my face as I heard the news betrayed my excitement. Back to nature where the oxygen smells a hundred times better, people are friendlier, and the ignorance of not knowing where the trails will lead us – that’s bliss to me. A journey to the indefinite.

- YET AGAIN

Words & pictures: Beng

TO

THE

EAST

Touching down and seeing familiar faces from Borneo Safari just made my journey that much more enjoyable. Knowing that I’m in good hands during the drive gave me a peaceful mind. Deep down, I was secretly hoping for rain overnight, just so that the drive will get a little more interesting. Slim chance though; it was dry season. Or was it?

I woke up to droplets on the window. Could it be? Did I do the rain dance while I was asleep? The morning of the drive started off rainy. That meant that the slippery trails and a roller coaster of a time! Departed on tarmac from the city to Tamparuli where we headed to the off-road trails. What seemed to be an easy trail quickly turned challenging, thanks to the slight drizzle continuing from the previous night’s downpour.

Having gone into the trails with all terrain tyres as opposed to mud terrain, we were in for a treat. Not knowing the trails were so muddy, our tyres quickly turned into donuts. We were practically sliding down the entire way. No form of grip from the tyres whatsoever as the mud was all stuck to them. But with the help and guidance of the instructors, we managed to successfully power through the trails.

It was because of all this that we could really try out the capabilities of the new Triton. The way it moved through the trails, the way it reacted to the nature of uncertainty. To be frank, I was really impressed with the way it carried itself through the trails as well as the small roads leading up to the off-road trails. That sense of accomplishment I felt when I managed to power through the trails, trusting the car will know what to do when the time comes is an amazing feeling.

Right before entering, we were told to change to 4WD Low Range with locked centre differential to provide maximum traction to the car. Accompanied by the hill descent control to apply the brakes automatically. However, because it was so slippery and that we were on all terrain tyres, the hill descent feature didn’t work as well as we thought it would. Hence, we had one heck of a time - rolling down the trails in style.

The Triton’s suspension is a work of magic; undeniably the most comfortable pick-up I’ve ever sat in. Right from the lumbar support of the seats all the way to the absorbers. Going over bumps never felt so comforting in a pick-up truck.

Looking back at the muddy trails, donut tyres, close to nothing traction, I’m still very pleasantly surprised that Mitsubishi entrusted us with the Triton. It really showed that Mitsubishi was confident with their product to allow us amateurs to drive them through that kind of terrain. Just goes to show that when you have a good product, you have nothing to fear – that is 4Sure.