Chasing is probably already in the genes of the Mitsubishi L200. This macho thing. This “man thing of the hunter and breadwinner”. Here, form and function do not follow marketing wishes, the space on the flatbed is just as needed as the massive ground clearance and the thick off-road wheels.

Mitsubishi L200 - ready for the hunt

The Mitsubishi hunter vehicle - the “L200 Jagd”

While the L200 is usually an ideal partner for craftsmen and adventurers, it is also suitable as a hunting car for professional hunters. To demonstrate this Mitsubishi Motors Germany has put a very special L200 on the wheels. 

In the case of the test car, the base vehicle for the conversion is a Mitsubishi L200 Intense with a double cab. Under the hood, the 2.5 liter four-cylinder diesel heart beats with 178 hp and 400 Nm torque. Anyone who opts for the 5-speed switch gets a transmission with a relatively short first gear. If that's not enough, there is also a manual gear reduction available.

The L200 is an off-road classic that throws itself into the crowd with an electronically controlled four-wheel drive. On request, the L200 can also drive with pure rear-wheel drive, but the need for this is not. The four-wheel drive does not clamp in 4H mode. Anyone who wants to manually adjust the force distribution in the field will switch to 4 HL and thus ensure a uniform distribution of the driving forces. In addition, the L200 then offers the gear ratio, in 4HLL remains it can crawl in the idle over hill and dale.

Classic all-wheel drive technology, robust structure and a large loading area. The L200 literally screams for the tough tour. Just right for hunting - even away from paved forest paths.

L200 fighter vehicle

From the outside, only the matte green foliation of the test car is noticeable. A hardtop by RoadRanger sits on the cot. Only at second glance, the winch at the front of the L200. During my test drive in the forest, this winch should prove extremely useful.

A look under the hardtop

The load compartment of the L200 has been professionally upgraded. In the right third is the place for the hunting dog. Below it a weapons drawer with lock. This drawer can be pulled out and offers enough space for the weapon within the padded drawer.

The left side was equipped with a winch that pulls even heavy boars in the welding tub on board. In order not to let the sill become a problem, an aluminum folding rail is hung next to the dog box. Attached to the platform, the game trough can be pulled with the help of the winch on board the L200.

So you can manage even big hunting successes on board the L200.

The bed of the L200 has been equipped with a loading pan, so the area can be cleaned after hunting with the steam jet.

The right tire

Anyone who travels a lot on unpaved roads needs the right tires. Mitsubishi has opted for BF Goodrich AT in size 200/245 R 70 for the Jagd-L16. The driving comfort on asphalt naturally suffers from these tires. But the Jagd-L200 is far too special a vehicle for that.

And so it happens to non-hunters:

In order to have the L200 judged by professional hunters, I was scheduled to go hunting. The way there was well marked - but my orientation in the forest was probably rather poor. And so I soon found myself on a muddy forest path that required full concentration. With the gear ratio switched on, I slowly crawled along a path and actually only looked for a chance to turn around. Because there were certainly none on this path before Suzuki Jimney and Lada Niva on the road (popular hunter vehicles). While the BF Goodrich tires were clogged with mud and the forest floor underneath held a damp layer of clay, the rear of the L200 kept wandering off track. My courage for a turning opportunity lasted until a large old tree trunk blocked the path.

That was not a good idea, it ran through my mind.

So back the forest path back. The RoadRanger tailgate can be opened via radio remote control and the L200 cab window can be lowered by pressing a button. The view through the cargo compartment to the rear was not outstanding, but it was enough.

Only the traction of the tires - that was not enough. Since the rear of the L200 was rather too light than too heavy without hunting success, the tires struggled with the muddy, loamy forest floor. The right pressure was simply missing. In addition, the forest path fell slightly on the slope side. No chance of coming back up the path.

As I got out I was glad not to have taken my hand off the massive door handle of the L200 too early, because the forest floor was really slippery. Two steps without falling on your nose and you felt like a circus artist. The tires were completely mixed with the loamy, muddy forest floor.

Time for the winds

While you have no ideas in everyday life for what you could use this cool winch at the front, I was now dependent on this winch. Put on the remote control, unroll the winch, slide to the next tree, swing the hook around the tree trunk, hook the rope. Back to the L200.

Anyone who has never worked with the winch (like me) is now facing an exciting experiment. The idea was to slowly turn the L200's nose by 160-170 °. Towards the slope. While the winch is pulling, you should set the wheels so that you don't dig into the mud unnecessarily. So get stuck behind the wheel, carry the first fat load of mud on the rubber mats and off you go - clutch, inserted to the left, winch on the move.

And indeed - the L200 is moving in the right direction, as if pushed by a forest spirit. Exit after 30 °, let the winds loose again, look for the next tree. And so the game repeats itself. 4 times. Meanwhile, the footwell of the L200 fills with pieces of mud, the hands are brown from the dirt in the forest, the steering wheel is covered with clay. But - the L200 is back in the right direction.

There were still 800 meters to the paved forest path. 800 meters which required the winch to be used four times because it is still more difficult to stay on the way uphill, despite all-wheel drive, than when rolling downhill. After almost 90 minutes of forest work, the L200 was on the way. I was sweaty - but happy. And the winch has demonstrated what it can be used for.

I had long forgotten the hunting company

And I didn't care what the hunters had to say about the Jagd-L200. I had experienced what the L200 can do in this version. And what he can't do. Once again, the tires were the biggest problem. No matter how good all-wheel drive is - when the tire tread gets clogged, the end is off-road.

But I was glad that Mitsubishi had not only put an optics conversion with a little trim in the cargo area on the wheels, but a serious concept with a winch at the front. Which also works. There are manufacturers, to whom I would have dared a winch dummy.

But the L200 is more like the “macho thing” - half measures don't come to the car.

Any Mitsubishi dealer can convert it into a “hunting vehicle”, so even L200s that have already been purchased can be converted into a “hunting vehicle” at a later date. Then a Hallali!