Pictured above, for all you kids out there too young to remember, is the iconic Mitsubishi L300. Those of us who grew up in the late '80s and early '90s know this van as the quintessential family hauler that took us to many outings and family reunions. If your family didn't own one, chances are you had a neighbor or a tito who washed his with pride on weekends and kept it safe in parking lots with an old-school steering wheel lock.
The ride might be stiff by today's standards, but it didn't matter to us then because sitting in the L300 always felt like we were heading off for a fun adventure. In the spirit of being nostalgic on #ThrowbackThursday, we thought we'd feature this vintage spec sheet of the beloved van. Thank you to the kind folks at Mitsubishi Motors Philippines who were kind enough to share this rare gem with us.
This particular brochure was for the 2.0-liter gasoline variant. It featured amenities worth highlighting like ashtrays (a must for the titos of yesteryear) for the driver and each row of seats, sun visors for the driver and passenger, and front-door armrests. The 12-seater also sported things like a cigar lighter, an analog quartz clock, and a parcel tray up front. Performance-wise, this L300 produced 87hp and 167Nm. Amazingly, Mitsubishi claims a top speed of 160kph, though it's doubtful that figure was achieved with the entire barangay in tow.
Despite having a gross weight of over two tons, its tires only measured 14in. It was controlled by ball-and-nut type steering with no mention of power assistance--pretty normal in those days. It's how the term 'pawis steering' became a thing. Another neat thing it had, which you'll almost never see today, is a column-mounted manual shifter. The L300 name might have lived on long after our childhoods, but it's this generation of vans that fondly we remember the most.
What's your most cherished memory of the old-school L300? Share your nostalgic stories in the comments.
