The Mitsubishi L300 is officially back. After being put into cryogenic storage in 2017, the venerable workhorse is back two years later sporting a brand-new heart. Despite its cleaner and more powerful 4N14 heart, the basic platform dates back to 1987. This makes the L300 an unprecedented 32 years old this year (well, 30 if you include the break).

You can check the full details and specs of the 2020 L300 here, but for now, let’s play a little game. Here are 10 things which are actually younger than the Mitsubishi L300.


1. Nokia 2110: Launched in 1993

While not exactly the oldest GSM mobile phone, the Nokia 2110 is the first that’s fondly remembered by a lot of people. Its features included text sending/receiving capability, a list of 10 dialled/missed/received calls, and it was “revolutionary” for its two-key user interface. Extra bit of trivia—the first mass-produced GSM phone, the Nokia 1011 was launched in 1992 making it even younger than the L300.

2. Apple’s First Laptop: Launched in 1989

Look around a coffee shop and chances are, almost everyone is sporting an Apple Macbook. It’s hard to imagine that when the L300 came out, Apple didn’t even have anything portable then. When they did launch the Macintosh Portable, it cost a whopping USD 7,300 in 1987 money and its features included 1MB of RAM, a 640x400 display, and a 40 MB hard drive.


3. Sega Mega Drive: Launched in 1988

How’s this for a holy shit moment? Sega’s been busying tugging at nostalgia with the release of the Genesis Mini that it comes as a surprise that the original Genesis aka Mega Drive came out of the market in 1988. Sega’s most successful home gaming console, the Mega Drive ushered in the “console wars” with Nintento and their Super Famicom / Super NES which itself came out in 1991.

4. Casio G-Shock Frogman: Launched in 1993

Though Casio’s G-Shock line was introduced in 1983, it took the watchmaker a full decade to come up with their flagship Frogman line. When the G-Shock Frogman was released, it quickly became popular as a diving watch thanks to its then-spectacular 200-m water resistant rating.


5. Starbucks Frappuccino: Launched in 1995

Starbs without the Frapp? WTF?! Well, that’s right. Despite being synonymous with the coffee chain, everyone’s first foray into coffee was introduced eight years after Mitsubishi started bringing kids to school. Of course, mixing espresso, ice, cream, and a whole lot of sugary crap doesn’t really fall into hardcore coffee, but it did start the caffeine addiction that most still crave today.

5. Calvin Klein Eternity: Launched in 1988

It seems almost forever that the Calvin Klein’s Eternity was the go-to scent of high school chick boys. Hard to think that this was launched a year after the L300 first hit the road—and this was the women’s version, mind you. Eternity of Men only came out two years later in 1990.


6. George Foreman Grill: Launched in 1994

Officially known as, “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine,” it’s a staple in your tita and your tita’s tita’s kitchen. It’s surprising to find out that George’s only been grilling stuff the “healthy way” since 1994.

7. Splenda: Launched in 1999

Yet another arsenal in your tita’s kitchen, the artificial sweetener brand Splenda came out just 20 years ago. This sucralose-based sweetener enabled your cake-loving tita to create cakes that are “healthy” because they’re “sugar-free.”


8. STAR Tollway: Opened in 2001

So how did you get to your beach house in Batangas then? In yet another hard to imagine moment, the now 42-kilometer toll road that connects Metro Manila to the Southern Tagalog region didn’t exist until 2001. And for a while, it was the go-to place for unregulated high-speed runs until traffic took hold. Now, it’s a jam-packed highway, just like anywhere else.

9. True Faith: Formed in 1991

While Side A and The Dawn are both older than the L300, the new wave band, True Faith was actually formed in 1991 making it younger than Mitsubishi’s very own resurgent van. Additional trivia: the L300 is also older than Smokey Mountain, Parokya ni Edgar, and Moonstar 88.


10. SM Megamall: Opened in 1991

Yup, the second largest mall in the Philippines wasn’t around when the L300 first hit Mitsubishi showroom floors. This likely meant that the L300 was actually delivering construction materials or workers to the sprawling construction site for 4 years. Interestingly enough, the L300 also predates the already prehistoric-looking Robinsons Galleria. In other words, if you wanted to hang out with your L300, your only options then? COD in Cubao.