[Harbir]

i went to the chandigarh dealer to look at the Pajero Sport. My thoughts:

1. It actually looks very attractive to me, which I cannot say for the endeavour or the fortuner.

2. The interior is miles ahead of the fortuner's in design, and does not look like its borrowed from a cheap economy car or MPV as the Fortuner's does.

3. The driver's seat is much more spacious than the pajero's in terms of legroom, but not as good as the fortuner, and to be honest, a bit disappointing. It seems that mitsubishi has done all they can but are constrained by a high floor, a low roof, a large transmission tunnel, and the imperative to give the rear seat good leg room.

4. I was also disappointed that from the driver's seat, the pajero sport is like the fortuner and not the SFX in terms of the view out. In the Sport, the dash and the bonnet tower high up in your view, as they do in the fortuner, unlike the pajero SFX that in comparison has view like the seats of a stadium, high up and looking clearly into the field. This is a very important element in driving in bad conditions, something that I value highly in the SFX.

5. The Sport suffers from the same ergonomic constraints as the fortuner and the endeavor, but not the ones the SFX does. however it cannot match the montero which is more spacious, provides a much superior view out, has bigger, more comfortable seats, etc etc.

6. The interior design, layout and ergonomics make a mockery of the Pajero SFX.

So I am wondering preliminarily which I would pick between the SFX and the Sport. From what I was able to gather today, I would say that for me it will come down to how good the Sport is off road. If its closer to the fortuner than the SFX, I would buy the SFX. If its close to the SFX, then I wouldn't touch the SFX.

I am a purist and would not buy an SUV except to use in harsh conditions so I would happily pick the superior vehicle for those conditions and accept a duffer on road (where I would prefer to use a sedan anyway), than to buy an SUV thats less good off road but better on road.

however, most SUV buyers never go off road and they want their SUVs to have car like on road traits. If the fortuner is to be regarded as the superior vehicle for these people, it will need to hope that the mitsubishi's engine fails compared to the superb toyota unit. Since the ride and handling of the TOyota are nothing special, I don't think Mitsubishi can flub those so bad that they fall behind the fortuner.

So now I am waiting for a test drive on the tarmac to know which I prefer between Sport and SFX

[vb-saan]

Overall the car looks decent. Personally I felt it looks much better than the Fortuner. But what I don’t understand is, if it’s coming as a CBU, why are they getting stingy on the equipment levels? AFAIK, the one in Thailand get an advanced touch screen audio, and AT box with paddle shifts. And the ‘ornamental’ wood finish looks quite tacky.

[4x4addict]

I have not driven the Pajero Sport, but on my last trip to Malaysia, spend some time in the Mitsubishi Triton double cab pick and was amazed at the ride comfort despite being a pick up. I hope it will be the same with Pajero Sport given it shares the underpinnings with the Triton.

However, I noticed that power comes only from 2000 RPM so I suspect there will be a lot of Turbo Lag unlike in the Fortuner.

[dkaile]

Went to Vivek Motors, Ghaziabad and had a first look at the Pajero Sports. Here is my analysis with photos and a little comparison vis-a-vis' the Fortuner (its direct competitor) -

The Front looks OK but the new Fortuner is much better looking from the front. Overall presence looks a tad smaller than the Fortuner


Boxy side profile looks a little antiquated


Rear is the best and Cayenne inspired and blows away the new Fortuner's kinky lights.


The 2.5L DI-D engine. Looks like a gem but engine bay is a little cramped.


The rear most seats are pathetic compared to the Fortuner though they fold flat. At best for children. Boot space is also quite poor with all seats up.


All 3 rows have AC. Seat fabric little softer than the Fortuner but feels artificial to Fortuner's pure leather feel. The interiors are also much cramped than the Fortuner and Fortuner definitely feels a size up from the inside.


The steering and central console. Notice the antique instrument panel which are NON optitronic though the red colour feels good. The central MID is the best part of the dash and looks quite modern and displays lots of information. The Stereo is Rockford Fosgate and sound quality is good. There is a USB cable in the front glove box with space for ipod and Aux-in is on the front stereo panel itself. Though it is far cry from the touchscreen dvd system of its competitor. Also NO reverse camera. Only reverse sensors. Front single zone Auto AC with manual rear AC controls like the Fortuner. No Bluetooth. No Phone controls on steering. No MID controls on steering. Only Volume.


The 4x4 gear box, same as Fortuner. No VSC though.


Interior quality feels slightly better than the Fortuner, though not by much.


The price list


Delivery period was committed to me for end of April or 1st week May after depositing 5L advance booking amount.

At 27.6L on road Delhi, the Fortuner is a better bet any day, still. The premium for the "Pajero" brand name seems undeserved the price. At 3L less, it would have made Toyota sweat its unabated leadership of this segment.

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by dkaile

The Front looks OK but the new Fortuner is much better looking from the front. Overall presence looks a tad smaller than the Fortuner

It really is very subjective and down to personal tastes, isn't it?

I found the original style of the fortuner attractive, but the facelift looks disgusting and cheap to me, very phony and pretentious in its shiny attempt at status.

I guess there is enough place in the world for all kinds of opinions.

[me_sid]

Thanks a ton dkaile, for the information & the pics. Apparently the car looks pretty solid from the exterier, with a butch stance, sans the chrome ( I have an aversion towards chrome).

Interior the fitment looks neat, well, thats expected from Mitsu, anyways. But then again the fake wood and beige. Why cant they just keep it to Black or dark gray with silver highlights? Options atleast .Pricewise though its a little too much, I mean I would wait till the indigenous version hits the market.

Are they offering any TD's yet?

On a side note: Mitsu should have focused more on the differential pricing rather than the chrome factor and beige/wood factor to lure customers.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Went to Vivek Motors, Ghaziabad and had a first look at the Pajero Sports. Here is my analysis with photos and a little comparison vis-a-vis' the Fortuner (its direct competitor) -At 27.6L on road Delhi, the Fortuner is a better bet any day, still. The premium for the "Pajero" brand name seems undeserved the price. At 3L less, it would have made Toyota sweat its unabated leadership of this segment.

Thanks for the pics.

The interiors are definately tad better than the Fortuner, but for this prices expectation are slightly higher

[urajkumar]

Quite a handsome SUV! Thought i wish the front grille was more macho! I am a big fan of Mistubushi brand having owned a lancer earlier. If only they had a better partner than HM, they would have done much better in India.

Lets wait for September month by when they should have started assembling the Sport in India & it should bring down the cost to Fortuner levels (ideally i think it would be lesser than fortuner if assembled in India).

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by me_sid

Are they offering any TD's yet?

the CHD dealer said their demo unit will be coming in the first week of april and thats when the the test drives will be offered.

[Monaro CV8]

Thanks dkaile for the pics.

As rightly said, the front of the sport is very Cedia'ish, but the side profile reminds me of the Fortuner.

Again, IMO the Pajero Sport is only using the 'Pajero' brand name to garner sales/ interests; otherwise the only True-Blue Pajero SUVs are the SFX & the Montiero.

In light humor: At least Toyota are not selling the Fortuners branded as 'Prado Sport'..

[PPS]

Its a struggle to find a Mitsu dealer in Mumbai (not that i'm interested)! They had a showroom at Atria Mall, Worli which is a prime location but now its replaced by BMW Motorrad.

Outlander looks much better than the Sport. Why couldn't they plonk this engine into the Outlander??

[eq24]

Going by the price list above, how come cars in Uttrakhand or Uttaranchal are a whole 2 lacs cheaper than Delhi. I was under the impression that Delhi was the cheapest place to buy cars?

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by eq24

Going by the price list above, how come cars in Uttrakhand or Uttaranchal are a whole 2 lacs cheaper than Delhi. I was under the impression that Delhi was the cheapest place to buy cars?

It is the tax structure in various parts of the country. Even in Maharashtra vehicles are costlier in Mumbai and cheaper in Navi mumbai & other parts

[architect]

Originally Posted by eq24

Going by the price list above, how come cars in Uttrakhand or Uttaranchal are a whole 2 lacs cheaper than Delhi. I was under the impression that Delhi was the cheapest place to buy cars?

I think the cheapest used to be Daman. Till recently the Daman registered Maruti 800 was the cheapest four-wheeler car you could buy in the whole world.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by PPS

Its a struggle to find a Mitsu dealer in Mumbai (not that i'm interested)! They had a showroom at Atria Mall, Worli which is a prime location but now its replaced by BMW Motorrad.

Exactly! I was recently passing by Atria Mall, Worli and thought I'll check out the Pajero sport (general curiousity not potential purchaser) and was surprised to see the Motorrad showroom where the Mitsu showroom used to be.

Then checked Mitsu india website and the dealer detail still shows Atria Mall as the address on the website (as of 5 mins ago I can add)

Does anyone know where the Mitsubishi showroom in South Bombay is relocated?