[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Unavowed_X9

Great! Could you PM me the details?

Here you go. His name is Jaskirat Singh Nagra and their email id is: sarblohmotors@gmail.com

He is a very soft spoken, elderly and knowledgeable gentleman.

[rahul27d]

My first post here and I would like to start with a big thank you to everyone in this thread. Your posts went a long way to help me bring home my Pajero sport in November 2015.

Few firsts here for me, my first SUV, first diesel, first automatic. The experience here so far has been fantastic. The reviews posted here as so thorough and informative that I am a bit lost for words on how to add on to it.

However, here are some experiences so far.

The stock horns were a disaster, got them replaced with Hella twin supertones on the third day. Bought them online and took it to the dealership where they did the installation. Was quite straight forward and quick.

Driving wise, not having to shift gears is a real boon, although I rue the fact that they don’t have the 4*4 option in the automatic. As many of you have pointed out, the acceleration does need some planning and getting used to, but when the turbo does kick in, its a beast. Braking also I would say needs a bit of planning, I have managed a couple of lock ups especially over speed bumps and uneven roads, not that I was going particularly fast. Reversing and Parking wise, the sensor performs well, but only if you are reversing slowly, else it takes time to catch up to you. The reverse camera is top notch, day or night the view is excellent and once you get used to the picture depth perception, you can trust it all the way. All that apart, the driving pleasure is an absolute treat. Be it long drive or a short city hop, you sit relaxed and comfortable with a great view of whats in front of you and around you. The AC will keep you cool and comfortable whatever the outside temperature might be. The layout of buttons and switches is simplistic and intuitive. The Kenwood system is pretty decent and nothing there to complain about. Maybe they could have had a slot for and SD card, but no complains otherwise.

Fuel economy usually comes around 8-9 without AC in city driving and 7-8 with AC. On the highway it creeps up to a 10 without AC. The highest I have got is 14, but this was during the descend from Shimla. All these figures are straight out of the MID, I haven’t yet tried the old fashioned way of calculating the average.

The autolock doesn’t happen when the car moves, one has to manually do it from the drivers side to lock all doors. Same for the two door rear view mirrors, have to be opened and closed manually via a button on the drivers side. This button and the mirror adjustments switches do not have any background lighting, so a bit of extra work during night-time.

The dealer had thrown in some freebies which included a front and rear bull guard. Never liked the front one, but didn’t get the chance to get it replaced till last week. Have a sleeker one now, and have got a set of hella comet 500s installed on the bull guard. Light as such was not an issue in city driving and on good highways as well, but a couple of times that we did venture out in the back of beyond, the need for something extra was felt.
I have not done any serious off roading yet, but whatever little I have done has been very satisfying except it meant a grumpy looking cleaner when I got back home. The car is so big, both inside and outside that cleaning it does take up quite a bit of time and effort.

Apologies if my post is a bit haphazard, hope to share more stories and experiences with you. Thanks!

[swazy82]

Congrats rahul27d, seems the ownership of pajero sport is slowly picking up. Please do post some pictures of the beast, specially of the bullbars. I test drove the automatic too, but decided on the manual, as the gear shifts in auto were not that quick. Nothing to grieve about the beast except the autolock and auto fold of the rvm.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by rahul27d

All that apart, the driving pleasure is an absolute treat. Be it long drive or a short city hop, you sit relaxed and comfortable with a great view of whats in front of you and around you.

Congratulations and welcome to the club.

This is something that delights me time and again. The perch, the stance and the view are to die for..!!

What color is your vehicle? I feel you should pen your ownership report, it would be nice to read about your process of shortlisting, test drives, negotiation and finally the ownership experience.

Originally Posted by rahul27d

The car is so big, both inside and outside that cleaning it does take up quite a bit of time and effort.

Definitely. I use it as my weekend workout gym..!!

Chetak Update: -

Chetak's rear brake pads were replaced today at 35000km. I had purchased them outside and had them replaced. The OE brake pads lasted 35k km which to me is not bad. The old brake pads had some 500km worth of life left in them but I didnt want to push them to the limit since they could have damaged the brake disc otherwise.

Also, against the recommendation, I did NOT skim the brake disc. I will observe their performance and only if I feel brake judder or unsatisfactory performance, I will have the disc looked into.

Further, Chetak saw his first suspension bush being replaced today. The lower end bush of the RHS link rod had split and had to be replaced. The bush kit was not in stock so a "jugaad" a.k.a a Cedia bush "Made in Japan" was fitted instead. I have ordered a bush kit from my supplier just in case.

Here are a couple of pictures of the bush.

[pamiboy]

Congratulations on your new ride. The Pajero sport seems a well rounded quality product for the price. I would consider it better than the fortuner which has a jarring suspension (sat in a relative's fortuner and nearly puked after 30 minutes- just wanted to get out of the car somehow). Hopefully people will have more awareness about what the competition offers and sales of Pajero sport will pick up. Good luck.

[rahul27d]

Thank you for your responses. Heres an attempt at an ownership report.

The Shortlist :

Our process to shortlist the cars were based on certain requirements. Firstly an SUV. Secondly, an automatic, because of the major part of our daily driving involved city driving. Thirdly, a spacious vehicle. So it came down to the following:

Mitsubishi Pajero
Toyota Fortuner
Mahindra XUV
Honda CRV
Audi Q3
Isuzu MU7
Ford Endeavour
Chevrolet Trailblazer
Sangyong Rexton

Out of the above we test drove the top four. The reasons for not considering the others were:

Audi Q3 - Lack of space. It was the most expensive option yet when it came to space it hardly was an improvement on our existing sedan. Yes it had a lot of brand value and other high end stuff, but didn't make practical sense.

Isuzu MU 7 - Looks and very basic. We didn't like the design that much, the front was ok but the sides and back give it more of a van look than an SUV. And there is a disconnect between the tyre size and the car size, it just doesn't "look" right. Also the interiors are very basic. At 20L plus you deserve at least some fancy stuff.

Ford Endeavour - New model just didn't arrive. We were hoping for the new model to arrive in time for us to make our decision. However it just kept us waiting. All we got from the dealer was brochures and promises, but no actual car. We were keen on it and seriously considered a booking amount fir it. However, without test drive and without even having an opportunity to physically look at the vehicle we couldn't convince ourselves to go for this option.

Chevrolet Trailblazer - Same story as above. There is an interesting incident with this. One night while returning home we saw a test mule in camouflage. We immediately knew it was the trailblazer. Chased it down till the engineer's home. Begged him to show it to us, but am sure he wasn't allowed to do it. Got some basic information from him and the expected launch date. Unfortunately as with the ford, the launch happened much after we got the Pajero.

Sangyong Rexton - the brand and online reviews. After doing some research on this, we somehow didn't get the confidence to go for the brand. The online reviews and ownership reports also didn't inspire much trust. Hence we dropped this quite early on.

The test Drives:

Toyota Fortuner - we did our first test drive on the Pajero and this was the face off we were looking forward to. It was therefore very surprising that the result was so one sided. We gave it a unanimous NO within the first five minutes! Firstly there was no vehicle at the dealership to look at. The test drive had to booked in advance. Finally at the given date, The test vehicle, which was an automatic 4*4, arrived. The first impressions about space were disappointing. We expected a lot more given the boxy looks from the outside and our previous experience with the Pajero. Driving it wasn't special at all. The Pajero felt so much better!

Mahindra XUV - we test drove the manual version hoping the much promised automatic arrives. Again, the driving experience was much to be desired. Got an impression that so much was sought to be provided to the driver but the way its laid out was not friendly at all. Frankly I felt the the so much red inside the cluster was jarring.

Honda CRV - we test drove the automatic. It was really good. Mostly due to the petrol engine and the very thoughtful Honda ergonomics. We seriously thought we had a winner at our hands. The sticking points were cost petrol, price and space (its a 5 seater at the end of the day) Was it really so much better than Pajero? It was a tough call but in comparison we felt the Pajero was a much better choice.



I shall be penning my Pajero experience in detail soon, since I have finally got some free time at hand to drive it around much more than i could earlier.

Attaching a picture of the changed bull guard with the Hella Comet 500s

[anshuman_v]

(This post is totally dedicated to Devdath)

I have been itching to do 'things' with my Pajero Sport, and did the following things in recent times. Am writing this post for fellow Pajero Sport owners to know what enhancements, or tune ups are possible within their vehicles.

1. 3M CR70 film on the front windscreen. Given the way temperatures are changing and the fact that I drive a black Pajero Sport, I have got the 3M CR70 films on my front windshield. It is supposed to keep the car cooler by rejecting UV, while mainting over 70% visibility. Also supposed to cut glare in the night. I have found it helpful in the limited drives I have had so far - yet to test on a long drive.

2. Got DRL's installed. Thanks to Dev for discovering and pointing them out, they are the exact same that he has installed in his Pajero. I would highly recommend these for all Pajero Sport owners, when they get bitten by the accessorize bug. The DRLs are great because they do the following:

• They fit in the same slot as the front indicators, so no extra fittings needed
• They serve the primary purposes of DRL very well - they are quite bright, hence very visible, and since they are fitted at ends of the vehicle - they outline the size and dimensions correctly
• They don't look after market at all
• The white light changes into orange turn indicators when you put the indicator switch on... very interesting to show off to your friends and see them go wow!

3. Got Cruise Control Installed. Again thanks to Dev for helping procure it. It has been installed on the right side of the steering wheel. The Steering now looks balanced - earlier, all the audio controls were on one side and other side was blank. Now it looks complete with the Cruise Control settings on the other side. Interestingly, the Cruise Control unit on the Pajero is actually slight more advanced than some other cars. Its such a shame that these features are not advertised by HM/Mitsu.

Here's how Cruise control buttons work:

• On/Off switch: When switched on, The green 'CRUISE' light comes in the dashboard - as per second pic below. This lets the ECU know that it can expect Cruise Control to be engaged. Its a good practice to keep this switched off in City, letting the ECU free of looking out for this additional input.
• Coast Set button: Allows you to engage Cruise Control at a certain speed. Interestingly enough, since this is a Manual transmission, the Cruise Control will not engage if the ECU does not find the engine in the right state of power. E.g., if you are somehow managing to drive in the fifth gear, at a speed of 50kmph, you will not be able to set the vehicle in Cruise mode since the ECU cannot sustain that combination. Instead, if you drive in the 4th gear at 50 kmph, the Cruise Control can be engaged. I found this a rather intelligent and nify feature, given its a manual transmission.
• Acc/Res: Accelerate/Resume. This button has two functions. While in Cruise mode, it works as an 'Accelerate' button - a single tap of the switch increases the cruising speed by 2kpmh. If you have come out of Cruise Control for some reason (by applying brake, or by using Cancel), and you press this button - it functions as 'Resume'. In this case, it brings the vehicle back the same speed it was, before you hit Cancel. You don't have to manually get the vehicle to that speed before you set cruise, the 'Resume' remembers the last setting and does that for you. Nifty!
• Cancel: Pretty self explanatory. Stops cruise mode and returns to manual controls fully. The vehicle can come out of cruise mode by using the Cancel button, or by hitting either the brake or the clutch pedals.

I am really impressed by this Cruise Control. I highly recommend the DRL and Cruise Control for every Pajero Sport owner. The additional price for these equipments is almost nothing compared to the functionality they unlock.

4. I also got an AC filter installed, which helps protect the quality of air near the AC intake. This is a standard in international Pajero Sport, absent in India. As Dev explained, this helps ensure that the AC cooling coil lives longer and the overall air quality is cooler.

5. Reprogrammed some interior controls in the vehicles, as follows:

• Changed the indicator stock for a lane change indicator like VAG cars - so a short flick of the indicator stock gives three flashes of the indicator lights and stops
• Changed the auto locking time of the vehicle from 30 seconds to 60 seconds
• Changed the indicator sound to lower, then changed it back since didnt like the reduced sound
• Could have changed the auto switch off time of internal cabin lights, but didn't

This completes the list of current enhancements. On Dev's recommendation, I have already installed a K&N filter which I have reported earlier. Am very happy with the low speed driving performance of the vehicle since. I am awaiting the first empty tank to report on mileage.

Next on my to-do list is to figure get my ORVMs to fold/unfold automatically at ignition start/stop. Lets see when that happens!

I have to publicly acknowledge Dev's contribution in all these upgrades. Not just the ideas, he actually sourced the parts for, came with me to the dealership, and used his special connections at the dealership to get all these installed. Hats off to your connections and thanks again, Dev!

[Deep_Shri]

[/quote]
5. Reprogrammed some interior controls in the vehicles, as follows:

• Changed the indicator stock for a lane change indicator like VAG cars - so a short flick of the indicator stock gives three flashes of the indicator lights and stops
• Changed the auto locking time of the vehicle from 30 seconds to 60 seconds
• Changed the indicator sound to lower, then changed it back since didnt like the reduced sound
• Could have changed the auto switch off time of internal cabin lights, but didn't

[/quote]

Hi Anshuman:

Please educate on the first two. A tutorial will be really helpful. Also, is there a way to change the windows to one-touch up and down from the driver's side?

I had the cruise control installed in September last year from the dealership itself. Worked like a charm on the Yamuna Expressway recently during my Gurgaon-Patna-Gurgaon trip.

Request you to share the procurement process for the DRLs. I had Morimoto HIDs installed recently and they are bright. Found it a better option than installing non-airbag compatible bulbar and affixing driving lamps. Total cost for high, low and fog was Rs.27,000.

Cheers!

[anshuman_v]

Hi Anshuman:

Please educate on the first two. A tutorial will be really helpful. Also, is there a way to change the windows to one-touch up and down from the driver's side?

I had the cruise control installed in September last year from the dealership itself. Worked like a charm on the Yamuna Expressway recently during my Gurgaon-Patna-Gurgaon trip.

Request you to share the procurement process for the DRLs. I had Morimoto HIDs installed recently and they are bright. Found it a better option than installing non-airbag compatible bulbar and affixing driving lamps. Total cost for high, low and fog was Rs.27,000.

Cheers!

Deep, unfortunately the customizations are not D-I-Y, they need to be done at a dealership. Its pretty simple though, takes a maximum of 15 minutes to do everything. All that you need is the scanning tool connected to the vehicle, and the customization software connected to the laptop. There's a total of about 6-7 customizations possible, and any service center technician can help. You can read more about this on a sister forum here: http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...tml#post481601

I believe the windows one-touch up/down will need a hardware upgrade too, I dont have enough details. Devdath is the right person to reach out to.

The DRLs are a direct fit in the front side indicator slot, as you can see in my slot. They are available from AliExpress, will turn up at your home in about 20 days after you order: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Night...961483297.html. Dev has posted a video of these in operation at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LCJ-AW42mA

[vipulbatta]

For the auto-lock feature, is it specific to MT Pajero? My AT model does not have any auto-lock option at all, neither by speed nor time. Is the programming done to enable it

Also, is it possible to have the 12V lighter port (any 1 of the 3) connected to battery so that it is on Always? I had this in my Fusion and it was very helpful. I could leave a phone or iPOD to charge even when the car was switched off completely.

Thanks in advance!

[rahul27d]

Hi Anshuman

Really impressed with the updates you have done to your Pajero. I am encouraged to try out a couple myself. Request you to kindly guide on how to activate the Auto-lock feature on the AT and second a little help on the AC filter.

One problem that has recently surfaced on my Pajero is the air bag light that doesnt go off after engine start. Took it to the dealership and they tried to reset it by disconnecting the battery for a while. However that didnt work. The only option now is to wire it through the MUT and do a reset, but the dealership MUT is not working, have been waiting a week for them to get it working and fix my problem.

Thanks!

[anshuman_v]

Originally Posted by abhi.adrenaline

Thanks a lot. This helps partly, but I was looking for detailed breakup from owner's manual/ service manual. That would be very helpful. Even a photo of the same will do.

Thanks again.

Here you go, Abhi. In addition to what Dev has already outlined, here is the maintenance schedule overview from the owner's manual. Enjoy

[anshuman_v]

Originally Posted by rahul27d

Hi Anshuman

Really impressed with the updates you have done to your Pajero. I am encouraged to try out a couple myself. Request you to kindly guide on how to activate the Auto-lock feature on the AT and second a little help on the AC filter.

One problem that has recently surfaced on my Pajero is the air bag light that doesnt go off after engine start. Took it to the dealership and they tried to reset it by disconnecting the battery for a while. However that didnt work. The only option now is to wire it through the MUT and do a reset, but the dealership MUT is not working, have been waiting a week for them to get it working and fix my problem.

Thanks!

Thanks Rahul. I highly recommend that you get some of these done for your car too, they are really worth it.

Regarding Auto Lock: as far as I know, the AutoLock is not available even in AT - even as configurable item. I think autolock is a bit of a two-edged convenience, because of:

• Auto-lock also means auto-unlock. So if you are standing at a long traffic signal, or any potentially unsafe area and you switch off the ignition for some reason, the doors get unlocked. Might not be the best thing in all cases
• Auto-locks can cause problems in crashes, if the circuit gets damaged.

Honestly, without auto-lock - how many times have doors got opened accidentally? Its more a mental thing, or more of a habit/convenience. In addition to the Pajero, none of the VAG cars have auto lock, for some of these reasons. The Pajero is designed for some rough and heavy usage, and this is inline with the philosophy.

When you finally get the MUT scanner working in your dealership, remember to spend the extra 15 minutes and explore all the customizations (http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...tml#post481601).

Good luck!

[rahul27d]

Hi Anshuman,

I guess you are right about the autolock. Its more of a habit/ mental thing.

Thanks for the link, it was very informative. Talked to the dealership guys and ordered the cruise control parts and the AC filter as well, they sound quite confident about delivering on it. Hoping they come through, the longish wait for the MUT isnt inspiring for me.

Will keep you posted. Thanks!

[n.devdath]

Chetak Update: -

Chetak is back from a 3000km work trip to Madhya Pradesh and back. Here are the details:

Left Bangalore at 2230hrs IST on Friday and reached Nagpur at 1230hrs IST on Saturday. Had lunch at one of my favorite Saoji restaurants near the RBI chowk. Nagpur has begun to get hot already. Met the new Nagpur dealer at the dealership, which is huge compared to most Mitsubishi dealerships. Showed them the cruise control and a few other modifications that they were interested in, on Chetak.

Left Nagpur at 1700hrs IST and reached Mocha village at 2130hrs IST.
Left Mocha at 2200hrs IST, got stuck in a 40 min traffic jam at the MP-MH border near Khwasa due to silly truck parking, took a short nap in Chetak near Nirmal and reached a member's farm house at Hyderabad at 1230hrs IST on Sunday. Had a slow, lovely lunch of home made mutton keema, biriyani, Telangana style rasam and chapatis with him, his son and our Hyderabad POCIN member Francis K Paton and his friend. Enjoyed the lovely company, took a couple of photos and left Hyderabad around 1700hrs IST to reach Bangalore at 2200hrs IST.

Road Condition: - BLR-Hyd is good as always. 4 laned and tolled.
HYD-NGP is good for the most part, a few bad patches continue near Pandharkawda and Hinganaghat but they have been patched up so apart from the diversions, the road is good. Nagpur-Seoni is again a mixed bag. Nagpur-Adni is great, 4 laned and tolled, however from there on, there are mixed patches of road work, 4 laning and potholes. The Seoni bypass is in bad shape (has been like this for the past 3-4 years). After the bypass, the road to Chirai dongri and onwards to Mocha is a 2 lane but an excellent state highway.

FE Update: -
Since I had limited time at my disposal (had to complete the trip over the weekend), I maintained 120kmph on 4 laners and as a result, got 10.02kmpl overall.

Issues: -
Chetak squeals like a pig in trouble every time I hit the brakes. I will h-a-v-e to get the rear brake pads checked asap now.
Chetak also blew an eye on his right (low beam Osram NBU) somewhere on the way to Seoni from Nagpur and night driving was a pain thereafter. I didn't want to replace the it with any other bulb so replaced it after I reached Bangalore today. I know NUBs have a shorter lifespan but the ones on Hariya (My Scorpio CRDe) lasted much longer.

Here is a photo of the Hyderabad Pajeros Chetak shook hands with.