Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Mitsubishi, the prominent Japanese auto giant, is now a household name in urban India, owing to the grand reception that its first SUV, Pajero, got in India. The company in awe to entice a larger number of buyers and capture more market share in India introduced the facelift version of Pajero, re-christening it as 'Pajero Sport'. The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is lot more advanced, up-market and superior than its first generation yet not so feature-rich as its contemporaries. It appears like a ruthless bull with raw power and goes well its image of an off-roader.
The company has carried out an array of cosmetic changes in the Pajero Sport so that it can give Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour, and Hyundai Santa Fe a run for their money. Being presented with six dynamic colours - Rugget Red, Earth Brown, Iceberg Silver, Himalyan White, Pure Black, and Storm Grey; the SUV's charm hasn't diminished yet and it is still enigmatic.

Though, it comes with a single variant which is a huge disappointment. However, it comprises of some of modern times most anticipated features such as Rear intermittent wiper and washer, Accessory socket inside floor console box, Vanity mirror with lid for sun visors, Multi-mode centre information display etc. to name a few.

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is built on the platform of company's light pick-up trucks which are sold in bulk in Thailand. In fact, the company designers have lifted the nose structure as it is from its rally car, the Pajero Evo. The Chrome plated vertical bar type front grille is integrated adjacently with the projector beam headlamps which come with a functionality of self-leveling. The fog lamps right under the headlamps is a big turn on. The enormous wheel arches on both sides that have 17x7.5 JJ Alloy wheels; go well with the overall front fascia of the SUV.

Beneath the front bumper, there is plenty of space due to the enlarged ground clearance of 215mm in the SUV. The Japanese auto-major has executed chrome pretty well with certain sections of the SUV like the chrome-plated power door mirrors and door handles strike the right chord and provide a bit of much needed sophistication and plushness to the SUV unlikely of its stony exterior appearance.

Additionally, black roof rails, high-mounted stop lamp at rear, chrome-plated rear license plate garnish, colour-keyed side protector mouldings, etc. are like icing on the cake.

The interior is based on company's State-of-the-art philosophy and is spacious enough to accommodate 7 seven passengers and adequate luggage. The versatile nature of 2nd and 3rd row is commendable and they can be folded in desired fashion to get more space. The third row is flat foldable while the second row comes with an option of either forward fold or 40:60 split. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has beige leather seats for total comfort of the passengers and more importantly, driver's seat is power seat in order to eradicate fatigue caused during long journeys. The 2nd row has two pieces of headrest and a centre armrest with cup holder as a symbol of luxury. Every door is in wooden finish which is elegant. Central console with its multi-information display provides necessary information regarding time, outside temperature, direction, audio information, average fuel information, etc., to mention a few.

The company has utilized the space inside the cabin incredibly well for keeping small belongings by coming up with cup holders on floor console, door pockets with bottle holders, removable cup-type ashtray, and sunglass pocket on ceiling. In order to maintain the lavishness inside the cabin, the company has gone the leather way.

The rack and pinion power assisted steering wheel with mounted audio controls looks premium in leather wrapping. In addition, the leather wrapped gearshift and transfer knob are another example exquisite craftsmanship. As for infotainment, the company has equipped with the SUV with a AM/FM radio and CD player along with 8 speakers (8 tweeters). Mitsubishi Pajero Sport features air conditioner which is automatic for the front seats while operated manually for the rear seats and works exceptionally well in the scorching heat of Indian summers.

Under the bonnet, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has a 2.5-litre, 16-valve, intercooled turbocharged DOHC common-rail DI-D engine which is tuned and tweaked outstandingly well, keeping in mind performance. Although, it is smaller in size but that doesn't make it any lesser in performance than its contemporaries.

It churns a maximum power output of 176bhp at 4000rpm with a peak torque performance of 400Nm at 2000-2500rpm. It is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox in accordance with a super select 4WD drive system. It is one of the best diesel engines ever developed by the company because of its relentless and effortless performance on both highways and city roads.

Primarily, SUVs are not considered to be fuel efficient vehicles but in recent times, due to ever rising competition, it has emerged out as an equally important ingredient of a vehicle. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport mileage is 12kmpl because of the lighter engine and it seems alright. The fuel economy, in congested roads and heavy traffics, dips down around 9-10kmpl which is okayish, going by the performance and power figures of the SUV.

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, being a heavy SUV, uses company's advance braking system, operated hydraulically on all the four wheels. It features 16' ventilated discs as front brakes while the rear ones are are more compact in the form of 16' ventilated drum-in-discs. Braking system responds instantly due to the presence of a vacuum booster which is installed for extra protection at times of hazardous circumstances. Additionally, there are Antilock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) in accordance with the primary braking system to ensure safe braking and prevent skidding of the SUV.

As far as safety features are concerned, Pajero Sport consists of Dual front SRS airbags for driver and co-passenger. In addition, there is 3-point ELR seat belt, with pre-tensioners and force-limiters, for the front seats while the 2nd row has 3-point ELR seat belt along with a 2-point lap belt, followed by a 3-point ELR seat belt for the 3rd row passengers as well. Apart from the aforementioned safety features, the SUV also carries some significant features like front and rear side door impact bars, RISE body design, electronic immobilizer, crash detection lock door shut down etc. to name a few.

The SUV might appear a tad lighter than its contemporaries on paper, but it is a real performer. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport catches the 100kmph barrier from standstill in a mere 12.45 seconds which is clinical. The performance is complemented immensely well by the Stabilizer bars equipped Suspension system and Super select 4WD drive system. The diesel mill performs flawlessly on the highways as well as city roads. On the other hand, handling too is quite effortless; owing to the extremely light rack and pinion power assisted steering which comes with a low tilt steering column. It tends to maneuver the SUV swiftly through narrow roads and overcrowded traffic, which is a common phenomenon on Indian roads.

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport emerges out to be the 'Dark Horse' amidst the SUV segment in India. It seems an underdog but when on road, it is second to none, if performance and power are the requisite criteria of selection. Although, things like awful pricing, small dealership network and absence of 4X4 & AT variants lessen its fire-power but still it whizzes past its rivals in style and grace!

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is a rugged SUV which directly competes against the Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour and Hyundai Santa Fe. It possesses a powerful engine, top-notch interior comfort and avant-garde exterior appearance but it suffers heavily at the same moment because of the poor after sales services of the company and lack of an extra variant. The company, in order to overcome this deficit, recently launched an Anniversary Edition of the SUV which carries multiple extra features that are not available with the regular variant of the SUV.