Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2017 Review

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed
Road Test

It took Mitsubishi a little time to bring its Pajero Sport to full competitiveness in the workhorse-ute-to-SUV segment.

Around seven months after its launch as a five-seater only in December 2015, the Pajero Sport was given a third row of curtain airbag-protected seats in July 2016 so it could face Ford’s Everest, Holden’s Trailblazer and Toyota’s Fortuner without qualms.

Not that the Pajero Sport needed much help. From being a strong-selling but significantly compromised family SUV, the new seven-seat capacity broadened its scope to the extent that it nearly doubled the sales of one rival, the Holden Trailblazer/Colorado 7. Recording 6238 sales for 2016, the Mitsubishi eclipsed the Holden (3285), Ford Everest (3614) and Toyota Fortuner (3871), but not Isuzu's MU-X (7018).

The fact that the Pajero Sport comes at a more affordable starting price ($45,000 plus ORCs for the base five-seat GLX) has helped all of this, but the Mitsubishi also deserves credit for proving to be a very capable, economical, simultaneously spacious and cosy large SUV.

Combining a minimally-smaller, lighter body and the smallest engine in the group with the most satisfactory economy/emissions and the best towing capacity, it’s able to mount a strong argument in its favour.

The 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel sneaks in just ahead of the lowest-rated Toyota Fortuner in terms of power output (133kW v 130) but trails the field with just 430Nm – developed at a relatively high 2500rpm – of torque where the Fortuner, Everest and

Trailblazer quote 450Nm at 1600rpm, 470Nm at 1750rpm and 500Nm at 2000rpm respectively.

The reality, though, is that the Pajero Sport manages pretty well in both power-weight and torque-to-weight ratios, mixing it with the Trailblazer and Fortuner and rating way above the weighty Titanium-spec Everest.

Spec’d up to Exceed level, the Pajero Sport – apart from the glaring omission of satellite navigation – lacks very little. With pre on-roads pricing only a couple of hundred dollars or so over the premium Holden Trailblazer LTZ ($52,750 against $52,490), the Mitsubishi sits well below the top-rung Everest Titanium ($76,705) and Fortuner Crusade ($61,990).

For this, you get a decent safety roll-out with standard low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), radar cruise control, bird’s-eye-view parking cameras, blind-spot sensor, an “ultrasonic misacceleration mitigation system” which “reduces the chance and severity of hitting obstacles when the driver mistakenly presses the accelerator when stationary or at speeds up to 10km/h” and a seven-airbag ANCAP safety rating.

Add leather-trimmed seats (power-adjusted and heated up front), dual-zone climate control with roof vents for second and third-row passengers, push-button ignition, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rain-sensor wipers, automatic LED headlights, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and there’s little meaningful – apart from sat-nav – that’s missing.

And the Pajero Sport’s paucity of power and torque is further offset by a refined Aisin eight-speed automatic transmission, complete with effective paddle shifters, that has the ratio spread to fill-in any gaps between gears. It earns credit points over the opposition’s use of six-speed autos.

Living with a Pajero Sport Exceed for almost two weeks during the summer holidays was the perfect opportunity to experience Mitsubishi’s pride in probably its most familiar environment – toting around a family on a day to day basis and factoring in the odd fully-laden holiday jaunt.

Loading up with four passengers and their accoutrements revealed both the Pajero Sport’s carrying capacity and some of its compromises.

For one – and the Mitsubishi is far from being the only offender here – the space behind the third-row seats in full seven-passenger mode is ludicrously small. There’s decent width, but no depth and practically unusable height, and the hidden, compartmented under-floor storage area is really only good for trinkets.

As we said that’s not uncommon in most seven-seaters, but we also found the folding system frustrating when taking advantage of the 60:40 split-fold centre row to maximise the vacation-bound load space while accommodating our four travellers.

With the centre-row seats set up for two passengers on the left side, the single, flip-folded right-side seat was unable to provide a flat folding space for the right-side third-row seat – with the result that the folded base jutted up and blocked the full-length pathway to the back of the driver’s seat.

That said, the load area, with both second and third-row seats folded, was flat and fine, while access to the third-row seat, in full passenger mode, was simple and easy. The centre row double-folded forward by simply operating a lever set into the top of the seatback.

Once ensconced, our four passengers were relatively happy with their chosen lots – although a larger-bodied inboard centre-row passenger might have found reasons to grumble because of the hard cushion and the lack of lateral space. Like the Triton LCV, the Pajero Sport is the least broad-shouldered in its class.

Legroom in the front and second rows was perfectly adequate and the rearmost seat wasn’t bad in this respect either, given the usual proviso it’s really only intended for small passengers, not full-size adults.

The driver is given a generally easily acquainted-with control layout, and going through the motions of connecting with Bluetooth is a simple operation. Our only real beef was the eight-speaker sound system that works fine in FM and DAB+ modes but is awfully fluffy when tuned in to AM stations.

Having just stepped out of a five-speed auto Triton single cab-chassis, the Pajero Sport’s hushed engine and overall cabin silence were almost meditative, and the long-travel, all-coil ride felt sublime.

Eight ratios and liberal sound deadening are transformational in making the Pajero Sport almost cushy by comparison with its workhorse sibling, while the former also helps mitigate the extra weight. It’s occasionally noticeable that the 2.4-litre engine has its work set out propelling 2100kg, but when push comes to shove it’s always there to provide plenty of punch for city traffic or highway overtaking.

And by comparison with its rivals, real-world fuel consumption borders on remarkable. The official claim is 8.0L/100km but we consistently saw better than that, averaging around 7.6L/100km on our fully-laden trip and never edging above 10L/100km during the test period. The small 68-litre fuel tank seems perfectly appropriate for extended highway work – although its usefulness on an off-road grind, or exploiting the impressive 3100kg braked towing capacity, could be questionable.

Ride quality borders on remarkable for what is basically a primitive, live rear axle off-roader. The all-coil Mitsubishi competently rode some notorious off-the-beaten-track stretches of road, amply gobbling up dips, bumps and undulations that have upset many a mid-size sedan in the past.

As you would expect, the high-riding, narrow-gutted Mitsubishi can’t be thrown around like a BMW X5. However if it’s treated respectfully with carefully chosen lines and well-judged speeds, it can be hustled quite quickly from point to point, only compromised by the steering which, though quicker than the previous Triton-based Challenger, is still a bit slow with 3.7 turns needed to swing from lock to lock.

But as a capacious, tough and fully-equipped SUV that won’t drain your bank balance in terms of purchase or running costs, the Pajero Sport is about as close to the top of the segment as it’s possible to be without being the actual top gun (see our comparison) with its main opposition for details on that.

With five years of warranty and capped-price servicing, looking after it shouldn’t be an issue either – especially with roadside assistance tied to the servicing program.

2017 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed pricing and specifications:
Price: $52,750 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 133kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 212g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Ford Everest (from $54,990 plus ORCs)
>> Toyota Fortuner (from $47,990 plus ORCs)
>> Holden Trailblazer (from $47,990 plus ORCs)