Photo: SB-Medien
Mitsubishi is a small company, but a big name when it comes to old-fashioned Japanese off-roaders. Their Pajero Sport has been doing well in parts of Asia and especially Australia, and the brand is probably now looking at the European market.
The Pajero Sport is about three years old already, and it looks pretty good, but they are plotting a modest refresh which is expected to come out towards the end of the year. If you didn't know, this particular model is closely related to another Mitsubishi sitting in European showrooms right now, the L200/Triton pickup.
It's also known as the Montero Sport and Shogun Sport and features body-on-frame construction. That sounds positively archaic, but it's probably going to serve you well if what you're after in our 3-row SUV is off-road capabilities and reliability.
As far as we can tell, the facelift is supposed to look like that of the Delica from Japan and the L200. It's got that big shield-like chrome element. It's also going to get much more modern safety equipment, but we're curious to see if the Pajero Sport can handle a frontal offset crash, not that Euro NCAP scores are the end-all when it comes to sales.
The current engine of choice is the 2.4-liter diesel making 181 HP (178 bhp) at 3,500 rpm and 430 Nm (317 lb-ft), though a couple of replacements are possible. We're thinking about the Delica D:5's new 2.2-liter 4N14 direct-injection diesel which produces 145 HP and 380 Nm. If it passes Japanese emissions tests, it's probably very good. A gasoline base engine making 150 HP is also possible, but it's a longshot. Both AWD with diff locks and the auto gearbox are going to be extra.
Obviously, this isn't going to be for everybody. That's why Mitsubishi sells so many Outlanders and will probably continue to do so.
It's also known as the Montero Sport and Shogun Sport and features body-on-frame construction. That sounds positively archaic, but it's probably going to serve you well if what you're after in our 3-row SUV is off-road capabilities and reliability.
As far as we can tell, the facelift is supposed to look like that of the Delica from Japan and the L200. It's got that big shield-like chrome element. It's also going to get much more modern safety equipment, but we're curious to see if the Pajero Sport can handle a frontal offset crash, not that Euro NCAP scores are the end-all when it comes to sales.
The current engine of choice is the 2.4-liter diesel making 181 HP (178 bhp) at 3,500 rpm and 430 Nm (317 lb-ft), though a couple of replacements are possible. We're thinking about the Delica D:5's new 2.2-liter 4N14 direct-injection diesel which produces 145 HP and 380 Nm. If it passes Japanese emissions tests, it's probably very good. A gasoline base engine making 150 HP is also possible, but it's a longshot. Both AWD with diff locks and the auto gearbox are going to be extra.
Obviously, this isn't going to be for everybody. That's why Mitsubishi sells so many Outlanders and will probably continue to do so.
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