[Harbir]

Well, its home. Its been a long day. I've been up since 4 am running all over the place, and need to hit the sack. More tomorrow.

for now, the summary is that I am very happy with it, much beyond what i expected. The cruising ability on the highway in the 70-100km/h range is really superb and thats all I need. On the flip side, the engine has a pretty narrow power band, between about 1750 and 2750rpm, so needs a lot of rowing of the gear box. COntrary to what you might expect from a diesel (perhaps because of the weight of the vehicle), this thing is not happy with the driver just putting his foot down and expecting action. Short shifting rarely works because the power band is too narrow and except in that band, the engine is either breathless or it lugs.

But in the right gear, it is quite thrusty, and I am completely satisfied. I need to identify a rattle somewhere around the rear door, however.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the old school configuration of a tall glass house and low beltline. Its one of my favorite features about it.

thats all my tired brain can think of for now. cheers.
I love the Graphite. very sober, restrained but elegant and confident look.

[Harbir]

I am considering getting 31x10.5-15 Hankook Dynapro MT mud terrain tires on it, but have to consider whether I can afford the 52,000 rupees immediately after having emptied my bank account of 22 lacs.

[Harbir]

Here she is. Finally!!! I've already got the tires dirty as I drove it up a sand pile outside a house being build near my place.

[Rameshdude]

Ah Finally !
Congrats on your black beauty. Wishing you a happy drive ahead.

[cool_dube]

Awesome! Congratulations... wish you many happy miles on and off road.

[Harbir]

ok, its wearing 31x10.5-15 Hankook Dynapro MTs now. I traded the OE MRF ZVRLs and was given Rs32,200 for the set of 5. I paid 19,800 out of pocket. THe ZVRLs in comparison to these looks like regular road tyres for cars, not even all terrains for 4x4s.

THe look is really rugged. There is no increased noise at speeds up 90km/h that I could tell. There may be a small enough increase that one cannot tell easily. on the whole, I am satisfied with the noise levels. THe steering effort is lighter with dynapros. However, the ride at speed is harsher and bumpier by enough to tip the car from acceptable to borderline uncomfortable for my passengers who won't appreciate that these are mud tires. The tires feel like they are heavier. However, it could also be that there is too much pressure in the tyres. I will fiddle with the tires tomorrow morning and report the results.

On other counts, the braking is excellent, strong, firm and straight, though I did not try any emergency braking maneuvers on these or the MRFs so I cannot tell if they are more prone to lock up than the MRFs (which with ABS would lead to longer stopping distances).

The larger diameter (31" vs 29.6") does not seem to have adversely affected the performance of the vehicle. If anything, the slightly taller effective gearing seems to have been a help compared to the pretty short gearing one gets with OE tires.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Harbir

ok, its wearing 31x10.5-15 Hankook Dynapro MTs now

Can you post some pics of the car with new shoes?

[Harbir]

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[cool_dube]

Looks super cool. However, it still remains to be seen how they hold up, being MTs, on highway hauls - fuel economy, tread wear, etc.

Did you not consider ATs, given that the usage would be a mix of on road and off road?

[Harbir]

I did briefly. But I wanted to not be restricted from exploring where I could go by my tire choice and I was willing to accept the draw backs on MTs.

The drawbacks of MTs seem to range from modest to intense depending on the tire in question. I picked these because I was given to understand by a giant four wheeler magazine MT comparison test that these are polite and acceptably decent on the road. We'll see.

its not as if I have chosen MTs that are so misbehaved that the noise, vibration, balancing problems, etc make it a ridiculous choice

[lurker]

Congrats on being the proud owner of an SFX. It sure will bring you a lot of smiles in tougher terrain. Do also keep in mind about how easy it is for car thieves to break into the Pajero as experienced by a fellow tbhpian herelink . Nothing out of the ordinary, but something rudimentary like a steering lock that goes with the earthy style of the SFX would prove to be a big dampener for potential chor-lootere.

[Harbir]

THank you. My pajero does have a factory fitted alarm that triggers if the vehicle's key is used to unlock the door without the remote being used to disarm the alarm first. How usefule it is is hard to say.

[Blow Horn Ok]

Congrats Harbir for living up your Dream after a long dilemma!! The Dynapros are adding to the rugged feel of the machine. What is the music system like? Do get a good quality gear lock installed for that added security. These alarms can be by-passed easily. BTW you said it right; the color has dual feel to it. Elegant & Rugged.

Drive Safe!

[D.V.R]

Hi mate congrats on finally getting the pajero.Its looks awesome.Can you post pics of the security system that you have in your pajero?Would like to see how different is from 2008 SFX.

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by Blow Horn Ok

What is the music system like?

The music system is fine. I am a hifi nut and look for the very finest sound quality possible (I once spent a year's food budget on a pair of speakers and lived on ramen noodles, at 9 cents a pack, to pay for them) and don't expect much from car audio as long as its good enough to not call my attention to how bad it is. So, chaley ga.

The headunit is a stupid piece of work. Its an aftermarket kenwood with bright garish colors of lighting that keep changing and never coordinate with the other dash lighting, and the display is most undecipherable at the viewing angle you get. but it plays the radio well enough and and searches stations very well, and thats all I've expected from it for now. I am tempted to get a new unit for the sole purpose of getting integrated bluetooth for my telephone.

Originally Posted by D.V.R

Hi mate congrats on finally getting the pajero.Its looks awesome.Can you post pics of the security system that you have in your pajero?Would like to see how different is from 2008 SFX.

pics of the security system? you mean of the remote?