[JayPrashanth]

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The Hindustan Motors-Mitsubishi joint venture has launched the "Anniversary Edition" of the Pajero Sport, thus marking one year of the SUV's launch in India. The Pajero Sport is the best selling model in Mitsubishi's two SUV Indian line up (the other product is the Montero SUV imported through the CBU route). The Pajero Sport's Anniversary Edition model comes with a few additional features and here's a round up,

• Touch Screen Audio System with GPS Navigation
  
• Reverse Parking Camera
  
• Rear Spoiler
  
• Body Coloured Bumpers and Mud Guards
  
• Anniversary Edition Decal

The Pajero Sport retains the 2.5 liter turbo diesel engine that outputs 178 PS of peak power and 400 Nm of peak torque. This engine is mated to a five speed manual gearbox and the SUV doesn't get an automatic gearbox as an option, in a segment where automatic gearboxes rule the roost. The SUV gets Mitsubishi's Super Select 4WD system, that allows the driver to toggle between four drive modes: 2 wheel drive, 4 WD High, 4 WD High with locked center differential and 4 WD Low with locked center differential.



The Pajero Sport is priced at 23.56 lakh rupees, ex-showroom Delhi, a price that pits the SUV against the likes of the Toyota Fortuner and the Nissan X-Trail. The Pajero Sport is assembled at Hindustan Motors's Tiruvallur factory, off Chennai, through completely knocked down (CKD) kits. The SUV is the only CKD assembled Mitsubishi product to be sold in India. Hindustan Motors's Tiruvallur factory will soon begin contract assembling the Isuzu D-Max pick up truck and MU-7 SUV.



Late last year, the Pajero SFX made way for the Pajero Sport once CKD assembly of the latter began at Tiruvallur. (The Pajero Sport was initially imported in completely built unit form). The Pajero SFX was discontinued even though it was a decent seller for Mitsubishi in India as the CKD assembly of the Pajero Sport put it in direct competition with the Pajero SFX, a three decade old SUV model. To avoid cannibalization of the Pajero Sport's sales, Mitsubishi discontinued the Pajero SFX from the Indian market.

[saket77]

Looks like every other manufacturer is on a 'limited edition' launching spree. If I am not wrong, Skoda Rapid LE was launched just a few days ago, with similar additions. Not to mention the Swift from Maruti (Guru of LEs)!

[soonya]

Whatever Mitsu folks do they will not be able to gain traction in India. They messed all their wonderful products either pricing high, or positioning badly and not supporting their products. All their products were/are good. The lancer has been systematically killed, the Cedia was supported badly and the Pajero suffers from the lackadaisical support from HM. All my friends who own Mitsu products rave about their performance but wince at the inadequate support from ASS and HM's non-customer friendly attitude.

Feel sad to see such a marquee get such shabby treatment.

These are band-aid solutions to resurrect. They need to do some zero-base cleaning up for the brand to get its deserved glory!

[amitpunjani]

Good move by Mitsubishi, is this Navigation in the form of In Dash or a Portable Navigation Device?

[9thsphinx]

Mitsubishi has a very capable SUV on their hands. A solid competitor to the best-selling Fortuner. Both are Japanese. But so far it has managed to generate negligible if not zero interest. Reason? Poor strategy amongst many other wrong choices.

Limited editions are okay Mitsu, but you need to up your ante. Learn a lesson or two from Toyota on how to go about selling an SUV and keeping it at the top spot.

[ajit_72]

Strange. Amount of the changes are in interiors but no pictures were released of the same. The Mitsu India website was also updated in February and it has no mention of Anniversary edition. How can you trust a brand that can't even update its own company website?

How do they expect customers to see the the Touch Screen audio system with GPS etc when they hardly have any dealers and the pictures that they are release are only of exteriors in which there is hardly any change other than the decal????

[ACM]

1) These features / additions should have been standard on the Pajero Sport. Good to have them now. Is the stuff at the normal price or has the price been revised further upward?

2) Normally anniversary edition should celebrate a highly successful first year. Won't say that is valid in this case. But the we have seen both kinds of examples in the Indian market (successful sales celebration and dud sales celebrations)

3) They should have continued the Pajero SFX with a price drop bring it to around Rs. 15L they have missed an opportunity in this.

4) They are becoming more and more a side-lined niche brand by the day.

5) The Pajero Sport does look Yummy in the snap on this thread. Oh why not with an AT.

[Mnjdnght]

I was talking with a SVR motors (authorized service center for Mitsubishi - Bommanahalli) service exec yesterday. He mentioned that Mitsubishi is readying a Pajero sport AT, Outlander Diesel and a "small" car to be launched by early 2014. I would only qualify this as a rumour but I was encouraged to hear that though.

[Imran Ahmad Ali]

Greetings

Ok I am a die hard Mitusbhishi fan . Have a fortuner But the thing is you need to own a pajero to know what it is ! Yeah it doesn't do as many numbers as the fortuner but isn't that a good thing ? Why is the innova branded a taxi ? There are just too many on the road ! With the pajero you are different people look at a Pajero be it the SFX or the Sport now certainly not the case with a fortuner . This segment you can't ask for exclusivity yet compared to the Fortuner this is exclusive ! The dashboards resemblance to the Innovas makes it worse for me.
The 4wd super select that Mitsubishi has is ANYDAY better than an all time 4X4 by Toyota . Take both offroad and you ll know the difference . If you don't want a 4X4 you'd be better off with an innova or such a vehicle . I feel it's a good step taken by Mitusbhishi and feel it checks more boxes than the fortuner for me ! Rally heritage , interior quality, built in navigation and the works !
Coming to the A.S.S well I certainly feel that Chandigarh has an exceptional dealer. The work done on my car is exceptional and certainly better than Chevrolet, tata or even Toyota ( Although cheaper ) for which I feel standards are falling or they can't cope with the number of vehicles they have . Everytime I drive out of the dealership it's with a smile on my face ! So I don't have that issue for certain.
Pajero sport anniversary edition certainly better that the fortuner for me ! Hope that the true SUV does the numbers it deserves
Regards
Imran

[suv100]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

I was talking with a SVR motors (authorized service center for Mitsubishi - Bommanahalli) service exec yesterday. He mentioned that Mitsubishi is readying a Pajero sport AT, Outlander Diesel and a "small" car to be launched by early 2014. I would only qualify this as a rumour but I was encouraged to hear that though.

I wish they could just relaunch the SFX with an engine-transmission and interior upgrade and sell it for a price less than 15 lakhs. Wonder how Mitsu dealers are holding on with less than 120 units of the sport being sold in June. Its like Mitsu has lost the will to survive.

[Imran Ahmad Ali]

Originally Posted by suv100

I wish they could just relaunch the SFX with an engine-transmission and interior upgrade and sell it for a price less than 15 lakhs. Wonder how Mitsu dealers are holding on with less than 120 units of the sport being sold in June. Its like Mitsu has lost the will to survive.

Hi Suv100
I understand that how the idea seems of getting your hands on an SUV that retailed at 21-22 odd Lakhs ex showroom for about 15. What we have to understand that when a product is launched for a particular segment it cannot be stripped down and priced differently. When the Pajero 2.8 Crz replaced the first generation ( in india ) they substituted their CBUs with Ckds also the Sfx was already a Ckd in india . We pay 15-16 Lakhs for an innova and expect a pajero to be cheaper ?. I own both the vehicles in consideration here and feel it isn't fair at all !
They are two different categories and segments and companies need to think a lot before taking such steps be it brand image , after sales , etc.
Contrarily if mitsubhishi would've lost the will to survive they wouldn't have had the Pajero sport for sale . How did we treat them ? They brought the Evo . How many did we buy ? Everything good comes at a cost only if we are ready to pay for it.
Just my views and for me brand image does not mean the number it sells ! Rather the vehicle matter to me .
Best wishes
Imran

[Achyuth Vaibhav]

Originally Posted by suv100

I wish they could just relaunch the SFX with an engine-transmission and interior upgrade and sell it for a price less than 15 lakhs. Wonder how Mitsu dealers are holding on with less than 120 units of the sport being sold in June. Its like Mitsu has lost the will to survive.

I understand it, but if the SFX was still there sitting with the Sport, it would cannibalized the sales of the Pajero Sport. How about having a 2-3 decade old model with a new model?, most customers will get confused between the SFX and the Sport, if the SFX is sold at a lesser price like what you said, the Pajero Sport will not sell at all.

Cheers

Achyuth

[suv100]

Originally Posted by Imran Ahmad Ali

Hi Suv100
I understand that how the idea seems of getting your hands on an SUV that retailed at 21-22 odd Lakhs ex showroom for about 15. What we have to understand that when a product is launched for a particular segment it cannot be stripped down and priced differently. When the Pajero 2.8 Crz replaced the first generation ( in india ) they substituted their CBUs with Ckds also the Sfx was already a Ckd in india . We pay 15-16 Lakhs for an innova and expect a pajero to be cheaper ?. I own both the vehicles in consideration here and feel it isn't fair at all !
They are two different categories and segments and companies need to think a lot before taking such steps be it brand image , after sales , etc.
Contrarily if mitsubhishi would've lost the will to survive they wouldn't have had the Pajero sport for sale . How did we treat them ? They brought the Evo . How many did we buy ? Everything good comes at a cost only if we are ready to pay for it.
Just my views and for me brand image does not mean the number it sells ! Rather the vehicle matter to me .
Best wishes
Imran

The Pajero SFX is a 20 year old model with features inferior to the top end innova. If its priced on par with the innova I don't think there is anything wrong in that. Pajero might have been a premium brand in the 90's but not any longer. Besides, the entry level SUV of Mitsubishi, the Outlander is a dud. If Mitsu can position the old SFX as an entry level SUV I believe it can attract more people to the Pajero brand which in turn might actually boost the sale of the Sport as it is much more advanced than the SFX. The Evo did not sell because it was not worth the price it was being offered for.

[eq24]

Originally Posted by Imran Ahmad Ali

Greetings

Ok I am a die hard Mitusbhishi fan . Yeah it doesn't do as many numbers as the fortuner but isn't that a good thing ? Why is the innova branded a taxi ? There are just too many on the road ! With the pajero you are different people look at a Pajero be it the SFX or the Sport now certainly not the case with a fortuner . This segment you can't ask for exclusivity yet compared to the Fortuner this is exclusive ! The dashboards resemblance to the Innovas makes it worse for me.
The 4wd super select that Mitsubishi has is ANYDAY better than an all time 4X4 by Toyota . Take both offroad and you ll know the difference . If you don't want a 4X4 you'd be better off with an innova or such a vehicle . I feel it's a good step taken by Mitusbhishi and feel it checks more boxes than the fortuner for me ! Rally heritage , interior quality, built in navigation and the works !
Coming to the A.S.S well I certainly feel that Chandigarh has an exceptional dealer. The work done on my car is exceptional and certainly better than Chevrolet, tata or even Toyota ( Although cheaper ) for which I feel standards are falling or they can't cope with the number of vehicles they have . Everytime I drive out of the dealership it's with a smile on my face ! So I don't have that issue for certain.

Point wise replies to your above remarks.

I do not think NOT doing good numbers is ever a good thing for anyone. Short term exclusivity is there but that is about it. It ain't a Ferrari bro.

The Innova is not branded a taxi because of the number on the road, that way the Dzire and Swift should be taxi's too. It is branded a taxi because it is a transporters delight, robust build, relaibility, easy and Cheap to maintain and I am sure the list goes on. My Transporter friend has a fleet of 70 + Innovas, he swears by them like they were his children. Very few brands have this kind of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

You are saying people look at the Pajero SFX and the Sports with awe and longing and pass off a Fortuner as it was some piece of junk. If that was the case the Pajero would have been number one and not the Fortuner. I think people look at Pajeros with sympathy towards the owners a feeling not needed by Fortuner owners.

Did you know the Mercedes A, B and the CLA class all share a common dashboard and many other parts, yet price difference is almost 8000 GBP, comparable to the Innova and the Fortuner in India. It is a part sharing concept done by companies to bring down costs. Volkswagen, for your information are spending billions on the MQB platform to enable such a thing for all their cars in the future.

Your point about the 4WD system has merit and yes the pajero has a slight advantage there.
But then again you say that if some one does not want a 4WD then they should be driving MPV's, counter productive to the latest trend in India, no? where SUV's are all the rage.

Your next point about the good step in bringing an anniversary edition is baffling. Honestly do you not think that this is just a desperate attempt to get some foot falls in. They are throwing free insurance too in Delhi. When products sell, companies even charge for a damn key ring but when stuff hits the fan then freebies galore it is.

OK can I please clarify some thing for you and all the other people who have this confused. I can not for the life of me believe that Mitsubishi would diminish it's heritage, glory and the Paris Dakar for some petty sales but here goes.

The Pajero Sports is not a Pajero, it has nothing to with the Pajero, there is no heritage here, no rally and no victories. The so called Pajero Sports is a cab version of a Mitsubishi Triton truck. The Real new Pajero is the Montero in India.

After Sales in Delhi is quite bad from what I heard. Their Moti Nagar showroom and service center is one of the worst auto workshops I have seen ever. May be Chandigarah is good but Delhi is absolutely bad.

I hope this has not offended you in any way, if it has it was not my intention, simply putting some observations to your OP.

Disclaimer - I own a Fortuner and love everything about it.

[Diamond_dawg]

Originally Posted by ACM

3) They should have continued the Pajero SFX with a price drop bring it to around Rs. 15L they have missed an opportunity in this.

Thats true! Around 15 lakhs, there would have been quite a bit a of takers including me, 23+ for that SUV is too much! Good SUV tho in my opinion

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

Good move by Mitsubishi, is this Navigation in the form of In Dash or a Portable Navigation Device?

I believe the Navigation is integrated with the ICE