[Harbir]

THis article from Overdrive.in says that the Pajero SFX will be sold for another 4-5 months and that CKD production of the Pajero Sport will start in September. http://www.overdrive.in/details/1153...nched-in-India

That tells me that the Sport will be produced on the assembly line that manufactures the SFX, which will be discontinued in early august to move the line over to CKD production of sport to start regular CKD manufacture by september.

Seems like anybody with their heart set on an SFX has about 5 months.

EDIT: Its official. from the interview by Indian Autos Blog of HM-Mitsubishi officials:

• What happens to existing Pajero SFX model?

The new model will take over the existing model when it is discontinued after 4-5 months.

http://indianautosblog.com/2012/03/m...ess-conference

One more thing. The price with CKD WILL come down.

From above mentioned link at indian auto blog

• When the CKD operations begin, will they bring down the cost of the car or are you already subsidizing the price now?

We have to work out the details of the cost reduction, but one thing I can assure you, it will definitely bring down the prices which will be passed on to the consumer as well.

My editing time has expired so I have to maake an additional post. I apologize and request a moderator to combine these posts.

[dot]

From the pictures, it appears that the Pajero Sport is a much better looking vehicle than the competition. Certainly scores on the style factor.

[sugam]

I wonder why are all of these companies busy converting their 4 X 4 pick up truck models that they sell abroad into SUVs by covering the open area at the back of the pick up truck, adding seats --> Voila! We have a SUV!

I am attaching a picture of the Mitsubishi L200 to prove my point.

Same goes for Toyota Hilux converted to the Fortuner!!

[nilanjanray]

The Sport and the Fortuner go head to head. Plenty of comparisons available on South African automotive and 4X4 websites and forums.

This will come close to 28.5L OTR in Bangalore. Pricey. Mitsu should have taken a hit and priced it lower to carve out some marketshare.

[Monaro CV8]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Actually there is not much of a lineage in this case. This car just have the name ‘Pajero’. The latest of the original Pajero is already available in India - the Montero. So yes, probably they are trying to see if the name sells (going by the CBU route).

So you agree to my point.
It's the Pajero which is a brand in itself thats selling.
During my residence in Melbourne, I used to regularly hitch a ride with my friend in his newly acquired Pajero (what is sold as the Montiero here ). This was in the year 2003-2004. Those times the Indian market only knew of the Pajero SFX. But to me, the Pajero factor was IT..
The hydraulic suspension setup controlled from the MID, the on-the fly 4WD set from the MID, reverse parking sensors and camera, sun/moon roof, etc. were benchmark features set by the Pajero at that time.
Others followed suite..
Get my drift ..?

[Yeldo]

Originally Posted by subodh

Could you please share your initial views of the vehicle since you have driven it. How is the ride and handling compared to fortuner? How is the seating space and seats and how does it perform when pushed hard. Thanks

I have not driven one in India, but I have traveled in one during my recent Indochina trip. Pretty much comparable to a Fortuner, with the exception that the Pajero Sport there was an auto, and had rain sensing wipers. I'm off to Manila next week, so let me see if I can get my hands on one.

[architect]

There are certain questions in the Indian Automotive Market that cannot be answered:

Why does Mitsubishi launch what the market doesn't want (especially at that price), even if they may be great products?

I don't think Mitsubishi India ever had the concept of Market Research or Customer Feedback.

We wanted the Pajero SFX at Rs 15 Lakhs as an alternative to a Safari. For a 90s vintage vehicle it wasn't too much to ask for. We get one for Rs 22 Lakhs. Even then it still sells with a steady 100 units a month! Imagine how much more it would sell at Rs 15 Lakhs?

We wanted a Montero at Rs 28 Lakhs (even if they removed a couple of goodies) as a serious alternative to the Fortuner. We get one for Rs 45 Lakhs.

We wanted the Evo for Rs 30 lakhs as an alternative to, well...err, nothing. We get one for Rs 50 Lakhs.

We didn't want a Petrol only Outlander (clearly they never took lesson from the CR-V) and definitely not at that price.

Now we get a pick-up derived SUV instead of a true-blue Pajero derived one for Rs 23.53 Lakhs to compete with another pick-up derived SUV which is cheaper to maintain and buy than the Mitsubishi.

[Durango Dude]

This has neither the looks nor is it priced right. Why would any one in his right senses buy this over a Fortuner at a premium. The interiors look dated. I wonder where the market research info comes in for HM Mitsubishi or do they do research on "How to make a product flop?"

[Harbir]

looks are subjective. to me it looks better than the fortuner on the outside and just as bad as the fortuner on the inside.

the pricing difference I am ok with because its a CBU and HM says the price will go down when CKD manufacture begins in september. If they were only going to sell it as a CBU at a higher price than the fortuner, that would be a serious problem. But I think it makes sense for them to start selling CBUs to a few people who're willing to pay the higher price, while CKD manufacture is ramped up to its starting point.

[noopster]

Pajero brand is definitely a bigger pull factor than Fortuner in my book at least. Mitsu has played this smartly, I think. It's funny to see people write this one off before it even hits the shelves

The only real dealbreaker for me with the Pajero Sport is the fact that it is backed by HM in India. If Mitsubishi is serious about this market they need to cut that cord and give it a shot themselves.

[SkyWalker]

Priced perfectly to be a dud from Mitsu!

It might sell some numbers due to Pajero name, but they are losing that brand name fast.

By not pricing the original Pajero in the XUV segment, and this slightly below Fortuner, Mitsu has made a serious error. Something that will impact their brand value further.

Or just maybe, wait for a few months and see both SUVs dropping some lacs from their price like Cedia?

[diffsoft]

Another opportunity lost.

In a sense this was anticipated by all of us. Mitsu - HM likely have a principal - dealer kind of relationship making it difficult for HM to price competitively in a super efficient market. To compound this HM is perennially in a near-death state and simply cannot infuse resources - including people.

When I called up a senior sales person at Auto Pacifica who has since resigned to understand why the current state of affairs he said that Mitsu will have to pay huge termination charges if they terminate their relationship before its full course. For all you know HM might be wanting just that because they are starved of funds.

Cheers,

[ankurvirmani19]

Features of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
Source: Indian Autos Blog

Power and Torque – 178PS @ 4000RPM and 400Nm @ 2,000-2,500 RPM respectively, comes from a 16v, 2.5-liter CRDI engine
On demand super select 4WD system
Turning radius – 5.6 m
Imported as a CBU
Bookings start from March 13, 2012
Available in a choice of six colors – red, brown, silver, white, black and gray


A noteworthy fact is the SUV segment grew 18% in 2011 and Pajero saw a 28% increase in its sales.

[agbenny]

Originally Posted by architect

There are certain questions in the Indian Automotive Market that cannot be answered:

Why does Mitsubishi launch what the market doesn't want (especially at that price), even if they may be great products?

I don't think Mitsubishi India ever had the concept of Market Research or Customer Feedback.

We wanted the Pajero SFX at Rs 15 Lakhs as an alternative to a Safari. For a 90s vintage vehicle it wasn't too much to ask for. We get one for Rs 22 Lakhs. Even then it still sells with a steady 100 units a month! Imagine how much more it would sell at Rs 15 Lakhs?

We wanted a Montero at Rs 28 Lakhs (even if they removed a couple of goodies) as a serious alternative to the Fortuner. We get one for Rs 45 Lakhs.

We wanted the Evo for Rs 30 lakhs as an alternative to, well...err, nothing. We get one for Rs 50 Lakhs.

We didn't want a Petrol only Outlander (clearly they never took lesson from the CR-V) and definitely not at that price.

Now we get a pick-up derived SUV instead of a true-blue Pajero derived one for Rs 23.53 Lakhs to compete with another pick-up derived SUV which is cheaper to maintain and buy than the Mitsubishi.

I completely agree with you. Other late comers from Japan are quick learners (Eg. Nissan and NOT Honda) who not only studied the products for India, they also learnt well about the price for India. India is not Singapore where you need to import everything.
After setting up their unit over a decade ago, with cheap labor costs, for many car makers it was easy to make quick money within few years. This one thing Mitsubishi never learnt!
Instead of thinking themselves as luxury car makers against what the buyer think, they really need to think about the pricing strategy for India by making the production cost cheaper.

[nilanjanray]

The Pajero Sport has its pluses and minuses w.r.t. the Fortuner - what I can make out after reading about it for a couple of years now in international forums. Better brakes ( I assume - haven't driven it), slightly better interiors (I like the black/silver trim on the website), higher peak torque, slightly better approach angle, probably a slightly better ride. But then again it has a less usable peak torque curve range, is less fuel efficient (expect 1-1.5kms less per L), doesn't have VSC, doesn't hold its value that well...

In other countries, quite a few buy the Sport just to stand out from the crowd (the boring, oh-so-common Fortuner crowd). And also to reduce the chance of break-in (Fortuners have a bad reputation for being easy to break into).

I am sure we will see quite a few units being sold to folks who like 'standing out' from the crowd :-)