[satpalsharma]

Congratulations Anshuman. Good to see that the heart won. Apart from all other things, Pajero Sport surely has exclusivity and a great road presence. You'll get lots of eyes on you driving the mighty Pajero through the city. Keep sharing your logs from time to time.

[void_001]

Brilliant review - compact, precise and to the point ! Good one Anshuman and hearty congratulations on the new buy. Happy mile crunching.

Can you detail a bit more on the seating space in the 3rd row? Does it take adults comfortably, or is it restricted to the occasional drive with kids? Could you share a breakdown of the OTR as well please?

Cheers!

[gopzdoc]

It is a great vehicle and congrats on the purchase!

It takes a lot of guts to invest this amount into the Mitsubishi brand at this point of time. As u have rightly mentioned the service and the availability of spare parts are going to be a major issue. It is a classic case of an excellent product being let down by the brand (Fiat in India are masters at this!).

As a Fortuner owner I agree completely with all the points you have made against the Fortuner. The most important thing going for the Fortuner is Peace of Mind. You buy one and relax. There are no service issues (by and large) and regular service charges are dirt cheap. Can you imagine paid service bill of Rs. 910 for a 30L vehicle every 5k km? (without alignment and balancing). Swift diesel I used to own used to rack up a bill of 3.5k plus every 5000km.

[dr.kushagra]

Congratulations anshuman for your new beast.

Not a huge fan of SUVs but this one makes me rethink about it.

Pajero is definitely a better overall package than Fortuner or Endeavour IMHO.
Love the looks and especially the black colour though it will be difficult to maintain that shine(guess you can't have everything).

BTW

Wish you many happy and adventurous miles both on road and off road!
Live to Drive!

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by anshuman_v

Well, this part of the story is simple. Like I said, I have been nosing around for a year before taking the plunge. When it finally came to the booking and delivery - it was a bit of an anti climax since it was super smooth. Having decided to take the plunge - called up the Bangalore dealer - SVR Motors on Richmond Road, who has so far offered excellent service. The team of Dilip, Lazar, Prabhakar, Abdul, Shravan and Lohith are quite knowledgeable and helpful to deal with. They promised delivery in a week, and kept up their promise. They gave me a good deal on the price with the promotional offer where they included the zero dep insurance at almost no cost. And lo and behold, I have been able to share this review with you as a result!

(Thank you, dear TBHP mates and readers for having read so far. This is the end of the original piece. Did I achieve something close to an official TBHP review? Bouquets and brickbats welcome! After all, like I quoted earlier, what is life without a little passion?)

Sweet and crisp review Anshuman. I am in look out for an upgrade for my Innova. I would like to know below about Pajero Sport:
1.How is the comfort levels in 2nd and third row? Comparable with Innova?
2.When seats are folded, can they carry luggage of say 600-700 kilos? I meant on top the folded seats?
3. What is FE one can expect in city and highway drives.

Thanks in advance.

[drmohitg]

Congratulations on your new ride. I am still undecided about the looks of the Pajero sport. The old one had such a legendary look.

What is the ex-showroom price of the car and how much discount did you get on it? Infact since this is the only comprehensive review of the Pajero Sport, I would suggest you also include the ex-showroom prices in your first post just for the completion sake of the review.

Second, is the AC manual or automatic? From the looks of it, appears to be a manual unit.

[satan]

Very nice review!! The only point I disliked during my test drive of this vehicle a year ago was the lack of legroom in the driver footwell esp for the left foot. Rated a well deserved 5 stars

[pk_del]

Originally Posted by anshuman_v

Now, I struggle. I really want this review to be comprehensive, unbiased, almost at par with an official T-BHP review. However, I realize my severe limitations both in terms of capability and resources/time. Bear with me as I try to do justice to this task.

Executive Summary:

What you will love about the Pajero Sport:

• Commanding external looks – butch, muscular, fast and yet sleek with a bit of understated elegance
• Excellent driving position and ergonomics - commanding views of the road, all corners of the vehicle visible to the driver
• Extremely composed behaviour on any road
• Elegant interiors, best in its class
• Integrated parking camera and sensor with DVD/Music control unit, alongwith GPS
• Excellent leg room in 2nd row seat
• Practical seat adjustments with folding options - can sleep in the car if needed. Also, the ease and grace with which second and third row seats fold and unfold
• The legendary Pajero lineage, along with improved engine and mileage over SFX. Gives ~10 kpl in city and upto 12 kpl on the highways, maybe more with slightly sedate driving.
• Engine is rev happy – can easily touch speeds upwards of 60kph in second gear without any laboring feeling in the engine – mighty impressive for a 2 tonne vehicle
• Comes fully loaded – leather seats, 8-way adjustable electric driver seat, system, GPS, airbags, ABS+EBD, all around disc brakes standard
• Lots of options if you want to accessorize/personalize - chrome, snob value MID, mirror covers with lights, etc.
• Instant recognition that you know your automobiles, when others come to know that you own a Pajero Sport

What you will not love:

• Low end torque is lacking in lower gears for city driving - you will need to adjust your driving style a little
• Slightly heavier feel of the steering for city driving (which is again a pleasure on the highways)
• Heavier clutch feeling, at least in the initial days (this is supposed to get easier after two services)
• No automatic central locking when the beast starts moving (need to figure out how to get around it)
• Not so great stock headlamps (easily up-gradable)
• Rather cheesy ‘Pajero Sport’ decal on the sides – a bit of a hit or miss
• Low on fancy gadgetry (e.g., no engine start/stop button) - but in line with build for rough usage
• The (again!) legendary thin Mitsubishi dealership network

The detailed review follows.

Congratulations on your new ride. Driving Pajero is definitely like a dream come true.

One question though: You mentioned that it has all around disc brakes. However, in the website it is mentioned that it has disc brakes in front and ventilated drum-in-discs.

Technically is there any difference or is it just discs in drum enclosure.

Thanks.

-PK

[desiaztec]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Second, is the AC manual or automatic? From the looks of it, appears to be a manual unit.

Mohit, its an Automatic AC unit that comes in a Pajero Sport (Same as Mitsubishi Outlander, infact the entire dashboard is pretty similar to the Outlander's). If you have a close look at the AC fan knob, it has 'AUTO' printed on it.

[sh@rpshooter]

Originally Posted by anshuman_v

Part 1: First, the acknowledgements:

Alright. Finally, I sit down to start this review – hopefully, it will be a comprehensive one. I will first start by thanking all of the people who have helped with deep insights, Harbir (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...endeavour.html), Sh@rpshooter, Satpal, IronRock (http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/fo...ve-review.html ), our own Devdath (http://www.cartoq.com/expertvoice/mi...st-and-review/ ). Mods, I am quoting some external references in good taste and intent, hopefully does not violate any posting rules.

My aim in writing this review is two fold:

1. Create an ownership review, to provide enough information for other Pajero Sport enthusiasts as well as create a thread where others can hopefully share similar experiences and insights. Oddly enough, for a car that inspires a lot of passion - I have till date not found any comprehensive review of the Pajero Sport on Team BHP, leave alone an official review. I hope to correct this rather glaring shortcoming.
2. Try to see how far I can get with a review almost akin to a Team-BHP official review. And for that, I would like to thank some people: GTO, Noopster (a fellow alumnus), .anshuman (my more famous and accomplished namesake here on TBHP), Rehaan, and many others who have posted such masterly reviews.

Now that we have this important piece out of the way, lets get on with the main stuff.

(Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own, and in no way meant to challenge or disrespect the decidedly wiser folk out there)

Great Review ! and thanks for doing it. Your capture in terms of the pics is one of the best i have seen for anyone wanting to compare in fact just fell in love with mine all over again
I had a problem with the "Turbo Lag" in the beginning but once you relearn gear ratios and matching it with the RPM it is not a problem.
I have been speaking to several Pajero owners (older one) and none of them have faced a spare part problem as long as you give a heads up to SVR as their service is good

BTW Do read up on the side doors of the PS, incidentally they have an iPad app on it as well, it has reinforced steel to cushion against side impact

[JASMEET MATTOO]

Congrats on the new drive Anshuman. Have always loved the Pajero and I must say your review has done complete justice to it. Very nice review with lots of pictures.

Wish you many happy miles with the Pajero sport.

[anshuman_v]

Wow, I am amazed at the number of good wishes - thank you all. I will respond to the information requests soon.

Just wanted to let the folks in Bangalore know - for the first time ever, yesterday evening, I heard a Pajero Sport ad on the FM Radio. The Bangalore dealer - SVR Motors is offerings cash discounts till Oct 5. Am sure there will be similar deals in other cities as well - grab the offer while you can.

Quick info update around prices:

Ex showroom price (Bangalore): 23.82 lakhs
Road tax, registration, handling: 5 lakhs
Comprehensive insurance: 68090

Total on road: 29,51,014

[NKR]

Great Buy,Happy and safe driving. By the way why did you discount the SSangyong Rexton.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by anshuman_v

I know I might regret this when I get the short end of the stick with spare parts; but I will be knocking on the experts’ (read Devdath, IronRock, and the others) door for advise and help then!

Most spare parts of the Pajero Sport are available with dealers quite readily and ALL genuine spare parts are pretty easily available at Bombay and Delhi at prices cheaper than that of the the dealer. I have the required contacts and would be glad to assist you with any part requirement at any point of time.

This vehicle has been selling for the past decade or so (with slight changes) across multiple continents and hence parts will never be an issue with the right contacts.

Congratulations once again on the acquisition and wish a million happy miles of overlanding..!!

Originally Posted by pk_del

One question though: You mentioned that it has all around disc brakes. However, in the website it is mentioned that it has disc brakes in front and ventilated drum-in-discs.

The rear wheels of the Pajero Sport have disc brakes to stop when in motion and there is a brake drum within the brake disc which houses the parking brake which is a drum brake. This make the vehicle virtually "brake fail" free since the very effective parking brake is completely independent of the main brake circuitry and can always stop the vehicle very effectively. I have tried stopping it from 80kmph and it was very easy and controlled.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Second, is the AC manual or automatic? From the looks of it, appears to be a manual unit.

The Pajero Sport has automatic climate control (automatic ac).

Originally Posted by PrideRed

I would like to know below about Pajero Sport:
1.How is the comfort levels in 2nd and third row? Comparable with Innova?
2.When seats are folded, can they carry luggage of say 600-700 kilos? I meant on top the folded seats?
3. What is FE one can expect in city and highway drives.

Let me add my inputs as well.

1. The second row is extremely comfortable and I have traveled around 900km in it in a day. I am 5'11" and did not feel the need to stretch. We were two people in the second row.

The third row has enough legroom, headroom and shoulder space for two adults and the ride quality is good. However, squeezing in three people there is not recommended. It is the best last row in its segment with air conditioning, dedicated charging points and bottle holders and a seat which reclines comfortably.

2. The Pajero Sport has a rated braked towing capacity of 2.5 tons and a non braked towing capacity of 900kgs. It is a ladder frame chassis essentially from the Triton/L-200 which is a pick up truck which can carry more than a ton.

BUT, would you really be able to/want to load 700kgs on it?
You'd rather use a trailer or book that local pick up on the rare occasion that you have to do it and save the interiors and the lux.
If you are in the load carrying business regularly, a pick-up truck would suit your requirements better.

3. I get around 10kmpl in the city and around 10.7kmpl on the highways at speeds of around 115-118 kmph on the speedometer. Lower speeds would definitely result in better fuel efficiency.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

This make the vehicle virtually "brake fail" free since the very effective parking brake is completely independent of the main brake circuitry

The Pajero Sport has automatic climate control (automatic ac).

1. The second row is extremely comfortable and I have traveled around 900km in it in a day. I am 5'11" and did not feel the need to stretch.

The third row has enough legroom, headroom and shoulder space for two adults and the ride quality is good.

The Pajero Sport has a rated braked towing capacity of 2.5 tons and a non braked towing capacity of 900kgs.

I get around 10kmpl in the city and around 10.7kmpl on the highways .

OMG This is probably the vehicle I want, and all this while I was spending time looking at all the Fortuners in the resale market. Not sure, why I never even considered this, though I live in the 'Pajero state'.

No idea whats its resale value is like, but since this started trickling in around 2012, I suppose the 2012 models would be quoting atleast 17lacs.

Also what is the average maintenance/service costs of the Pajero Sport? How does it compare to Fortuner on that front?