[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by dinesha

So a big dilemma. My heart says Fortuner/Pajero and the head says Scorpio. I can't make up my mind.

Being a proud owner of the Scorpio and having taken it to pretty varied terrain under full load and weather conditions one thing I can say very confidently is that it is very very reliable and moderately comfortable.

I have heard pretty much zero field failure reports of even marginally maintained vehicles. Coming to offroading ability, it can go to places where the Fortuner and the Pajero can, with a capable driver/practice and will come back with a much cheaper repair bill and easy access to the ASC compared to either of the two.

How many people do you think you d have in it when going on your 'trails'? If it is lesser than or equal to 5, get yourself the 4wd version with 8 seats so that you get recline and travel in the middle bench and you should be satisfied.

[cool_dube]

For those of you who are not aware, Pajero SFX is now available in a BS-IV avatar as well. Check this out: Mitsubishi Pajero SFX | Technical Specifications- Mitsubishi Motors

Strange though that both power and torque figures seem to have dropped from BS-III to BS-IV!! Points to some stop-gap tuning to comply to emission norms maybe...

Quoting from the website:

Max. output - PS (KW) /rpm
BS III 118.6 (87.2) @ 4000 rpm
BS IV 108.7 (80) @ 4000 rpm

Max. torque - kg-m(Nm)/rpm
BS III 29. 8 (292) @ 2000 rpm
BS IV 28. 05 (275) @ 2000 rpm

Price - INR 21,38,133 ex-showroom Bangalore

Given all of the above, not sure how long with this avatar survive in the India market.

Thoughts?

[Ricky_63]

It is interesting to note that I have been seeing Brand New Pajero purchases abound in the recent past. Two happened within a month of each other in my office building. I have no logical reason to say why but there are Pajero fans even today, who could buy the Fortuner BUT bought the Pajero, when they both nearly cost the same & the T-Fort comes with a more powerful engine too !!

Sometimes there are things that happen which cannot be comprehended by mere mortals like me !! LOL





Cheers

[Harbir]

I started this thread nearly a year ago and after having asked this question I am back to a pajero

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Harbir

I started this thread nearly a year ago and after having asked this question I am back to a pajero

Which speaks for the depth of engineering this vehicle has been built upon. Even today, it looks, feels and off roads better than the Fortuner and is much more comfortable inside while being equally reliable if not more.

The only thing that hurts is the probable lack of power but since you have driven it extensively on your TDs, I guess it more hearsay than reality that the 118 horses are insufficient for it.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Which speaks for the depth of engineering this vehicle has been built upon. Even today, it looks, feels and off roads better than the Fortuner and is much more comfortable inside while being equally reliable if not more.

The only thing that hurts is the probable lack of power but since you have driven it extensively on your TDs, I guess it more hearsay than reality that the 118 horses are insufficient for it.

From what I gather the 118 horses are more than enough to make the Pajero a nimble mountain goat. It is only on high speed highway runs that it runs out of steam, but at lower speeds it sure beats the competition.

With a relatively low tech engine and rock solid chassis & suspension tuned for rough terrain, it will give years of service in a rugged terrain without a murmur.

Repeating the obvious, if you want a highway sprinter get a Fortuner, but when it comes to hills and bad roads Pajero comes through with flying colours.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Repeating the obvious, if you want a highway sprinter get a Fortuner, but when it comes to hills and bad roads Pajero comes through with flying colours.

You are correct but when it comes to choosing the best of both worlds, which is what most of us would do, it becomes difficult due to the Fortuner's ride quality and braking behaviour.

So, the Pajero with a slightly more powerful engine OR a Fortuner with better ride and brakes is the ideal vehicle we are talking about here.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

You are correct but when it comes to choosing the best of both worlds, which is what most of us would do, it becomes difficult due to the Fortuner's ride quality and braking behaviour.

So, the Pajero with a slightly more powerful engine OR a Fortuner with better ride and brakes is the ideal vehicle we are talking about here.

That vehicle is called the Montero or a Prado! But at what a premium. At 20L it is a compromise which ever way you go.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Aroy

That vehicle is called the Montero or a Prado! But at what a premium. At 20L it is a compromise which ever way you go.

At the risk of going slightly off track:

This is what I do not understand. 20 lac INR is not a small amount of money by today's standards for an automobile in India and yet, there are compromises. In fact, people tell me that even the Prado doesn't feel as rich as it should for 50lacs and neither does the Montero.

So, if compromise is what it has to be, I d rather buy a 4wd Scorpio/Safari for 60% of the cost and be happy since either of them would easily do 80% of what the Fortuner or the Pajero would, at a much cheaper rate of maintenance.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

At the risk of going slightly off track:

This is what I do not understand. 20 lac INR is not a small amount of money by today's standards for an automobile in India and yet, there are compromises. In fact, people tell me that even the Prado doesn't feel as rich as it should for 50lacs and neither does the Montero.

So, if compromise is what it has to be, I d rather buy a 4wd Scorpio/Safari for 60% of the cost and be happy since either of them would easily do 80% of what the Fortuner or the Pajero would, at a much cheaper rate of maintenance.

Most cars and 4x4 are compromises. It is upto us to pick one that suits us the best.

The Fortuner and Pajero may be as expensive/cheap to maintain on a long term basis.

Car prices in India have very little in common with prices abroad. Even abroad the prices reflect more of "what the market can bear", than actual manufacturing costs. In India we have various taxes for "manufactured" vehicles normally doubling their prices, and we have the CBU prices which are even further away from reality.

Take the Landcruiser 70 series and the Fortuner 3.0 both retail in South Africa for nearly 27L. Definitely the Series 70 LC is way better 4x4 than the Fortuner 3.0, but commands the same price.

My benchmark for 4x4 is the Landrover Defender and that retails for 25k pounds (about 18L) add the goodies and it crosses 30K pounds. Factor in the foreign sales discounts and UK taxes and add Indian taxes and you get to a 40-45L mark. Now compare that to the Scorpio and Safari and you get a really good VFM, but definitely not what you may ideally want a 4x4 tourer to be.

We have to take what is offered at price offered, and make the best choice based on our finances and needs.

[Harbir]

8 months after I asked this question why anybody would buy a Pajero, I have the answer.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...endeavour.html

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

So, if compromise is what it has to be, I d rather buy a 4wd Scorpio/Safari for 60% of the cost and be happy since either of them would easily do 80% of what the Fortuner or the Pajero would, at a much cheaper rate of maintenance.

Having owned a Scorpio Mhawk 4WD for 1.5 years and 41K kms, I would definitely not agree with your assessment. You get a Scorpio at 60% of the cost, but it is not even half as good as the Pajero or Fortuner.

Maintenance maybe cheap, but ride/comfort and handling will never be in the league of the imports.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Having owned a Scorpio Mhawk 4WD for 1.5 years and 41K kms, I would definitely not agree with your assessment. You get a Scorpio at 60% of the cost, but it is not even half as good as the Pajero or Fortuner.

Maintenance maybe cheap, but ride/comfort and handling will never be in the league of the imports.

Coming to ride and comfort, the Scorpio might not be the best but the Safari is as comfortable if not more than the Fortuner at least. Also, as an overall package, the Scorpio and Safari would offer at least 60% of what these imports would, IMO.

[cool_dube]

Bumping up this old thread to check if Harbir finally bought a Pajero

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Bumping up this old thread to check if Harbir finally bought a Pajero

The answer is here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2792885

He linked to it in his last post.