[vindrider2626]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

My friend has an Innova and wants to upgrade to a SUV. He has done lots of research and has shortlisted Koleos and Pajero Sport. He is inclining towards Pajero Sport but unable to decide between the two. It will be of a great help if anyone can tell what would be the main advantage of selecting Pajero over Koleos. Also is there any main advantage which Koleos has over Pajero? The main reason for his upgrade is that the Innova lacks power.

Think twice before you decide on koleos,i read somewhere that it is soon to go out of production.I think the new honda crv would be a better choice.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

My friend has an Innova and wants to upgrade to a SUV. He has done lots of research and has shortlisted Koleos and Pajero Sport. He is inclining towards Pajero Sport but unable to decide between the two. It will be of a great help if anyone can tell what would be the main advantage of selecting Pajero over Koleos. Also is there any main advantage which Koleos has over Pajero? The main reason for his upgrade is that the Innova lacks power.

The Pajero Sport is a completely different league from the Koleos.
The Koleos is a soft-roader like the CR-V, whereas the Pajero Sport can definitely take on some of the more serious trails.
Aside from off-roadability, the Pajero Sport will be significantly more spacious and comfortable.

The Koleos on the other hand offers a few more features such as the Bose ICE System, and will be much nicer to drive around too. However, don't expect to seat more than 4 comfortably, as rear seat legroom is at a serious premium.

If it going to be a self driven SUV, where rear seat space isn't an important criteria, and neither is off-road ability - the koleos will be a better bet.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

The Pajero Sport is a completely different league from the Koleos.
The Koleos is a soft-roader like the CR-V, whereas the Pajero Sport can definitely take on some of the more serious trails.
Aside from off-roadability, the Pajero Sport will be significantly more spacious and comfortable.

I highly doubt if he will be ever taking his vehicle for trails. His majority of the commute will be within Bangalore and frequent highway drives to Calicut.

The Koleos on the other hand offers a few more features such as the Bose ICE System, and will be much nicer to drive around too. However, don't expect to seat more than 4 comfortably, as rear seat legroom is at a serious premium.

He is not an audiophile hence Bose sound system wouldn't excite him. However the legroom will be a major concern for him as his highway drives will be with his family.

If it going to be a self driven SUV, where rear seat space isn't an important criteria, and neither is off-road ability - the koleos will be a better bet.

Thanks for all the information. Most probably it'll be the Pajero Sport. He has booked a TD of Koleos this weekend to see what it offers.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Thanks for all the information. Most probably it'll be the Pajero Sport. He has booked a TD of Koleos this weekend to see what it offers.

If he is looking at only city and highway kind of usage, I would say look for monocoques in view of ride comfort. The classic ladder on frame would be quite stiff and hence can have poor ride quality compared to monocoques. Hence wont suggest the Fortuner too.

Look at Santa-Fe for that matter. If he is OK coming down the spectrum, even the XUV is superb in ride quality.

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Santa-Fe would suit him perfectly but he has that usual mindset - "Why pay 30+ lakhs for a Hyundai?". XUV too was considered but it doesn't appear like an upgrade in terms of size according to him

Then what remains are the Germans! Q5/Q7 or BMW?

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by ampere

Look at Santa-Fe for that matter. If he is OK coming down the spectrum, even the XUV is superb in ride quality.

Santa-Fe would suit him perfectly but he has that usual mindset - "Why pay 30+ lakhs for a Hyundai?". XUV too was considered but it doesn't appear like an upgrade in terms of size according to him

[GS300]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

main advantage of selecting Pajero over Koleos. Also is there any main advantage which Koleos has over Pajero?

If you look at this objectively, the comparison is as follows:

(Comparing PS AT v/s Koleos AT)

Advantages of Pajero Sport over Koleos:

- 7 seats (v/s 5 in Renault Koleos)
- Paddle shifters
- Touchscreen MID, Integrated navigation
- Rearview camera
- Better brand perception
- Better road presence



Advantages of Koleos over PS

- Better safety features: Curtain airbags, hill start assist, hill-descent control, all disc brakes, EURO NCAP 5star
- better comfort features - dual zone climate control, passenger seat electronic adjustment
- Rain sensor, dusk sensor, cruise control, smart card access
- Bose system
- 4 wheel drive with automatic
- likely to have less body roll (monocoque)
- Wider network of dealers and service centers

Anything i missed out?

[D4D]

I would pick the Pajero sport over the Koleos as I feel it will be easier to maintain and source parts in the long run compared to the Koleos.

I honestly think it's a battle of more space and seating (Pajero) against economy, ride and handling(Koleos.)

I honestly wouldn't pick any of the two although they're pretty good cars.

I'm assuming he won't buy the fortuner as he doesn't feel like he's upgrading from the Innova?

[pgsagar]

Koleos just cannot be compared to Pajero Sport. Next to PS, Koleos looks like a hatchback. I don't know about your friend but I wouldn't want to be seen in a 30 lakh hatch, however comfortable or feature-laden it may be compared to PS. Even with Mitsubishi's horrible track record in India, I see more PS's than Koleos. When you say SUV, it had better look like one. Well, at least I feel that way.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

My friend has an Innova and wants to upgrade to a SUV. He has done lots of research and has shortlisted Koleos and Pajero Sport.

I would ask your friend to have a couple of test-drives. Post the test-drives, he would have a fair idea as to what to expect from both of his short-listed cars.

My 2 cents -

Coming from an Innova, he might feel the Koleos to be a bit small in size. And that, Koleos is being replaced by a new car from Renault. Probably this

Koleos might not have the service & support of Mitsubishi and I think, on reliability count, Mitsubishi will score as well, though maybe not by much. We don't have many Koleos around to gauge that.

He also might not like the ride [& noise] of a monocoque (as he is used to ladder on frames). Let us not even speak of resale.

Koleos looks nice and has those gadgets/features in its favor. Will have more sorted ride/handling on good tarmac.

First find out, if Renault is willing to give & TD and sell Koleos. And please do update on the proceedings

[RoadFiend]

This thread is interesting to me. The company lease completed on my 3 year old Fortuner 4x2 AT and I should sell that and buy a new car. Which brings me to the interesting topic: what would be a good next car?

[heydj]

Originally Posted by RoadFiend

This thread is interesting to me. The company lease completed on my 3 year old Fortuner 4x2 AT and I should sell that and buy a new car. Which brings me to the interesting topic: what would be a good next car?

I doubt another SUV at that price will be exciting for you to buy

Try something else, Octavia 1.8 TSI, BMW 320, or wait for Jeep to launch?

If I had the budget like yours then would have got Mustang when it launched here.

[vishal9999]

I would strongly suggest to think between Fortuner and Santafe

Fortuner --For peace of mind and if requirement is 60% off-roading.

Santafe --For peace of mind and if requirement in 60% highway/city usage .

Please don't look at unknown brands with gimmicky features to increase the sales. Think of after sales service, reliability across models and parts cost( will only be low if more cars of similar make are sold in India).

[mukul32]

Santa Fe is great quality and loaded, but just far too expensive, and it's not as intimidating as the others. Fortuner is decent, but way overpriced for what it offers. Not too well equipped either. Pajero sport must be the among best off the road, plus looks quite butch, but service is a huge problem. Current Endeavour still looks great, but is way too old now and cramped on the inside.
The best choice for all your needs would be the upcoming all new Ford Endeavour (Everest). Looks killer, humongous in size, big and comfy interior for those highway trips, lots of kit packed in, and the lower displacement and modern engines should give good fuel economy as well.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by vishal9999

I would strongly suggest to think between Fortuner and Santafe

Fortuner --For peace of mind and if requirement is 60% off-roading.

Santafe --For peace of mind and if requirement in 60% highway/city usage .

Please don't look at unknown brands with gimmicky features to increase the sales. Think of after sales service, reliability across models and parts cost( will only be low if more cars of similar make are sold in India).

I agree with your basic premise, but this x% offroading, y% highway/city doesn't make sense. That's not how people use these vehicles in the real world. Also, the OP mentioned that his friend wants a good road vehicle. A comfortable, roomy softroader would be the best option. Why a body on frame 4x4?

Originally Posted by mukul32

Santa Fe is great quality and loaded, but just far too expensive, and it's not as intimidating as the others. Fortuner is decent, but way overpriced for what it offers. Not too well equipped either. Pajero sport must be the among best off the road, plus looks quite butch, but service is a huge problem. Current Endeavour still looks great, but is way too old now and cramped on the inside.

Intimidating! Is that a reason to buy a SUV? Maybe, 'better respect on the road'?

Btw, how much is price difference between a 4WD Fortuner and a 4WD Pajero Sport? And what makes you say that the offroading capabilities of a Pajero Sport are much better (your statement came across like that) than that of a Fortuner? Have you driven both? Suppose - just for the sake of argument - the PS is a little better than the Fortuner in terms of offroading (it's a different matter whether you can think of a practical scenario where that would be readily apparent). Does that outweigh the better service network and Toyota's greater commitment to the Indian market?

If you favour a Pajero Sport over a Fortuner, ride quality, handling and braking would be more important factors.

There is a difference between admiring a vehicle from far away, and using it extensively. Or, most important, voting with your money when you have to.

P.S. the Endeavour is rather bumpy. Hopefully the new one would be better.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Intimidating! Is that a reason to buy a SUV? Maybe, 'better respect on the road'?

Btw, how much is price difference between a 4WD Fortuner and a 4WD Pajero Sport? And what makes you say that the offroading capabilities of a Pajero Sport are much better (your statement came across like that) than that of a Fortuner? Have you driven both? Suppose - just for the sake of argument - the PS is a little better than the Fortuner in terms of offroading (it's a different matter whether you can think of a practical scenario where that would be readily apparent). Does that outweigh the better service network and Toyota's greater commitment to the Indian market?

If you favour a Pajero Sport over a Fortuner, ride quality, handling and braking would be more important factors.

There is a difference between admiring a vehicle from far away, and using it extensively. Or, most important, voting with your money when you have to.

P.S. the Endeavour is rather bumpy. Hopefully the new one would be better.

Intimidating because that's a major reason behind getting a big fat SUV for this kind of money. The Santa Fe will evoke a couple of second glances on a signal, but not make anyone move out of the way. And as you say of 'earning respect', knowledgeable people would actually respect a vehicle based on its price segment, and not just it's size. Size is practically a means to scare people out of your way.
And I clearly said the Pajero "must be among the best" off the road, and not 'is better' or 'is definitely better' than anything else. And among the best it is.
And for the sake of it, if you still stack it up against the Fortuner, the Pajero does have more power, torque, and a wee bit more ground clearance and a wee bit less weight. And all wheel discs too. So though the difference is miniscule, and may not even translate to the real world, technically the Pajero IS better equipped for off roading. So I wasn't wrong there. And it does have pedigree, the SFX was an absolute champ off the road. And though the two generations are actually very different, expecting similar abilities from the Sport won't be very wrong. Note, I said only expecting (that's just what I did). Not actually claiming that it is better or something.
And extensive usage is required to give feedback, not opinion. I gave my opinion about which one might be better, not feedback as to how both fare in real life.
And though better service network is a reality for Toyota, Mitsubishi ASC's must be present in big cities, like in Bangalore where the OP appears to live. And Toyota though good, isn't exactly Maruti either. So won't make a very huge difference.
And in fact, it is the commitment of the Indian market to Toyota, and not the other way round, that is the major factor behind it. And that commitment of the market is a very big reason the Fortuner 4WD can sell in the early-mid thirties on road. Conversely,
When Toyota becomes committed to India, the result is an Etios cross!