Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

I was sent this from Mistubishi, announcing the new Sport

Simon,

What is your honest impression of the manual Sport after driving it for the weekend?

Hre is my take on the Sport the little bit I spent in it.
I was amazed by the low down torque
All agree the sound system is crappy
Manual drive train I am not sure about the clutch configuration and me having driven auto's only thus far it will take a bit to get used to and I do not know how the clutch will cope with heavy towing and steep ascends with weight behind it.
I am not particalarly mad about that cream leather. I would prever either black or grey.
The seats are a bit flat for me not offering much support at the the part where your leg parts seat downwards.A bit more bucket would have helped.
I would assume the reason for a manual is based on pricing and to try and be competetive against the Tuna.
I did not have the oppertunity to drive it for a long distance and surely I will probably change some perspective.
All in all a good package considdering the rear seats fold flat and there is no seats stucks against a window.
Just my 2c's

Yup, I had the privilege of having the use of the M/T Sport for the two days I was up there.

Considering how little time I had with it at Kungwini, I'm not going to comment on its off-roadability. Any apparent deficiencies are mine alone. Messing up the first obstacle (wrong gear), touching down underneath and scraping running boards (wrong line)... you get the picture.

But I did about 200km combined cycle over the weekend, including gravel, highway and suburbia.

Handling and road manners - brilliant, braking and suspension - very good. On road I would call the suspension quite supple. On the road to Kungwini there were numerous potholes, many of which I deliberately tried to hit. I hardly felt them. My own vehicle would have had my ears still ringing, but those HDP's I have are very hard.

Ride position very good with good all round visibility (except for the corners - might make for interesting parking)

Interior nice and refined with very little bling (unlike the Fortuner). Agree with Chris - not mad about the cream. My kids will make the leather look like a tatty Afghan carpet in a few months. Not as roomy as its big brother, but better than its appliance competition.

A minor (actually not so minor) irritation.. I found it awkward to get into. I'm not a big bloke but I kept klapping my head on the top doorframe.

Onto the powerplant. Masses of power and torque, and perhaps puts my trusty petrol to shame (ok I admit, it does). Will be a winner with a offroad trailer in tow. From Bronkhorstspruit to Wonderboom, cruising at 130, never had to change out of 5th gear except for the tollroads and intersections. BUT...the turbolag... I can get my 3yo out of bed and off to school faster than this thing spools up. Can't fault the manual box though.

Fitting aftermarket accessories might be a challenge though, especially bumpers and packing systems.

Admittedly the niggles I have with it would not prevent me buying one if I was looking at that market, and I might be convinced to go back to diesel...

Here is what I think after the short trip in the passenger seat:

1) The dash doesn't rattle - YES!!!
2) There is a very solid feel about the whole build quility
3) My 2006 GLS had cream leather - I quite liked it, but even though it never transported any kids, did the leather show stains and stuff. So the dark leather is more forgiving.
4) It feels narrow inside after climbing out of the Gen4.
5) I have turned into an auto-lazy driver, so would prefer the auto Sport as well (very personal perspective)
6) Pajeros have very upright windshields, where the Sport is more "slopy" and would explain why Simon knocked his block every time he entered. A few more cracks and one would be trained to the new entry position.

Finally - Simon keeps carrying on about how powerfull the diesel is and how well it overtook on the road from East Rand Mitsubishi to the venue. Well, I was driving behind that gaggle of smoke belching oil burners and every time we had to pick up our skirts during overtaking, I had to sit on my right foot. That was all I could do to not just slam it to the floor and allow the box to grip a lower gear and zoom past those oil burners

Roelf. I should have driven yours then

When I got home I thought that I'd be thinking to myself when i climbed into Pumbaa that I'd rather be driving the Sport. This wasn't the case.. I still love my 16yo gas guzzler.

RoelfleRoux wrote: Finally - Simon keeps carrying on about how powerfull the diesel is and how well it overtook on the road from East Rand Mitsubishi to the venue. Well, I was driving behind that gaggle of smoke belching oil burners and every time we had to pick up our skirts during overtaking, I had to sit on my right foot.

Is Roelf in fact Thys le Roux in disguise?

I think Roelf is in denial.

I heard he is attending the "I-secretly-miss-my-diesel-pajero" group.

"Hi, my name is Roelf, I have been off diesel for four years now..."

Simon, there were so many things we wanted to do on Sat.. time was not on our side. If you still love your 16yo gas guzzler, I think you would have loved a spin in the MIVEC gass guzzler.

When we got to the venue Simon's Sport showed 9.8L/100m on the dash and my V6 showed 12.5L/100. That 30% petrol monster still lives in every V6 Pajero.

Ja Roelf V6 , 3.5 V6 the same for me. It is quite a bank breaker on petrol.

I will for now say what Simon says: Simon says Pumba is fine but agreed a change is at one point needed.

My D4D also had a serious turbulag when I first got into it.
I am used to that now but at some car test a while ago it was also mentioned about the huge turbolag on that sport and that is why I am sceptical about a manual. Once again only my perspective.