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So, I'd sold the trusty NP PatJero (as dubbed by 2yo grandson) to a very happy new owner, I'd done a heap of research, and I was convinced I was buying a D4 Disco SDV6. Roughly a 2012 model. I had my eye on about 6 vehicles at Sydney dealers and finance was sorted & ready to go. On a Monday morning I was in the car ready to drive to Sydney and pick one out. But instead I did the sensible thing and went to the nearest Mitsu dealer and did a deal on a brand new MY16 NX GLX.
Is it as nice a vehicle as a D4? No. But it is 100,000km younger for the same money, equally well proven, and known to be very capable on & off road. It's just a little less refined and appointed, and if my previous experience is anything to go by, it will be highly reliable. Some random comparison thoughts;
The 3.2CRD is now a lot quieter. But it is still noisy in comparison to other products and feels a generation behind the competition. Once up on boost it is a lot less peaky than the NP, with a good spread of Torque from 1800RPM through to near redline. But, and it's a big but..... the flat spot off the line before it gets on boost is absolutely terrible, bordering on dangerous, compared to the manual NP 3.2. Pulling out into flowing traffic is a challenge as it dawdles off from standstill, waiting for boost to build before it will add fuel and thus any meaningful power. I'm sure this is due to emissions tuning but it needs fixing. It has me seriously considering a re-map once a few KM are under the belt, or modding the MAP sensor output.
This is the first Auto 4WD I have owned and for the most part it's great. First thing you notice from the NP Manual is that there is literally no engine braking if left to it's own devices. It's simple to knock it back a gear down steep hills so no big deal. But it's when hooking up the ski boat that things go a little sideways for me. Again probably due to emissions tuning the transmission does it's best to get into top gear ASAP. And it is reluctant to kick down without a boot-full. So if you let it do it's thing it will hold 5th gear with the torque converter mostly unlocked. Now before all the caravaners jump on me and say "tow in 4th only", our ski rig weighs about 1/2 the average caravan with no frontal area / drag, and on flat surfaces turning 5th cog should not be an issue. So when towing I find myself using manual mode all the time and dropping back to 4th at the slightest hint of an incline. And in 4th the converter stays locked. Ok, no big deal. But do you know what I want..... Paddle Shift. Seriously. If you have ever driven a car with proper paddle shift (eg, our two Alfa's) you will know how convenient it is to be able to keep your hands on the wheel while swapping cogs. But I doubt we will ever see it on this (dying) gen Pajero.
But those and a couple of other niggles I'll mention later aside, the NX Pajero still represents in my opinion, outstanding value for money. In my research nothing else new came close while offering the same amount of cargo space and standard features. So with a few compromises it seems we are destined to stay in the Pajero family for a while to come.
Cheers - Pat
Is it as nice a vehicle as a D4? No. But it is 100,000km younger for the same money, equally well proven, and known to be very capable on & off road. It's just a little less refined and appointed, and if my previous experience is anything to go by, it will be highly reliable. Some random comparison thoughts;
The 3.2CRD is now a lot quieter. But it is still noisy in comparison to other products and feels a generation behind the competition. Once up on boost it is a lot less peaky than the NP, with a good spread of Torque from 1800RPM through to near redline. But, and it's a big but..... the flat spot off the line before it gets on boost is absolutely terrible, bordering on dangerous, compared to the manual NP 3.2. Pulling out into flowing traffic is a challenge as it dawdles off from standstill, waiting for boost to build before it will add fuel and thus any meaningful power. I'm sure this is due to emissions tuning but it needs fixing. It has me seriously considering a re-map once a few KM are under the belt, or modding the MAP sensor output.
This is the first Auto 4WD I have owned and for the most part it's great. First thing you notice from the NP Manual is that there is literally no engine braking if left to it's own devices. It's simple to knock it back a gear down steep hills so no big deal. But it's when hooking up the ski boat that things go a little sideways for me. Again probably due to emissions tuning the transmission does it's best to get into top gear ASAP. And it is reluctant to kick down without a boot-full. So if you let it do it's thing it will hold 5th gear with the torque converter mostly unlocked. Now before all the caravaners jump on me and say "tow in 4th only", our ski rig weighs about 1/2 the average caravan with no frontal area / drag, and on flat surfaces turning 5th cog should not be an issue. So when towing I find myself using manual mode all the time and dropping back to 4th at the slightest hint of an incline. And in 4th the converter stays locked. Ok, no big deal. But do you know what I want..... Paddle Shift. Seriously. If you have ever driven a car with proper paddle shift (eg, our two Alfa's) you will know how convenient it is to be able to keep your hands on the wheel while swapping cogs. But I doubt we will ever see it on this (dying) gen Pajero.
But those and a couple of other niggles I'll mention later aside, the NX Pajero still represents in my opinion, outstanding value for money. In my research nothing else new came close while offering the same amount of cargo space and standard features. So with a few compromises it seems we are destined to stay in the Pajero family for a while to come.
Cheers - Pat
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