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So as we’re sure you’re all well aware by now, the all-new Pajero Sport was recently released to Australian media, giving them a chance to put the car through its paces both on and off road and discover if this new vehicle could live up to its newly acquired Pajero badge. The two day press release featured a variety of challenges and tests to put the Pajero Sport through its paces, allowing even the least experienced off road drivers to jump in and tackle some tricky terrain with confidence.
Upon arrival and checking into our hotel, we were directed straight over to the other worldly Stockton sand dunes where we were greeted with a fleet of brand new Pajero Sport 4WDs. Our first impression of the car’s styling was a mix of off-road presence and sportiness, while still giving an air of luxury.
Sand can often be a deceivingly tricky obstacle to navigate, let alone a seemingly endless supply in the form of massive dunes. As we got further and further into the dune testing, it suddenly became apparent why they had brought us here; to show off their new trick 8 speed. Popped down into 4LLC the Pajero Sport was gliding across the dunes, for the most part thanks to its close ratio 8-speed gear box. The closer ratios and quick changes put power to ground with no feeling of bogging down in between, which on a slippery surface makes a usually hairy situation somewhat predictable.
After an afternoon of playing in the sand, we cruised back to the hotel in the Pajero Sport which gave us a chance to fiddle with the in car entertainment. Smart Phone link Display Audio or SDA for short was impressive to say the least, natural to use and only limited by the imagination of mobile devices and app developers.
The ability to use your mobile’s functions such as a quick Google search or text message with voice control was a standout feature in our eyes; giving you total control without a glance at your phone screen.
Upon arriving back to the hotel the group sat down for a formal presentation where we heard from Koichi Namiki, the Corporate General Manager of the Global Pickup Project (Triton and Pajero Sport) at Mitsubishi Motors head office in Japan and Owen Thomson, Pajero Sport’s Product Planner at MMAL. These speakers showed us through the Pajero Sport’s development process, highlighting new features of the car along the way and even tackled some Q&A from the curious journo’s.
Thursday morning saw us up bright and early, packing into the Pajero Sport and on route toward Watagans National Park to check out how it would perform on the bumpy stuff.
Throughout the two day commute we found the Pajero Sport’s interior was a pleasant place to be. Comfortable seating with great bolstering didn’t lead to fatigue on our journey and reclinable rear seats let the boys out back achieve full relaxation status. Other nice touches were the electronic handbrake and centre console entertainment ports which kept the cockpit tidy and gave the feel of additional space throughout.
Our time out in the national park gave us a chance to really put the Pajero Sport through its paces and test out new features such as the hill descent control which meant we could forget about brakes and concentrate on finding the ideal line through a couple of tricky descents.
The suspension performed great off road, its ability to absorb corrugations and rocky terrain was outstanding. With comfortable and compliant on road feel and predictable turn in, this new vehicle was full of surprises. After a full morning of off road exploration, it was time to head back into Sydney to close out our journey with the Pajero Sport, and depart ways with the media team we were a part of over the two days.
Our final thoughts were that Mitsubishi has clearly put a great deal of effort into getting the Pajero Sport package right straight out of the gate. Other competitors in this market often attempt to be the best in all areas, and end up being average as a whole. After spending a short period of time with the Pajero Sport it was clear that Mitsubishi has not tried to do this, but rather put together a package that can adapt to its owner’s needs.
There’s loads more to share about this new vehicle from Mitsubishi and we will do our very best to share this info with you in the coming weeks so be sure you tune back in this sub-section. In the meantime if you have any questions about the new Pajero Sport feel free to post them below or send us a PM.
For more info on the all-new Pajero Sport, visit: http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/vehicles/pajero-sport
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