PB Challenger offroad.

[aldavnic]

it doesnt look like that anymore
Nice vehicle though!

[Pickle]

it doesnt look like that anymore
Nice vehicle though!

Actually it cleaned up rather nice after 3 hours work on it. There was a ton of dust in it
Dave

[Pickle]

Old meets new!



Dave

[Pickle]

Through the Crooked River!



Dave

[Pickle]

Having a rest at Talbotville.



Dave

[Pickle]

On the Crooked River Track.



Dave

[Pickle]

On Blue Rag!



Dave

[Pickle]

On the way to Blue Rag summit.



Dave

[Pickle]

My group on Blue Rag !



Dave

[Pickle]

So how did it go?

The new PB Challenger is certainly a great goer. On road it was quiet inside once up to speed and performed well. Although I did think it was a bit noisier in the engine department. I drove the auto Triton recently with the same running gear and it did seem a little quieter.
Finish on the vehicle is excellent with everything you need at hand. Great climate control and nice firm seats makes long distance driving comfortable. Steering needs a bit of getting used to as you need to put that extra turn in around corners but it does have a good turning circle.

Off road it is in another league. I though the Challenger would be reasonably capable off road. With it great departure and approach angle as well as 220 mm of ground clearance it more than impressed me. It tackled all of the tracks we did without batting an eye. Doing Blue Rag with the difflock off and the traction control not needed was a testament of how well it tackled some of the harder stuff. And not bottoming out on the way up was a bonus as well although we did take a hit going up Billy Goat due to an incorrect line. The Dunlop Grandtreks were exceptional offroad. I had dropped the pressures to 26 psi all round and they survived really well considering a lot of sharp rocks are found on these tracks.
Overall the Challenger is a great package. If you like your offroading this will be quite capable in standard form and still have the on road manners to be mums shopping trolly.
Impressed, you betcha! I can see one in my driveway in the near future.


Tracks done: Macguires/ Hibernia/ Randalls/ Crooked River/ Station/ Cynthia Range/ Eaglevale/ Billy Goat/ Castle Creek/ Trails/ Blue Rag/ Basalt Knob Nth/Brewery Creek and through about 54 river crossings.

Total klms travelled 1203
On road klms 676
Off road klms 527

Fuel ltrs/ 100klms
On road 11.6
Off road 13.1

Dave Howard
Technical Officer
Pajero 4WD Club of Vic

Note :Edited version!

[Ranger J]

Nice work Dave, I was eagerly awaiting the review. Couple of quick questions.

How did you find the torque of the 2.5 with the extra weight of the challenger?
How is the low-range gearing suited to the vehicle?
How did the suspension perform?

The Challenger would be more appealing (to me anyway!) if it was fitted with a side opening rear door and spare wheel fitted to the rear of the vehicle, really turns me off when they tuck it up underneath.

[Pickle]

Ok your first question is a gnarly one!
I felt it was lacking a bit behind the auto on the road. Although in it's defence after I cleaned the air filter it did perform a little bit more spritely. After driving the Triton auto it felt more suited to the box. Although only 40 odd kilo difference in weight and both with the same running gear the Triton just felt like it had more go.
In lo range the Challenger was spot on. It felt like it had the right gearing and whatever I went up it did it with ease. This is really where it felt like the right combination.
Suspension felt firm, actually it felt more Triton in the rear end. Although I think the firm suspension really saved us from bottoming out on a lot of track. Certainly wasn't uncomfortable in firmness.
Dave

[Ballfyboy]

Thanks for the review Dave, I look forward to doing some of those tracks myself soon. I take delivery tomorrow! Can't wait. With a few mods I think they will be unstoppable.

[Gus]

Great stuff Dave..

[900canoes]

Thanks for the review Dave, how does one get the un-edited version?
EDIT: The noise comparison to the Triton; do you think it would be that the rear axle is under the cabin in the Challenger rather than being 'outside' under the Triton tray?

The Challenger would be more appealing (to me anyway!) if it was fitted with a side opening rear door and spare wheel fitted to the rear of the vehicle, really turns me off when they tuck it up underneath.

I tend to agree there Ranger, would like to think that at least, a 'bolt on' wheel carrier would become available before too long. The PA model had one available in some countries and if the empasis is now more on 4WDing with this model then a rear carrier should be made available as an option or even aftermarket add on.