Mitsubishi Pajero Sport - 5 Year Ownership Review

On November 2013, my family decided to buy a ladder frame diesel SUV. Here in Indonesia where I live, there’s only about 2 option. The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport or Toyota Fortuner. After we test drove both car, we decided that the Pajero Sport was a better option. Unfortunately, we did not choose the highest trim which is the Dakar trim. Instead we choose the middle trim, the Exceed trim. But how well this SUV deals with the notorious traffic in Jakarta, twisty roads, and long road trip on the highway and off the highway.

First, I’ll star with the positive, and there are a lot. First, even though it’s a almost 2 tonne ladder frame diesel SUV it’s a pretty comfortable car. With the very bad road quality we have here in Indonesia it rides over potholes and bumps effortlessly. Well obviously you felt it, but it’s not unbearable considering that it’s a ladder frame SUV. Second, it gets a pretty good fuel millage (Averaging 9 km/Liter (21mpg) city and 14 km / Liter (32mpg) highway). I know it’s not the greatest number for a 4 banger diesel engine. But you have to remember that in the city the traffic is so bad that most of the time your average speed is belom 35 km/h ( 21mph ). Third, it’s a very reliable vehicle. It starts every morning without hesitation. With a diesel engine that you can trace it roots back to the 80s, the engine is already proven and tested in many application so it’s a very reliable unit. And then in my opinion, the interior design is very good. I like the central console lay out, everything is easy to use and where you expect it to be.

The practically of this car is also a big plus. You have a large glove box, central console storage, and a lot of cup holder. And it gets better, with the rear seats folded completely flat, it’s got a huge cargo space. The direct competitor to this car, Toyota Fortuner can not fold the third row seat flat to the floor. So this is a big plus point for the Pajero Sport.

Now let’s talk about the engine. It’s a 136 PS and 320 NM 4 cylinder turbocharge diesel engine. It’s not the greatest engine ever i admit, it’s not even the most powerful version of the engine. But, it gets the job done. And it does it while being a reliable and fuel efficient engine. And I think it’s good enough. 136 PS doesn’t sound like much, well it isn’t but its a diesel engine. The torque is enough in my opinion. You can do a one tire fire burnout with this car and some lame powerslides (which is a lot of fun). I think the power output of this engine is plenty enough. But, because it’s an old diesel engine the rattling and sound is very rough. It basically sound like a truck. And the cabin insulation is not the greatest either, so you can hear a lot of the engine rough noise. But after 5 year and 70.000km driving this car, I get used to it even though it can be very annoying. This engine in the Exceed trim is paired to a 4 speed automatic transmission. Well, I think the transmission in this trim is the most negative thing in this car. It’s slow, rough, jerky after a long period of drive. It’s a reliable transmission I never had any problem with it, but I wish it could be a smoother transmission. And having just 4 gears means that you get worse fuel economy if you drive it over 100km/h because the engine rev is over 2000RPM.

In conclusion, I think this a is almost perfect car for the kind of environment in Indonesia. It’s a tough SUV that can go through bad roads, and some light offroading, while being comfortable for the long roadtrip with 7 people onboard. After 5 years and 70.000km driving this car, never once I had a regret buying this car. It’s serve me and my family well. Unfortunately, we already sold this car. Not because it’s becoming unreliable or starting to fall apart. Just because we want something new. I’ve done almost everything you can do with this car. Well duh this is the first car that I drive. And one more thing, in Indonesia this kind of SUV is viewed “rich person car”. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not but I don’t agree with how people see this kind of vehicle. Because basically this is just a pickup with leather seats and nice interior. I had a lot of fun with this car, and it’s sad for me to say goodbye to this car.

I hope that this review is informative and entertaining. I am sorry if there’s a mistakes here and there because this is the first time I’m making this kind of review.

Comment bellow if you have anything to say, I’ll answer as soon as I can.