New Mitsubishi Pajero Sport preview

Mitsubishi’s new Pajero Sport should come here sometime next year, right in time for some competition against the new Fortuner and Endeavour. We take a closer look at the famed SUV moniker that hopes to turn it around for the Mitusbishi brand in India.

This new Pajero Sport is based on the Triton or L200 pickup that was revealed by Mitsubishi in 2014 and comes as the successor to the seven year old Pajero Sport model that is on sale in India since a few years. The current model has failed to make a mark after its fairly popular predecessor, but with a fresh new SUV waiting in the wings, Mitsubishi could well make a comeback if it gets its act together as a company. 

On the styling front, the new Pajero Sport gets it right I must say. It’s large, wide, high and imposing, always a good thing in this segment. It also looks a lot more modern due to the sharply cut headlights and extensive use of chrome on the front grille. Under all that chrome is a large inverted grille that leads to hexagonal housings on each side for the fog lamps. The front end borrows its cues from the GR-HEV concept showcased at Geneva a few years ago. 

The side profile features large square wheel arches, a high set window sill line that swoops up towards the rear and accentuates the sense of space in the burly SUV. The multi spoke alloy design look eye catching too. The rear is bulky but masks it well due to the large angular taillamps drawing attention to the sides and the large chrome strip braking up the large slab sidedness. 

The interior comes well appointed with plenty of leather, two zone climate control, Touchscreen infotainment system, seven airbags, autonomous braking, blind spot monitoring system, hill descent and more. 

Powering the Mitsubishi Pajero sport is a new 2.4-litre MIVEC diesel engine mated to a 8-speed automatic gearbox. The 8-speeder is a first for Mitsubishi and should get into more offerings in the future. The engine is said to have much lower emissions than the car it replaces and deliver up to 17 percent better fuel economy too. Full specifications haven’t been revealed yet but expected between 180-190PS and over 420Nm of torque. 

Expect prices to hover around the Rs 25-30 lakh mark when launched in India, but the real concern for Mitsubishi isn’t the car itself but the company’s commitment to India. The Pajero Sport will be brought in through the CKD route from its production base in Thailand and assembled at Hindustan Motors facility in Chennai. Since Mitsubishi has a handful of dealers in India, and a poor service network, competing against established rivals like Toyota and Ford is going to be a tough task.