Mitsubishi Pajero X DiD 2007 Review

Road Test

This is the updated, upgraded version of one of the all-time offroad hero cars. For years, Mitsubishi's Pajero has been right up there with LandCruiser and Patrol -- taming the gnarly bits of this widest brown land, lugging Dobbin in his horse-float and delivering Billy and Mary into the education system on a daily basis.

At the launch in the Flinders Ranges, both three and five-door versions acquitted themselves well. The cars scrabbled up and down loose scree slopes, mounted ridges of loose rocky desert and handled the roads of South Australia's dusty plains with aplomb.

Alas, when faced with the trials and tribulations of daily life, the NS-Series Pajero three-door didn't come off quite so well.

So, what lets the image down? For a start, we don't expect a modern car, least of all a rugged Japanese offroader, to rattle -- but this one did. And despite its top-drawer X tag (VRX in five-door), it lacked some civilities that you'd expect to find in a 21st century vehicle with a $50K swing-tag.

For example, the rear-most swing-out side windows are manually operated and with no indication that one had been left open our tester sucked in dust. There's no auxiliary power-point in the luggage area and the driver's footrest is about half as wide as it needs to be -- barely acceptable in a converted left-hooker, but a downright irritation in a car originally designed with the steering wheel on the right.

Another irritation was a large over-the-shoulder blind-spot, courtesy of the hefty B-pillars required in the short body… Though arguably, this is something owners would learn to accommodate with time. Potentially more serious is the lack of curtain airbags in a vehicle which might conceivably end up on its ear, given its remarkable rock-hopping ability.

But perhaps most troubling was the Pajero's fuel consumption -- for a common-rail turbodiesel (even a hefty, muscular 3.2-litre four), an average consumption of 13.1lt/100km (as recorded on the car's own inbuilt computer) is much higher than we expected.

This is especially the case given that most of the test distance covered (about 500km) was in two-wheel drive with only brief forays into four-wheel drive (and even briefer flashes in 4L) to confirm the vehicle's capabilities and credentials.

It doesn't bode well for the vehicle's range when far from the nearest diesel bowser.

Probably thanks to its short wheelbase, the Pajero can get skittish on pea-gravel; when the car starts to slide, the electronic Active Stability Control and Active Traction Control driver aids come into play, lifting off the throttle and briefly pinching various brakes to get the car headed where the steering wheel's pointed. The trouble is that the combination of systems takes away virtually all the throttle for a couple of seconds -- possibly a function of the diesel's lower engine speeds and turbo lag. The system seems much better suited to the petrol-powered models in the range.

But when the smart-alec electronics aren't getting in the way, the Pajero gets off the line with vigour; it's a muscular, purposeful performer that rewards a firm hand (and heavy foot) with surges of urge in each gear and a surprising level of accuracy in steering and handling.

 Loading up the cabin with humans and their luggage didn't blunt the performance one iota, and why should it? That said, it probably wouldn't make a great tow-vehicle, by dint of its shorter chassis -- having a three-tonne horse-float take over on a long downhill will surely furrow the brow of even the most devout.

Traditionally, short-wheelbase 4x4s have been like riding the switchback roller-coaster, pitching fore and aft and rocking and rolling left and right, as a high centre of gravity and long-travel suspension exaggerated the proximity of the wheels. Happily, Mitsubishi's engineers seem to have dialled out most of that in the latest Pajero and passengers who regularly get queasy in a full bath didn't complain once about motion-sickness.

Beyond this, the Pajero has all the good stuff, like a real four-mode four-wheel drive transmission which allows the driver to select the best ratios to use ahead of time, and not wait until terminal wheelspin wakes up the other two wheels.

Beside rear-wheel drive, the four-wheel drive high range gives all-paw grip for use in conditions such as rain or muddy roads. The system uses a centre diff, a viscous coupling, a free-wheeling front differential and wheel-speed sensors to provide maximum traction. Power transfer varies between 50:50 and 33:67 front/rear bias.

The transfer can be locked for use in mud and snow, and a true four-wheel drive low range option allows crawling on steep slopes and in minimum-grip circumstances.

A sticker on the sun-visors advises that the push-button rear diff-lock is to be used "only to move vehicle when stuck". When the diff is locked, the ABS, Stability Control and Traction Control systems are disabled.

Mitsubishi's version of hill descent control is called Engine Brake Assist but works only when the transmission's in the (above-noted) most extreme diff-locked low-range mode (4LLc in Pajero-speak).

The ABS brakes have EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) to apply maximum braking effort depending upon individual wheel traction and vehicle load.

Creature-comforts such as a huge electric sunroof, a sensational sound system,  a great dash-mounted computer (that added an altimeter, compass, and barometer to the usual fuel and range readouts), sliding-top two-tier central storage bin/armrest with a power socket, electric folding exterior mirrors and a self-dipping inside mirror, rear park-distance sensors, front and rear fog-lamps, hill-hold assist and a full-sized spare wheel -- albeit one that is bolted to the rear door -- make the Pajero a good place to be.

The traction control and rear parking proximity sensors are switchable -- although the switches are obscured by the driver's left knee. At least warning lights tell you when the systems are deactivated.

There are cruise control and sound system buttons on the steering wheel, which is adjustable for rake only (no reach), and a fair amount of luggage space and four strong anchor-points with the rear seats in place. The 60/40 split-fold back seat has folding arm-rests on each side which include cup-holders.

Pajero-people (short-wheelbase at least) better not be prolific parents, however -- although there are three lap-sash safety belts in the rear, there's only one central child's seat anchor-point provided.

Mitsubishi expects its X model three-door is more likely to be bought by the "fashion-conscious urban buyer" and people who have previously bought three-door hatches and sports coupes. That said, we suspect that people stepping out of 3 Series BMWs will find the short-wheelbase Pajero's lack of finesse a bit of a culture shock.

To comment on this article click here.