Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2019 Review

Ute-based SUVs like the seven-seat Mitsubishi Pajero Sport are an increasingly popular option for adventurous family buyers. As practical and as comfortable as road-biased rivals, they offer the go-anywhere ability and towing capacity of the body-on-frame light commercial models from which they’re derived – a bit of a ‘cake-and-eat-it’ kind of SUV, if you will.

In the case of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport we find underpinnings shared with the recently updated Triton utility. The pair is mechanically identical, and shares a familiar cabin décor and frontal styling treatment. The rear-end (obviously) is unique to the Pajero Sport, and includes a third row of seats and 1488-litre boot behind a top-hinged tailgate.

At the other end we find Mitsubishi’s carryover 2.4-litre MIVEC four-cylinder turbo-diesel (133kW/430Nm) matched to an Aisin-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission. The plentiful ratios mean the Pajero Sport is a smooth and reasonably efficient performer with a wide selection of gears for off-roading – a two-speed transfer case providing all of Mitsubishi’s proven Super Select-II four-wheel drive capabilities.

The four-variant Mitsubishi Pajero Sport range is priced from $46,490 (plus on-road costs) and steps through Pajero Sport GLX, GLS (from $49,990), limited-run Black Edition (from $52,240) and Exceed (from $54,490), as tested.

When viewed against its nearest rivals (see Where does it fit, below), the Pajero Sport offers terrific value, providing a lot of equipment for the money, and a fairly competitive suite of after-sales provisions to boot.

Mitsubishi backs the Pajero Sport with a five-year/100,000km warranty as part of its Diamond Advantage program. The scheme also includes 12 months roadside assistance and a three-year/45,000km capped-price servicing plan. Service intervals are set at 12 months/15,000km (whichever comes first) and total $897 for the first three years.

If a roomy, well-equipped SUV with seven seats and off-road ability is on your shopping list, you could do a lot worse than to take home a Pajero Sport. It really is a very capable family hauler with a kit list that embarrasses many of its nearest rivals – and a better level of interior fit and finish too.

Powered and heated leather seats, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, dual-zone climate and keyless entry and ignition mean the Pajero Sport Exceed ticks a lot of boxes. Adaptive cruise control and parking sensors front and rear help the cause, as does sensibly sensitive auto lights and wipers.

In spite of its size, the Pajero Sport is an easy vehicle to place on the road with excellent outward visibility and a high-set seat that isn’t a chore to climb in to.

The level of adjustability from the seat and steering wheel create a comfortable and supportive place from which to command the ship. Switch on the digital radio, dial-up the climate control, flick on the heated seats and activate the active cruise control and there’s little left to do but steer and relax.

On the downside the cabin can feel a little narrow, and without a sunroof feels a little gloomy. The steering is also a little slow – meaning much more input is required to navigate roundabouts and tight turns – while acceleration is acceptable, but not enthusiastic.

We also found the forward collision sensor a little ‘panicky’, especially in the cut and thrust of busy city traffic, and that (very muffled) Bluetooth conversations sounded as if they were originating in the glovebox.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport range was last updated in April 2018 and remains available now.

The mid-life facelift saw adaptive cruise control (ACC) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) included as standard across the range, while a dedicated five-seat variant dubbed Pajero Sport GLS was added to the line-up.

Additional USB ports and a three-pint 150W/220V outlet were also adopted as part of the MY19 update, along with new-look alloy wheels, added soft-touch materials throughout the cabin, and a tailgate spoiler on top-shelf Exceed variants.

As a seven-seat SUV with genuine four-wheel drive ability – and a load of standard equipment for the price – the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is a jack-of-all-trades kind of vehicle that will appeal to a broad demographic.

Family buyers are the obvious target, with city and country buyers equally well catered to. There’s enough space, technology and safety equipment in the Pajero Sport to see it appeal to a mix of age groups, and the 3100kg braked towing ability is ideal for recreational buyers, hobby farmers and even tradespeople.

More finicky buyers will notice the Pajero Sport’s restrictive oddment storage – especially around the gearshift – while small exclusions such as mirror heaters are an interesting oversight. We also found the split-fold seating functionality a little clumsy, parts of the third-row seats remaining exposed and consuming floor space when not in use.

There’s also no cargo cover over the boot and no electric tailgate, which is disappointing at this spec level.

The large seven-seat SUV category is a big one, and comprises vehicles of a wide range of abilities. It includes road-biased SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Kluger, for example, all the way through to larger, off-road-focussed models like the (slightly bigger) Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota LandCruiser Prado.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and its ilk are best thought of as something of an ‘in-betweener’ – the sort of vehicle that combines the comforts and equipment of the former with the ability of the latter.

It plays in a well-populated field that incorporates the Ranger-based Ford Everest ($49,190-$73,990), Colorado-based Holden Trailblazer ($47,990-$53,490), D-MAX-based Isuzu MU-X ($42,900-$56,400) and HiLux-based Toyota Fortuner ($44,590-$56,990).

Against those rivals the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport places second on the sales ladder with year-to-date sales of 3616 units to the end of June 2019. The Isuzu MU-X leads the way with 4164 unit sales, ahead of the Ford Everest (2591), Toyota Fortuner (1731) and Holden Trailblazer (1301).

The Pajero Sport is a terrific SUV for the money. It’s quiet, comfortable and reasonably well sorted in terms of its on-road dynamics. It’s also sensibly packaged, allowing room enough for five adults and two children, and a handful of their belongings.

Compared to its rivals the Pajero Sport also offers a decent amount of equipment for the asking price and includes sufficient technology and amenity that it doesn’t seem out of place when viewed against its nearest competitors – far from it.

A few small omissions aside, we have no trouble recommending the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. It mightn’t have the power of the Holden Trailblazer or the status of the Toyota LandCruiser Prado, but as a vehicle that fits somewhere in the middle it's hard to look past, especially if value for money is high on your list of priorities.

Better yet, with a new model just around the corner, you might just stand to get a great deal on the MY19 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport over the next couple of months. Our advice: get your haggling hat on soon.

How much does the 2019 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed cost?
Price: $54,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 133kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.0L/100km (ADR Combined); 9.5L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 212g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2015)