By Richard Wiley

In prior years, my association with any Mitsubishi with an auto transmission was spoiled by the slothful characteristics of the self-shifters this company employed. The lazy changes and extensive slip just didn’t do anything to make for driving pleasure, but all that slipped into the history books in October last year when the company introduced a new generation Pajero Sport with a modern 8-speed auto that transformed the driving characteristics.

Admittedly, my introduction took place with a 4X4 mainly on the Atlantis sand dunes to the north of Cape Town, but that was enough to know that the otherwise extensively-fettled Pajero Sport had acquired a new spirit.  Now, around nine months later, a 2.4 D4 4X2 arrived on my driveway for a week’s assessment on more familiar territory.

I have to admit to being a tad surprised at the sheer bulk of the 7-seater Mitsubishi but it seems bakkie-based vehicles of this ilk are vying with each other to dominate other traffic, especially in terms of length and loft. This Pajero consumes no less than 4.8m of tarmac from stem to stern and it’s quite a climb into the lofty cabin, a task assisted by a grab handle conveniently positioned in each door aperture. It also needs extra care when being parked in a typical supermarket lot!

If you’ve been paying due attention, you will have noted my deliberate reference to a breed of machine that is not very high up my “must have” list – bakkie. Whatever spin the PR people might put on such vehicle types, none of them hold a candle to a decently-suspended saloon or monocoque SUV when it comes to ride, handling or steering responses.

Truth be told, the “best” bakkies in dynamic terms are those that are the least compromised because every one of them is compromised in one way or another. You might think that damns such machines with faint praise, but that’s exactly what is intended and nothing changes for the Pajero Sport except for the fact that its progenitor, the Triton, happens to be one of the least-compromised bakkies.  The fact South Africans don’t seem to understand this is reflected in sales figures, not just of the Triton but of the Pajero Sport too, despite the fact that this may well be a contender for top spot on a ladder ascended by the Ford Everest and the ubiquitous Toyota Fortuner.

On this occasion, I did not venture onto any gravel in this 4×2 version, but I did traverse sufficient tar surfaces of varying composition to work out that the Pajero Sport errs on the soft side when it comes to springing, notwithstanding the rather odd application of a “Sport” moniker. What this tells you is that this Mitsubishi can actually waft along on typical motorway surfaces with acceptable aplomb and less shuffling than many of its rivals exhibit.

This suggests that long, open-road cruises are right up its street – apologies for the deliberate contradiction in terms – but you should be aware that if dips or undulations are encountered, this underlying softness can trigger a mild fore and aft pitching motion which resembles, to a limited extent, the feeling you get when boating and crossing another boat’s wake.

Broken surfaces are not exactly dismissed but rather “smothered” which again, given the origin of the underpinnings, means that this Mitsubishi is less compromised than one particularly popular SUV when it comes to overall ride and handling feedback. In some ways, I guess, the huge 265/60R18 tyres must take some of the credit, but given that this spec is pretty common across the SUV brigade, it points to the fact that Mitsubishi’s engineers have spent a lot of time minimising the inherent vices of a ladder frame chassis.

The motor, as the model designation suggests, is a 2.4 diesel boosted by a turbo to produce a useful 133kW at a mere 3 500 rpm, but of much more importance is the torque peak of 430Nm which is accessed at 2 500rpm.  It operates quietly and smoothly on the move and masks diesel clatter very well such that on the cruise with the rev counter in its lower reaches, it’s hard to tell what fuel is being burned. Only at idle does this willing engine telegraph that oily stuff is being consumed as clatter is not that well isolated.

For the record, 0-100 is achieved in around 10.8s on the way to 180km/h and combined fuel consumption is listed as 8.0l/100 but in the real world, expect around 10.0 in everyday use.

This motor always feels willing and unstressed and its purpose in life is aided immeasurably by the relatively recent introduction of an excellent 8-speed auto box which has banished memories of slothful behaviour exhibited by earlier models.

This box resists slippage – the bane of previous iterations – with determination but still changes gears with smoothness and alacrity, and thanks in part to the presence of “intelligent shift control” which ensures that the best ratio for the purpose is always selected, the motor always seems to be in its sweet spot. And ever-so-happily for me at least, paddle shifters are in-situ to give the driver full control when the mood takes.

Stopping this large vehicle is no problem as disc brakes are employed all round and the pedal is set up with a perfect level of assistance such that feathered stops are easy to achieve. And, despite its relative bulk, it’s even easy to manoeuvre in tight situations thanks to a good turning circle and to a power steering system that takes all the effort – and some of the feel – out of wheel-twirling.

Design-wise, this latest Mitsubishi looks slicker and less boxy than any of its predecessors and it’s blessed with a good paint finish and well-sorted panel alignment.  Perhaps the tail-lamp treatment is a trifle elaborate but discrete chrome touches, matt silver roof rails and running boards and the use of black honeycomb vents and HD lamps endows it with an altogether more premium disposition.

Inside too, the more upmarket look continues. It’s the ruched black leather seats that catch the eye first. They look and feel thickly padded and most inviting, but the comfort-inducing softness may just be at the expense of outright durability as the right-side bolster of the driver’s seat was already showing some signs of tiredness in this sub-10 000km vehicle.

The driver is treated to electric seat adjustment and enjoys keyless entry and start too. Those in the back, ensconced on a high-mounted, 60:40-split seat, have plenty of space notwithstanding that a pair of seats is neatly folded into the luggage area floor behind them to transform this Pajero into a 7-seater when desired. The boot area, by the way, is beautifully-carpeted but sadly, the sides are made up of scratch-prone plastic. Why do manufacturers persist with employing the least practical surface finish in vehicles touted for their practicality?

Aside from those softly-padded seats and cushy armrest inlays, most of the surfacing inside this Pajero is hard-to-the-touch but the designers have done a good job in disguising this with bold graining and the use of matt finishes. Oddments receptacles are generous in number and size even if the door pockets are not lined, the analogue instrument cluster with central digital info display is clearly marked, flashes of silver-sprayed trim inlays relieve the blackness, and the driver is relieved of getting a key out as keyless entry and start is provided.

So too is effective air con, an electric “handbrake”, centre infotainment screen, cruise control, Bluetooth, plenty of passive safety aids, rear parking sensors and more – for full details, take a look at www.mitsubishi-motors.co.za

In summary, it’s fair to say that the latest Mitsubishi is one of those vehicles that’s better than the sum of its parts. There’s nothing revolutionary about its underpinnings but they’ve all been massaged to good effect to provide a very pleasing “old school” SUV that I believe is probably the leader of that specific pack, especially with that slick 8-speed auto on board.

Warranty: 3yr/100 000km

Service Plan: 5yr/90 000km

Price: (as at July 2018) R569,995

The auther is a member of both the ULTIMATE DRIVE-team as well as the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.