Mitsubishi Pajero Sport review, test drive

“What, another Pajero? Why? Aren’t there already two different Pajeros on sale in India? And isn’t this Mitsubishi’s fourth SUV?” Questions from car enthusiasts we meet on Delhi’s streets come thick and fast. Sure there’s a lot of respect for the Japanese company and plenty of respect for the Pajero brand name as well, but yes – Pajero, Montero, Outlander and now a Pajero Sport – that’s a lot of SUVs, which is puzzling. Of course the real reason the Pajero Sport exists is to take on competition like the Fortuner and Endeavour. It’s all about delivering as much SUV as you can on a budget. All three are based on light pick-up trucks sold en masse in Thailand, each is similarly specified and, all of them have attained their fair share of success in the region. The Pajero Sport, importantly, is also a thoroughly modern, up-to-the-minute, common-rail-diesel-equipped SUV; something HM Mitsubishi’s mountain goat, the Pajero, certainly isn’t. Put simply, what Mitsubishi is trying to do is deliver a Montero-like package at a Pajero-like price; that’s as close as you can get to a surefire recipe for success in India.