Mitsibushi Pajero

[chrisdaejeon]

I'm thinking of trading my D-Max for the Misibushi Pajero. Any good or bad comments about the dealers in Hua-Hin, Pranburi or Petchburi. Also any useful comments from pajero owners. Many thanks.

[Terry]

Are you talking about the PAJERO or the confusingly named PAJERO SPORTS?

The PAJERO is a full blown off road SUV in several guises and I would highly recommend.

The PAJERO SPORTS is Mitsubishi's answer to the Isuzu MU7, Chevy Captiva, Toyota Fortuner - which are all fundamentally Pick up based designs.............

[PeteC]

This is the Pajero Sport with a lot of accessories in and out, plus 18" wheels. Forgive the dirt. The normal Pajero is imported and I think the price is around 5 million Baht. I test drove everything and nothing IMO came close to the PS concerning power, interior room and suspension which is coil spring, not leaf. A very good ride so far. However, service sucks outside of Bangkok. Not many dealers and limited knowledge maintenance management and crew. Pete

[PeteC]

Another few items not usually known. On the fly shifting to 4WD high range, both front and rear DVD can be played while in forward motion, comes with an entertainment touch screen system which can easily be upgraded to an Alpine system with GPS, sub woofer, speakers and IPod attachment, rear aircon, fold flat seats for max cargo room, huge torque with 3.2 L diesel, 72 liter tank, 5.6 meter turning radius, and last but not least, no annoying seat belt flashing light and sound if you choose to drive without them on. Here's the Thailand web site. Pete

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.th/mits ... index.html

[chrisdaejeon]

Sorry I did mean the Pajero Sport. Yes I worry a little bit being out of Bangkok and service. Thank you for the picture and great details. It certainly sounds like what I need. I am just arranging a test drive. Is the 3.2 4x4 a better buy than the 2.5 as I dought I would use 4x4

[PeteC]

Sorry I did mean the Pajero Sport. Yes I worry a little bit being out of Bangkok and service. Thank you for the picture and great details. It certainly sounds like what I need. I am just arranging a test drive. Is the 3.2 4x4 a better buy than the 2.5 as I dought I would use 4x4

Depends how you like to drive. I'm a maniac and love power , and I certainly get it with the 3.2 turbo. I'm up to 100K in about 5 seconds which is pretty good for a truck, and passing power is readily there when you need it. Anyway, you'll save money on the purchase price and on fuel if you go for the 2.5 2WD. See below link for base prices of the different models. Al models only come with automatic transmissions though.

Unfortunately no Mitsu Motors web site in English, just Thai. You'll find their brochures like that also, but you can get an owners manual in English if you ask. Don't expect a lot of electronics as you get in something like a Honda CRV as it's a pretty basic and simple design inside which I like. Power driver's seat though which is a nice thing to have. What you can do with accessories outside and in concerning sound systems is only limited by your imagination and budget.

On your test drive you'll notice two things right off; very smooth and responsive suspension, high engine noise which is common with the Mitsu diesel, not overwhelming though and not that evident from the inside and especially when you get into top gear. Pete


http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.th/mits ... lineup.php

[Terry]

Sad that Mitsu got some bad press a few years back concerning cover up of maintenance faults - but tell me of a motor manufacturer that hasn't had bad press for one reason or another in recent times.

In my early days in Thailand, I had a Mitsu Galant 2.0 GLSi. Superb car - 250,000 Km in 2 1/2 years and virtually flawless.

2001 -3 had a 3.0 Litre V6 Pajero - Petrol version - whilst in Malaysia. These were assembled locally by Proton and did not have same build quality as those imported from Japan. However once the 'bugs' were ironed out after about 6 weeks, it was a great motor - if a little bit thirsty.

Now drive Honda Civic and a Chevy Colorado truck - both very good.

However if Mitsu get their act together again in Thailand, I would seriously look at them for a new vehicle, and from what I've heard about the Pajero Sport (Not only from Pete) - it's good.

[Spitfire]

Don't want to post a downer on this subject but I reckon you'll find that a Pajero/Fortuna/MU-7 is nothing more than a glorified Triton/Vigo/Dmax with an expensive shell and you're paying over a million baht for it. If you look under the hood then it's almost the same, you're paying for an expensive and overpriced shell, under the hood it's a pickup.

If that floats your boat, then that's fine. It's where the companies make money, same engine and frame etc, just jazz up the appearence or shell, that's what you're paying for. If you listen to a pickup and a SUV of whichever manufacturer you want, then they sound the same, same diesel engine.

If you understand that then fine, it's a fashion thing everyone. We all know how hopelessly the locals are indoctrinated to the fashion element and face that goes with it.

[chrisdaejeon]

Thanks everyone for some great input. I'll let you know what I do after a test drive. I must admit that at the moment I am pretty positive about them I did once own a Mitsibushi Nimbus (7 seats) and never had any problems with it. Of course a sedan could be a better choice but with a young son and so much stuff to take on a trip the bigger option seems okay. These choices are always so difficult.

[PeteC]

You're right SF when talking about Toyota and Isuzu. The Mitsu has a different suspension and frame than their Triton p/u. Same engines though. Pete

[PeteC]

The Laemchabang factory Terry I understand makes all the PSports for domestic and export. Export is to Russia, Australia, South America, other parts of Asia and the ME. Seems it is known as the Challenger and Montero Sport elsewhere.

It also comes with their Diamond warranty of 160,000KM/10 year on powertrain and 130,000Km/5 year new car warranty. Only hitch is that you have to take it in every 3 months for a check up regardless of KM driven. If you miss, you lose something but I'm not sure which and how much. Pete

PS: Line it up with your 90 reporting and you have a winner.

[PeteC]

I had forgotten SF as over a year so I researched again. I remember it saying the 'new ladder frame.." but it appears the Triton has the same new frame as well, although modified for the PS because of the different type of rear suspension of coil spring instead of leaf spring.

In any event it serves the purpose better than my Toyota p/u did now with a growing daughter and I don't get stopped as much by the MIB. Plus, I now have the only farang driven pimpmobile in the province. Pete

[poosmate]

My Wife has the PS and I a Fortuna. The negatives in my opinion in the PS no cupholders in the front or at least not convenient in front of the air vents like the Fortuna. A lack of pockets to put parking tickets etc for easy retrival. The radio controls are very small and hard to get to whilst driving. The rear seats in the Ps are good in the respect that they can fold flat unlike the Fortuna but are unsuitable for most adults due to no footwell. The PS is noisier but not so much. I think the ride is softer in the Fortuna.The DVD is good for the kids but if, as I did wanted the GPS modual it was 24k!?
As the price is about the same for both I will probabaly choose the Fortuna when I change mine. I believe there is a new model coming soon which I would expect to copy any "plusses" the PS has and add them to the new model giving Toyota the edge.

[Top Croc]

I agree with Poosmate. Having just moved to HH and set up house I too have been doing the rounds on the above vehicles.

CRV is a ladies or town car, obviously my wife likes it.

I live/base in Papua New Guinea, a literal proving ground for 4wd vehicles. Isusu, Mitsu, Nissan and Toyota are represented here. The local people here never seem to service vehicles, constantly overload and drive like lunatics. Generally roads are not sealed other than in towns, very rough and telling on all vehicles.

When getting to the 100k klm mark the Toyota Hilux clearly is in front by a country mile followed by the Isusu.

The Fortuna having the Hilux/Surf running gear is a plus in my opinion.

If you can afford the Navi model, its a very nice, robust and comfortable vehicle.

[Top Croc]

Further to mine above, another big consideration is that Toyota seem to have a branch on every corner in the cities and one in most reasonable towns. Important if long trips are planned, both for service and if something goes amiss.

Compare the Fortuner to some of the more up-market SUV vehicles and it is difficult to justify the additional couple of million.