THE NEW Mitsubishi Pajero Sport VGT, launched recently by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, may look exactly like the old one but it has a totally different drive train, in addition to a very good navigation system.
The heart of the Pajero Sport VGT, while retaining its 2.5-litre capacity, has been infused with a VGT (variable geometry turbocharger), which has increased its power from 136PS to 178PS and max torque from 314Nm to 350Nm.
Consistent with turbo-charged engines, the torque is available in a flat torque curve that stretches from 1,800rpm through to 3,500rpm.
What the engine upgrade means to the user is that the power delivery is so much better.
It puts the Mitsubishi engine on par with the Navara’s 172PS, with the Navara having an edge with 400Nm of torque.
This upgrade in power is a natural progression in the engine development process.
We expect that more of the manufacturers would be achieving this type of output from their respective 2.5-litre diesels pretty soon.
To the user, it means faster acceleration, and thus less TED (time exposed to danger) when overtaking.
To make things better, the Pajero Sport VGT is now equipped with a five-speed automatic transmission, which makes it a whole lot smoother to drive.
There is no more of that irritating engine scream when you put your foot down because the kick-down is not as abrupt as in a four-speed transmission.
I was one of the fortunate people who were invited over to Kota Kinabalu over the weekend to test-drive the new Pajero Sport VGT.
Our drive took us to the foothills of Mount Kinabalu. There was an off-road section that wound through some kampung and unpaved roads.
I did not get a chance to drive the vehicle off-road as there were four of us in the vehicle.
But I have taken the old one off-road before, so there is no doubt that the current new model will be as at home off-road as on.
The navigation system is excellent and although the organisers did not use it, there was a stage during the event when most of the media got lost at a key junction.
I had programmed the final destination on my own and the GPS saved our vehicle the hassle of taking the wrong turn and getting lost.
The trip was based on a close convoy format without a map or tulips which meant a lot of waiting time and many re-groups.
This was a bit of a hassle but that did not in any way affect us as we enjoyed the awesome beauty of the Kinabalu Park area which we passed through.
With two driver changes on the way out, I was the last of the four in our vehicle to drive.
I believe I got the best deal of all as I got the opportunity to drive it for the full 115km from the mountain back into civilisation, at speed.
My only regret was that I did not get the chance to capture some of the beautiful sunset scenes that my passengers did on their cameras as I was too busy enjoying the drive.
I found the five-speed transmission great for road use. In the busy mountain traffic with slow-moving trucks and cars, and very short overtaking sections, it was a cinch getting to the head of each cluster of traffic as we caught up with them.
There were many of these clusters on account of the winding roads and slow trucks followed by vehicles with not enough power to overtake safely.
Therefore, I would say that on occasions like these, the additional power makes the Pajero Sport VGT that much safer.
On an overall basis, I would say that Mitsubishi has done a great job in making these very key and significant improvements to the Pajero Sport.
The company has probably done itself a great favour too, as the new specifications will help boost sales of its Pajero Sport VGT.
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