Mitsubishi Pajero continues the Legend

By: Neville Beeton

Johannesburg - Grey and anonymous I may be, but driving Mitsubishi’s Pajero Legend II with head-turning decals proudly declaring its Dakar Rally heritage, had me dreaming longingly of unmarked dirt track and the road north, next stop Cairo.

The Mitsubishi Pajero is synonymous with hardcore off-roading (it has 12 Dakar Rally wins to its name) and our test vehicle, the short-wheelbase version of the Legend II, is an unashamedly old-style rugged vehicle.

A big selling point for the Legend, first introduced in 2012 (with the short-wheelbase released the following year), was the range of cosmetic and off-road accessories. The Legend II SWB expands this with R40 000 worth of extras as part of its R689 900 price tag, including heavy-duty protection plates fitted below the engine and gearbox assembly, and 17-inch Yokohama Geolander dual-purpose tyres. It also receives a heavy-duty towbar and a Pajero-stamped chrome nudge bar.

Powered by a 3.2-litre DI-D turbodiesel engine, the Pajero delivers 140kW and 441Nm in a wide band providing the grunt for clambering over all terrain. Matched to a five-speed auto gearbox with self-shifting option and the Super-Select II 4WD system the Pajero tackles the worst and best of Africa’s terrain with aplomb.

At the heart of the Pajero’s versatility lies the Super-Select II 4WD system allowing for four different driving modes. Under normal driving conditions all power goes to the rear wheels enabling the Pajero to cruise comfortably on freeways while remaining moderately frugal on fuel with an average of 10.5 litres/100km under normal driving conditions.

In slippery conditions, such as dirt roads or rain, the 4H mode can be selected while driving at speeds of up to 100km/h which splits power with 33 percent going to the front wheels and 76 percent to the rear wheels.

Mechanical freedom

But once you hit the rugged stuff it’s time to engage 4HLc with power being evenly split at 50:50 between the front and rear wheels. Should this be insufficient for really technical terrain the driver can switch to 4LLc, a tree-stump-pulling mode with low gears enabling the Pajero to move at a crawl while traction control is switched off giving the driver mechanical freedom to clear rocks, mud and water.

The rear differential can also be locked from inside the cabin for extreme terrain.

All this clambering ability requires good ground clearance which this Pajero achieves with 235mm of daylight between the body and ground.

The short wheelbase, just 4.38 metres long overall compared to the 4.9 metres of its five-door sibling, means it has an excellent approach angle of 36.7 degrees and 25 degree departure angle and this rock crawler achieves seemingly impossible positions on climbs and drops.

The Pajero receives ticks in all the right boxes for off-roading, but it comes at a price in terms of comfort in normal driving conditions. The turbodiesel engine is not as refined and smooth as in some SUV competitors, with a noticeable agricultural clatter in the engine note, while there is turbo lag on pull away. Steering is a bit vague while some vibration could be felt through the steering wheel.

The cabin comes with all the bells and whistles such as heated leather seats, a touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and USB modules, a reverse camera with parking sensor, a double-volume glass sunroof, multi-function wood and leather steering wheel and air conditioning.

Plush seats

The steering wheel can be adjusted for height, but not for reach but it is still possible to find a comfortable driving position. The leather seats are plush and on the soft side, while the heating has two settings, either very hot or cold. We were unable to drive for long with the heat function on as it simply became too hot for our nether regions. The sun visors proved irritatingly hard to unhook to move to the side, requiring two hands and a hard tug at it to do so.

The Garmin nuviCam with magnetic mount and built-in dash cam with a Tracks4Africa map set for Southern Africa is a welcome addition for both road and offroading should you wish to point the bonnet north and head across the border. But the Garmin is clearly an add-on with the power cable snaking down the dash tied with strips of rubber for a tacky look, marring the otherwise neat cabin.

Space up front is ample while rear seat space for passengers is surprisingly good for a short-wheel base vehicle with sufficient leg and headroom for adults.

But climbing in and out of the rear seats is not something I would want to do every day. It is difficult to access the rear seats from the driver’s side without being a contortionist as the seat doesn’t slide far enough forward and we resorted to using just the passenger side.

The rear seats slide and fold up forward to create a loading area; this is easy to do and we were able to load a mountain bike after removing its front wheel, but only just.

VERDICT

The SWB Pajero Legend II has impeccable off-road ability, so much so that it would be a shame to buy this vehicle without the intention of using it on rugged terrain. It achieves all this while cosseting driver and passenger in comfort. - Star Motoring

FACTS

Mitsubishi Pajero Legend II SWB

Engine: 3.2-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel

Gearbox: five-speed automatic

Power: 140kW @ 3800rpm

Torque: 441Nm @ 2000rpm

0-100km/h (claimed): 12.0 seconds

Top speed (claimed): 180km/h

Price: R689 900

Warranty: Three-year/100 000km

Service/Maintenance plan: Five-year/100 000km

PAJERO 3-DOOR LEGEND II VS RIVALS