Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Design

Mitsubishi grille – chrome laden to good effect – is flanked by attractive clear lens headlamps with projector lamps. The short front overhang, blunt rounded-corners for the nose and lack of any bonnet scoops gives it a friendly visage while the aluminium sump guard and sheer size of the SUV hints at off-roading potential. In profile this is appropriately beastly with 17-inch rims housed in massive wheel arches with equally massive wheel arch gaps.

The running boards are neatly executed while the rear has slinky Alfa Romeo-esque tail lamps. The tailgate opens upwards forcing the spare wheel to be mounted under the SUV cleaning things up and making for a rather attractive silhouette. Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has a fair dose of stylistic flair and it gets even better when you step inside.

Cabin is a typical Mitsubishi cabin which means high quality switchgear, plush beige leather upholstery and upmarket furnishings. Mitsubishi have in fact gone all out to ensure the cabin scores over its rivals but in chucking in whatever they could lay their hands on they might have gone a bit overboard. So the wood-finished centre console is flanked by aluminium-effect panels and there is a smattering of wood on the door pads too.

The steering wheel is nice to grip and equally nice to look at and has audio controls (though cruise control has been deleted). The dials are neat and easy to read.There’s single-zone climate control, twin front airbags, an old-school lever for the four-wheel-drive, a multi-information display that has a compass, barometer and altimeter and a high-end USB-compatible 420W stereo (no AUX or Bluetooth connectivity though) with eight speakers and an amplifier that can even make FM sound good..

Seating is plush and extremely comfortable with lots of space up front and in the middle row. A conveniently located lever requires minimal effort to fold and flip down the middle row permitting easy access to the third row. Due to the high floor the last row isn’t very ergonomic requiring knees to be folded to the chest and full sized adults will only be able to endure short journeys though kids will be okay over long trips. There is a separate rear air-con to keep passengers cool at the back. With all three rows in place the boot can still take soft bags but fold the third row flat into the floor and flip up the middle row and boot space increases quite massively.