Mitsubishi facelifts Pajero Sport kit
Now entering its sixth year of production, Mitsubishi’s facelifted Pajero Sport has hit Aussie showrooms, bringing with it a few spec upgrades and price increases when comparing retail prices, the biggest being $2700.
The entry level GLX now retails for an extra $500 at $46,990 plus on-road costs, but Mitsubishi has taken the bold step of offering a launch price of $45,990 driveaway for private buyers.
Prices for the mid-range five and seven seater GLS models have each risen by $1500, now $51,490 and $52,490 plus on-road costs respectively, while the aforementioned $2700 increase is for the top spec Exceed, now asking $57,190 plus on-road costs.
Mitsubishi product strategy division chief product specialist Yoshiki Masuda said a lot of thought went into evolving the Pajero Sport for 2020.
“We decided that in addition to refreshing the overall design we would give particular attention to up-rating its advanced equipment specification and its convenience and utility performance,” he said.
“We wanted to deliver the kind of useful and comfort functions that would meet the diverse needs of as many customers as possible.”
On the outside, the 2020 facelift has brought the Pajero Sport more into line with the Japanese brand’s ASX small SUV and the closely related Triton, with Mitsubishi having lifted the bonnet line, revamped the headlights and included more sculptured chrome inserts in an evolution of its latest ‘Dynamic Shield’ front design concept.
At the back of the car, the rear light clusters have been updated to feature more LEDS and have had a redesign to shift the brakelights further away from the tail-lights in a bid to reduce any confusion between the two while driving.
The 2020 model should offer a little more capability off-road, thanks to the side steps being mounted higher up and therefore improving ground clearance.
Inside brings a sea of small changes designed at enhancing the sense of luxury, including a new 8.0-inch colour LCD screen with Mitsubishi’s Smartphone-link Display Audio, – boasting Apple Carplay and Android Auto – redesigned centre console, electric and automatic park brake as well as adaptive cruise control and a power tailgate on the GLS and Exceed models.
The top spec car also scores a new 8.0-inch colour LCD instrument cluster able to display information from the advanced driver assistance system in conjunction with the Smartphonelink Display Audio.
Also new to the Exceed is the latest version of Mitsubishi’s Remote-control app from which the driver can operate a range of features including the power tailgate and car park beacon.
The system also notifies owners if they forgot to turn off any auxiliaries such as the headlamps, position lamps or hazard lights as well as if they left any doors or windows open.
Information such as average fuel consumption, predicted cruising range, eco-drive score and fuel consumption history can also be accessed via the app.
Safety has also been improved, with the 2020 Pajero Sport retaining its predecessor’s five-star safety rating and brings with it a new radar-based blind spot monitoring system which replaces the old ultrasonic setup – a new lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert system also use the same radar.
Mechanically, the same 2.4-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder engine and eight-speed automatic transmission has been carried over unchanged, still producing 133kw of power and 430Nm of torque.
Suspension and braking duties have been left as is with double wishbones up front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear and discs all-round.
Two new colours have been added, white diamond and graphite grey, taking the number of choices to seven.