DRIVING FORCE

Mitsubishi rethinks its approach to all-wheel drive with the new Pajero Sport

There’s a reason the mediumsized SUV based on a pickup chassis is so popular. Actually, there are many reasons. So it really isn't surprising to see the runaway success of Toyota's Fortuner and Ford's Everest.

With its new Pajero Sport, Mitsubishi – now included in the Alliance with Renault and Nissan – is eyeing a bigger slice of that pie than it's been able to manage up to now. On the plus side: styling that's easy on the eye, a practical approach to the seven-seat configuration, pricing and, yes, tech sophistication. Technologies in the Sport's armoury include a new Super Select II 4WD with 8-speed automatic transmission, electronic off-road programmes and Hill Descent Control. The new off-road mode optimises engine output, transmission settings and braking and, as a last resort, there's a lockable rear differential.

Mitsubishi South Africa's Arrie Froehlich explained that the Pajero Sport combines mechanical with electronic supplemental control. The previous-generation drivetrain management on Pajeros learnt and adapted to your driving style in terms of the gearbox. “We actually switched over to engine control for off-road,” he says.

Older Mitsubishis used a viscous coupling unit. “When you go off-road driving and you are actually in an obstacle and you need to get out of that obstacle, sometimes you have to press the accelerator a bit deeper just to get the viscous coupling going,” says Froehlich. “With the new Torsen-type limited slip device it's instant.” (See “What's the diff?”.)

Engine is the new-generation highperformance MIVEC 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine, paired with a new 8-speed transmission. What's unique about the new box is that it uses electronics to

manipulate the ratios. First and Second are set up to be held in gear irrespective of throttle position. Third to Eighth use selective slipping to electronically create an overlap between ratios for a smoother, almost stepless kind of shifting depending on factors such as the throttle position, load and so forth.

First gear on the new vehicle is significantly lower than the old fivespeed – 28 per cent – and you feel the effect immediately in off-road downhills. Previousgeneration auto boxes lacked the engine braking effect of a manual, so either you had to keep braking, running the risk of overheating, brake fade and runaway, or you had to invent Hill Descent Control. With the Pajero Sport's lower first gear, there's a distinct engine braking effect.

At the top end, a higher ratio puts you at 2 000 r/min in 8th gear at 120 km/h, right at the torque peak. The transfer gear is much lower, too, at 2,566:1, compared with the previous 1,91, which means more torque and more climbing ability. The front-rear torque split is now 40:60 (previously 33:67).

Different software programs were put into the transmission to simulate different off-road scenarios. Gravel is the offroad mode's default setting; the others are sand, mud and rock.

For those who complain that all of this is taking the fun out of 4x4, says Froehlich: “If you press and hold the off-road mode for 15 seconds, it will deactivate.” Be that as it may, vehicles with intelligent off-road tech have tended to work by effectively robbing power to ensure good traction. I kept everything switched on while driving the Pajero Sport and never felt like my progress was being hobbled.

For what it's worth, the terrain programme selector is now a rotary dial, not a lever. For the shift from 4H lock to 4L lock, previously you had to be stationary and in Neutral; now, the system will override your input and prevent you from making the shift at an inappropriate speed.

Hill Descent is able to adjust to your preferred speed and hold it in memory: if on a descent you think you're going too fast, tap the brakes or, if too slow, the accelerator to set a new descent speed. If you stop in the middle of a descent, get out and then back in and set off again in Drive, the system recognises that the vehicle is in an unsafe condition and will implement a crawl mode restricting pullaway speed to between 1 and 2 km/h, which you can override once moving.

One other design feature that came in handy in some tight turns among the dunes was what's described as a classleading turning circle of just 11,2 metres. That agility also impressed me on the Pajero Sport's double- cab equivalent, the Triton.

We spent a morning on the dunes outside Atlantis in the Western Cape and the new car turned in a thoroughly impressive performance. If you're in the market for a medium SUV, this is one you surely have to consider.

Off-road modes include gravel, mud, sand and rock.