Car Review: Mitsubishi Pajero Legend II (SWB)
Off-roading is a popular activity for many South Africans and gone are the days when you’d never see a woman behind the wheel of a cliff-climbing, off-road vehicle. In fact MitsubishiMotors SA has recorded a near 50/50 sales split between men and women for the special edition version of the short-wheel base, Pajero Legend.
“It comes as no surprise that the Pajero short-wheel base derivative has proven popular with both genders,” says Braam Faul, National Marketing Manager at MitsubishiMotors South Africa. “The model offers the in-town manoeuvrability of a much smaller vehicle, the ride height of a premium SUV and off-road ability that is legendary.”
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Pajero is the only large 4X4 range in the local market to offer a short-wheel base variant. So to get more familiar with its attributes Mitsubishi invited us to the Pajero Legend II SWB Ladies Adventure Day where we had the opportunity to put the Pajero to the test (and brush up on our off-roading skills).
Surprise visitor with us at the #PajeroLegend ladies event @VictorMatfield @mitsu_motors @cairaleed pic.twitter.com/c24N5298Oo
— Women On Wheels (@WomenWheels) August 16, 2016
The Legend II Limited Edition features several accessories included in its retail price:
- Yokohama Geolander dual-purpose tyres
- Heavy-duty protection plates fitted under the engine and gearbox
- A nudge bar
- A tow bar
- An auto-locking and unlocking module
- A Garmin nüviCam with a built-in dash cam
- A Tracks4Africa off-road map set for Southern Africa
- A set of hard-wearing rubber mats
Even though we were out in bush, dirt and gravel, the inside of the Legend II still had us feeling pretty luxurious. With full leather trim, heated front seats and electrically adjusted driver seat, a multi-function leather steering wheel, a touch screen infotainment system with Bluetooth and USB modules, sunroof and a reverse camera with park distance control, we could happily have driven to Namibia and back and still feel glam!
Apart from all its luxuries we noted a fairly comprehensive range of safety features (something some of the ladies found comfort in knowing when feeling as if we were tipping sideways over several cliffs). The Pajero includes 6 airbags, active stability and traction control (ATSC), ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist System (BAS), Mitsubishi’s patented Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) body shell and ISO-FIX child seat anchors.
“The feedback from our dealers suggests that more female buyers are starting to enquire about Pajero’s off-road capabilities. This suggests that women are showing an increasing interest in the male-dominated sport of off-road driving,” says Faul.
The only 4X4 range in the local market to offer a short-wheel base variant
The SWB has an impressive 36.7° approach angle, a 34.8° departure angle and break-over angle of 25.2°, which explains why us ladies had no problem getting over and under various obstacles.
We drove the standard five-speed automatic gearbox. which was combined with Mitsubishi’s Super-Select II system offering four distinct driving modes for two and four-wheel driving on tar and fast gravel and low speed technical off-road driving in four-wheel drive.
Engine
All Pajero models are fitted with 3.2 DI-DC turbocharged diesel engines, delivering 140 kW at 3 800 rpm and 441 N.m at 2 000 rpm.
Pricing
The short-wheel base is the most affordable entry into the Legend II range at a retail price of R689 900.
All models are offered with a 3-year / 100 000 km manufacturer’s warranty and a 5-year / 100 000 km maintenance plan.