Mitsubishi Montero: A car not to miss

Mitsubishi Montero: A car not to miss

M itsubishi is known to be a bit of a maverick in whatever they do. At a time when people dismissed the Evo as a four-door sedan trying hard to be a sports car, they proved everyone wrong by making it a hoot to drive, a handler par excellence and one that kicked up dirt in the eyes of even proven supercars.

It happened again in 2001, when cynics disapproved of Mitsubishi's plan to field the then-new third generation Montero for the gruelling Paris-Dakar using the combination of a monocoque, glued to a ladder frame. Not only did they think that Mitsu had lost the plot, they'd also given up the very essence of an off-roader with such a combination -- after all, body-on-chassis is what you need when you want to subject your car to a severe pounding.

But Mitsubishi had the last laugh. They not only won the title in 2001, but repeated it six times over. Now others are aping Mitsubishi's strategy, but are still struggling to get it spot on. Sure enough, with so many victories under the belt and the old adage that racing improves the breed, the fourth-generation Montero we see here should be a monumental jump. Ideally yes, but is it the case?

The erstwhile Montero was, what most would call, a relative of the disco era. It felt like it had too many curves and on a steroid diet with bulging wheel arches, fat body-cladding and mismatched panels. This one has taken the same theme, but the unwanted lines have been chiselled out and it's been made cleaner.

There's none of the biting lip bumpers anymore, instead, the sharper, more rectangular features make it more East European in appearance than oriental sushi. It's only the rear taillamps that feel a bit of an aftermarket fitment, but overall, this fourth generation Pajero feels more taut with a fine mix of lines, even if it shares the same greenhouse with its predecessor.

The new Mitsubishi Montero has not lost any of its Paris-Daker genes and is perfectly at home off-road. And it comes loaded with kit too.

Source: [url=http://specials.rediff.com/money/2007/aug/13mit1.htm]Rediff[/url]