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2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport
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| An old warhorse loads up. |
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| Updated |
Jul 7, 2004 20:38:18 |
| Rating |
 144 ( -21 -14.58% ) | | Author | Paul Wiley Cockerham |
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Description:
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If it didn’t pretend to be anything else but a truck in a nice suit, the Mitsubishi Sport Limited would be fine on its merits. Its versatility and toughness aren’t at all compromised by full-dress packaging. But one suspects the market is more interested in a luxurious driving experience with a modicum of off-road capability, and here the Limited looks somewhat, well, limited, compared to more recent offerings.
It’s hell to keep up if you’re an SUV maker these days.
From the outside, our Seattle Silver Metallic Limited is quite handsome, with 16-by-7 alloy wheels, color-keyed side steps, rearview mirrors and fender flares, and chrome accents on the grill and fog lamps. Tinted rear privacy glass provides a semblance of exclusivity for those egos in need of massaging.
The interior feels appropriately posh, with gray leather-surfaced seating, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, nice woodgrain dash and door accents, and plush, color-keyed floor mats. A 210-watt Infinity AM/FM/CD stereo, with seven speakers, does justice to the latest Steve Earle release. Windows, locks and mirrors are powered. The front buckets are heated (although the center-mounted switches prove far too accessible to the dog), with a credible lumbar support adjustment on the driver’s side. The driver’s seat height is also adjustable, so anybody’s comfort seems assured.
A separate heating control is available for backseat passengers, and provided they aren’t too long in the inseam, they should enjoy relative comfort. The seat itself is a 60/40 split unit that, once you remove the headrest, folds flat in a two-step operation.
An ergonomic quibble: between the width of the driver’s door armrest and width of the seat, it’s impossible to reach the gas cap release without opening the door. Of course, I didn’t realize this until after attempting a painful and futile imitation of a double-jointed sideshow freak.
Insulated experience
--->On the highway, engine and road noises are very well insulated, save for some wind hiss around the B pillar. The entire floor, front wheel housings and inner firewall are covered with heat-treated noise-reducing sheet insulation, say Mitsu engineers.
The handy digital thermometer in the center mirror reports freezing temperatures on a drizzly night, so we’re grateful for the limited-slip rear differential and four-wheel ABS. The suspension (double wishbones in front, coils in back, stabilizer bars all around) feels compromised: it’s dialed in on the mushy side for comfort, yet doesn’t do a good enough job at eliminating road thumps—the latter may be the blame of the Limited’s dated ladder-frame design. There’s a noticeable degree of body roll going into secondary highway curves, and one feels that graduated-rate springs might make a difference.
Our press fleet vehicle proved to be out of alignment, and with a pronounced lack of feedback from the power steering, needed considerable corrective input. Tire pressure-induced stagger adjustments helped.
The 24-valve, SOHC 3.5-liter V-6—the so-called “big engine” for the Montero Sport line—puts out 197 hp at 5,000 rpm and 223 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm, providing adequate performance for the 4330-lb Limited. The best-of-class Acura MDX, on the other hand, boasts 240 hp and 245 lb-ft of torque from an engine of the same displacement, while providing slightly better gas mileage than the 16 city/20 highway proclaimed by the Limited’s EPA figures (in line with the overall 18.1 mpg we experienced). The four-speed electronically controlled automatic shifts seamlessly.
Off-road performance was good over all. Negotiating switchbacks was no problem for the Limited, as its tight turning radius and limited-slip diff kept it pointed and moving forward at all times. All-wheel drive could be engaged on the fly, and the 255/70R16 mud/snow Toyos were unfazed by rocks, sludge, and six inches of fresh white powder covering local mountain roads. But the soft spring rates did little for one’s sense of security, and the vehicle’s weight would justify an engine speed governor working in tandem with the low gear range on downhill stretches. The ABS system (which works the front wheels independently and the rear wheels in tandem) saved the driver from himself more than once.
What we have here is an older body-on-frame truck design nicely dressed up for the dance. In and of itself, the Limited is probably a good value. (My dad, a notorious tightwad, grunted “Looks worth it,” when told of the price.) But with luxury nameplates such as Lexus, Infinity and Acura making inroads in this segment with powerful, value-laden, space-efficient monocoque platforms, Mitsu is losing ground. Limiteds have been clogging the docks in Nagoya, which led the company to introduce a slightly downmarket, more affordable product, the XLS—a vehicle we’ve also felt to be somewhat compromised, especially in its lack of modern safety equipment. The company hasn’t formally released details on the 2002 Montero Sport line, which begins production in July, but it will be interesting to see how the variants are configured.
2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport Limited
Price as tested: $33,297 (includes $520 destination charge)
Engine: 3.5-liter, SOHC V-6, 197 hp
Drivetrain: Electronically controlled four-speed automatic with overdrive, four-wheel drive
Length x width x height (inches): 181.1 x 69.9 x 68.3 in
Wheelbase: 107.3 in
Curb weight: 4330 lb
EPA City/Hwy: 16/20 mpg
Safety equipment: Front airbags, side-impact door beams, driver’s seatbelt pretensioner, four-wheel ABS
Major standard equipment: Limited-slip rear differential; transfer case skid plate; air conditioning; Infinity AM/FM/CD stereo with seven speakers; power windows, locks and mirrors; cruise control; remote entry system; auto-dimming rear view mirror; side steps; heated exterior rear view mirrors; power glass sunroof; fog lamps
Warranty: Three years/ 36,000 miles (new car); five years/60,000 miles (powertrain) |
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