Mitsubishi Montero Sport

Overview

Until the second generation, there weren’t many things that can be stated as being outstanding about the Mitsubishi Montero Sport. However, over the past couple of years, the third generation of the Montero has achieved the contradictory.

And why wouldn’t it? The current generation of the Mitsubishi Montero Sport is a giant leap from the company in all aspects. The introduction of the Dynamic Shield designing language has worked wonders for the SUV, which is exactly the thing that makes it stand out among this present breed of SUVs in the Philippines.

Since the launch of the current generation Montero in 2016, the midsize SUV never gave the impression about its weak past, when it would just be a pickup based SUV and an affordable alternative to the bigger Pajero.

But since then, as the gap between the expensive Pajero and affordable Montero Sport grew, the latter became the stronger SUV in the market, thus raking up the world of sales in the Philippines.

Interior & Features

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is as sophisticated as any you would see around in the market. There are two things that you will absolutely love about the interior setting - the design and the comfort. And indeed, they sum up the entire interior design in one go.

The highlight of the front seats is that it is extremely driver-centric. Hence, each of the utilities and other bits is placed just at the right spot. The seating stance is pretty good and enticed by a very supportive backrest. Another important development is that the middle row is shifted forward slightly when the third row is moved backward, just to add an extra bit of leg room to the last row. Practically, the Montero Sport has a very good head and knee room for all the three rows. The middle and front rows are best-suited for taller passengers while the rear is more appropriate for kids and adolescents.

For a change, the steering wheel is a 4-spoke unit and has a lot of buttons mounted on it. The 6.75-inch touchscreen display unit is placed in the centre and surrounded by AC vents and knobs. The entertainment cluster includes an MP3 player, iPod, and AUX compatibility, Bluetooth and MirrorLink for smartphone connectivity.

Exterior

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is an absolute gem in terms of the styling. There wouldn’t be many people who would actually hate the latest Montero. The Dynamic Shield Design language does a wonderful job in making the SUV look like a concept from the future. The front portion is sharp and extremely edgy and has a very generous quantity of chrome on it. There are two chunky strips of chrome running across the top grille area. The chrome strips outline the sides of the bumper as well and finish lower down near the fog lamps. And finally, the projector headlamps are sleek and attractive.

The roofline is well-crafted, getting the rear windows to be thinner. A thin strip of chrome dons the underskirt of the window line. The rear overhangs are longer, which makes the wheelbase to be shorter. However, the rear profile is the most attractive of the lot. The tail lights are vertically long and touch the rear bumper, which is something unique among cars these days. The exhaust time is dipped in chrome while the registration number plate is planted on the boot lid.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is extremely powerful on paper. However, while you are on the highway, the acceleration is good enough to overtake the moderately-paced cars at mid revs. However, once you cross the 4,000 revs per minute redline, the throttle response becomes a bit shaky and ticklish.

Whatever, it may be, the mid-sized SUV has quite a surprising engine for its numbers. The 2.4-litre, four-cylinder engine may not sound outright powerful, but the presence of the turbocharged formula add the extra bit of power. The diesel motor puts on a maximum power of 178 hp, which is quite decent for its range. However, what surprises more is the abundant 430 Nm torque, which is quite humongous and can churn out wonderful power performance on unmanned roads. It can even pull off huge load quite well.

However, for a car that is so much promising lately and has come up to be a bigger hit than its bigger brother, even the slightest of let down can hurt. When fully loaded, the Montero Sport can offer a maximum of 9 kilometers on one litre in and around the city and up to a maximum of 13 kmpl on the highway.

Braking & Safety

The Mitsubishi Montero Sport has a very good NCAP ASEAN rating, which means, the SUV is safer than you think. There are a total of seven airbags all around the car. The braking duties are done by disc brakes and ABS (anti-lock braking system). If that does not sound enough, the list of safety does not end here. The SUV also features Hill Start Assist, just to make sure that you don’t roll back while starting on an inclined road.

There is another sensor called HDC (Hill Descent Control), which controls the speed of the car while descending from a hill even if brakes are not applied. The Montero also has a BSW (Blind Spot Warning) sensor, which uses ultrasonic technology to detect any vehicle which nears the car from the side or rear quarter.\

However, to top it all, the Mitsubishi mid-sized SUV has an FCM (Forward Collision Mitigation) system, which alerts the driver through an audible alarm if the vehicle is very near to any car in front. And if the distance between the SUV and the vehicle in front is negligible, the audible alert is accompanied by emergency automatic braking.