3 Months Research And Finally Chose My New Car: Pajero Sport!

[anon210]

Well, after all, the "Elephant" will be born with one day advance! As my saleslady is celebrating her daughter's graduation on Saturday, she asked me if she could postpone or advance the delivery... So, will be having all that done tomorrow.

I armed myself with the long checklist (see one of my previous posts), and will be doing the exam pre-delivery... Tomorrow, they told me they are doing the rust protection and the coating + installing all the options (mats, rear camera, etc).

Without questioning their honesty, I am a bit worried that they might skip the process if they are afraid not to deliver the car in time...

But let's be positive! More news tomorrow.

[thailoht]

Well, after all, the "Elephant" will be born with one day advance! As my saleslady is celebrating her daughter's graduation on Saturday, she asked me if she could postpone or advance the delivery... So, will be having all that done tomorrow.

I armed myself with the long checklist (see one of my previous posts), and will be doing the exam pre-delivery... Tomorrow, they told me they are doing the rust protection and the coating + installing all the options (mats, rear camera, etc).

Without questioning their honesty, I am a bit worried that they might skip the process if they are afraid not to deliver the car in time...

But let's be positive! More news tomorrow.

I hear 'ya!

Though I wish I had that ceck-list a few weeks ago when I went to pickup my new car, in all actuality, it was a smooth process and all was in order as it usually is - you seem to have a nice rapport with your salesperson plus these guys have been doing prep work for thousands of cars - so I wouldn't overly worry if I were you, but verification never hurts.

Good luck!

[anon210]

Wahow! The Elephant is finally home... It is a perfect car to drive... Even more so now. Been driving it around Ekkamai home... And it is a perfect car. Wonderful visibility.... good driving... and so easy even in very tight sois. The funny moment of the evening was when the lady serving at the gas station asked me if I wanted Gasohol 91! LOL Fortunately, she understood "diesel" and furthemore, it was written on the tank.

The 4wd I test drove was far noisier than this one...

I have only compliments for the dealer at Suk. 71 and their service. They had everything ready... Book, legal red plates... warranty.... Additional 10 yr warranty for anti-rust treatment... 1 yr for the coating... all options fitted (reversing camera and chromium handles) and ready to drive.

The window tint is perfect, actually. DIscrete enough on the side windows, but does not stop you from seeing out either (60 %), and very discrete on the windshield (40 %).

They even offered me a cake as it is my birthday in a few days...

Thumbs up for this dealership and the car.Tomorrow: fitting dash cams and getting gps.

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Edited August 17, 2012 by freemindxs

[mogandave]

Congratulations on the new ride, but IMO, the only "perfect" car is a company car!

[eaustev]

Wahow! The Elephant is finally home... It is a perfect car to drive... Even more so now. Been driving it around Ekkamai home... And it is a perfect car. Wonderful visibility.... good driving... and so easy even in very tight sois. The funny moment of the evening was when the lady serving at the gas station asked me if I wanted Gasohol 91! LOL Fortunately, she understood "diesel" and furthemore, it was written on the tank.

The 4wd I test drove was far noisier than this one...

I have only compliments for the dealer at Suk. 71 and their service. They had everything ready... Book, legal red plates... warranty.... Additional 10 yr warranty for anti-rust treatment... 1 yr for the coating... all options fitted (reversing camera and chromium handles) and ready to drive.

The window tint is perfect, actually. DIscrete enough on the side windows, but does not stop you from seeing out either (60 %), and very discrete on the windshield (40 %).

They even offered me a cake as it is my birthday in a few days...

Thumbs up for this dealership and the car.Tomorrow: fitting dash cams and getting gps.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

Yes, my experience with the Soi 71 dealership has also been excellent.

Foer whatever reason the 2WD are smoother and quieter to drive.

Congrats on the car.

[anon210]

Ok, about one week after having the car, I was on my first roadtrip to Hua Hin. An occasion of giving it a nice little run and unclogging the motor after mainly city driving.

First of all, contrary to what I thought and had read, the brakes on the Pajero are quite good. I had on two occasion to do an emergency stop (a car "unexpectedly" deciding to do its u-turn with me very close), and the brakes stopped me quite well. To be honest, I had anticipated and my foot was already on the brakes, but nevertheless the reaction was quite good (and no, the ABS did not have to come into play).

I kept it mostly to the limits: 80 and 90 kms/h. However, there were spots where I had to drive faster. Namely, whenon the rightmost lane, I was overtaking a truck... And a Fortuner was breathing down my neck. Maximum speed on this trip: 120 kms. And honestly? I believe that for a novice driver, that is already too fast with a SUV. I had to operate a quick correction of trajectory at 110 kms (I will be candid, it was my mistake there), and i could feel the car wallowing from side to side. HOwever, at no moment loss of control or tipping over, so I guess I am lucky not to have a Fortuner... Besides this, cornering at speed is quite good, but I found I was more comfortable if I did it at the maximum of 80 kms, depending on the tightness of the bend.

The other interesting part is my actual driver's experience with the thai traffic: I don't know which I hate most: trucks or drivers biting on two lanes at the time, or the occasional car swerving before lanes, cutting in front of you and then zipping to the rightmost lane. Or then, the sense of the thai engineers, who oblige you to drive 2 miles ahead to just u-turn and come back to turn into your hotel (because there is a continuous line whereby you cannot "legally" turn right...).

Gas usage... Obviously much better on highways than in town. So far, my tank was about 80 % full when leaving for HH with something like 180 kms of city driving . I managed to put up over 450 kms with the 80 % remaining (HH and back, with some bit of HH in-city driving, but very little stop-and-go as in the ordinary city traffic). So, some figures for the specialists to mull over:

656 kms / 59.93 L (today's tank) = about 10.94 km/l if I am not mistaken for a distance 1/3 city, 2/3 highway. Just a rough figure to consider, and to be further refined with other readings from different tankings, but then again, I keep a light foot and did not drive excessively fast. On exclusively highway, I am sure it is possible to get something approaching the Isuzu consumption figures with an adapted driving. Most of my driving was made with the rpm below 2500. I once again am very happy with my choice: nothing beats a SUV when it comes to facing potholes, irregular roads, or the heightened driving position.

There is one big black point however: when I picked the car, there was a stench of tobacco inside (probably the option mounters who smoked). I did not make big deal of it, persuaded it would go away... But it has been awful since one week. I feel as though I am a 10-yr smoker... Each time I drive, the aircon belches in an odor of tobacco which is just sickening (I don't tell you about my lungs or my clothes and hair that stink awfully!). The dealership told me to bring the car in and they would see what they can do. Anybody got an idea on this issue and how to solve it? Cleaning up the aircon circuits?

[funcat]

Yes,definitely the AC needs cleaning (about 3K Baht I recon)...but that's not a guarantee,car with a smell like that can remain like this forever...hope not in your case

[JaiLai]

Congratulations on the new ride, but IMO, the only "perfect" car is a company car!

And the fastest.

[anon210]

Yes,definitely the AC needs cleaning (about 3K Baht I recon)...but that's not a guarantee,car with a smell like that can remain like this forever...hope not in your case

Ok, will drop the car today at the dealership. And if they do trouble, it will go up to Headquarters. Today, after the whole week-end driving, my bronchi are on fire.

[thailoht]

Yes,definitely the AC needs cleaning (about 3K Baht I recon)...but that's not a guarantee,car with a smell like that can remain like this forever...hope not in your case

Ok, will drop the car today at the dealership. And if they do trouble, it will go up to Headquarters. Today, after the whole week-end driving, my bronchi are on fire.

Congrats on getting your new ride!

That's a bummer about the tobacco odor, though .... I hope they resolve that lay-oh lay-oh!

[transam]

When l am on my own l smoke in the motor with the window open. BUT, yes you can smell the fag. Soooooooooooo she doesn't moan l put the aircon on recycle, no air from outside, spray some house hold air freshener in side and leave for a few minutes with engine idling. Job done, no smell.

[2unique]

When l am on my own l smoke in the motor with the window open. BUT, yes you can smell the fag. Soooooooooooo she doesn't moan l put the aircon on recycle, no air from outside, spray some house hold air freshener in side and leave for a few minutes with engine idling. Job done, no smell.

when i smoked i found it was friends leaving butts in the ashtray that left a smell clinging on - then again i never smoked right in the car so upholstery and ceiling got a breather from that.

good luck

[anon210]

When l am on my own l smoke in the motor with the window open. BUT, yes you can smell the fag. Soooooooooooo she doesn't moan l put the aircon on recycle, no air from outside, spray some house hold air freshener in side and leave for a few minutes with engine idling. Job done, no smell.

Well, that's just what they did. Sprayed some air freshener... And took away the low-quality plastic stinking mats. We'll see if that solves durably the problem. They are now hitting me with a 2.700 THB price tag for replacement mats for Pajero (look a bit like those MRO posted some times ago).

In a very thai manner, they assured nobody of the dealership smoked in the car... Then, as I suggested it might be the option mounters... "Maybe"... LOL

One thing is delaying: the English owner manual. Pushed back by one week again. The dealer was suggesting me to go to Chonburi, Pattaya or Hua Hin to request it from one of the local dealers....

[eaustev]

When l am on my own l smoke in the motor with the window open. BUT, yes you can smell the fag. Soooooooooooo she doesn't moan l put the aircon on recycle, no air from outside, spray some house hold air freshener in side and leave for a few minutes with engine idling. Job done, no smell.

Well, that's just what they did. Sprayed some air freshener... And took away the low-quality plastic stinking mats. We'll see if that solves durably the problem. They are now hitting me with a 2.700 THB price tag for replacement mats for Pajero (look a bit like those MRO posted some times ago).

In a very thai manner, they assured nobody of the dealership smoked in the car... Then, as I suggested it might be the option mounters... "Maybe"... LOL

One thing is delaying: the English owner manual. Pushed back by one week again. The dealer was suggesting me to go to Chonburi, Pattaya or Hua Hin to request it from one of the local dealers....

My PJS had a pretty unpleasant smell to it when new as well but I don't think that it was actually cigarettes. Maybe the rubber mats or something from the manufacturing or delivery process. Whatever it was it went away after some time with a bit of air freshener, and the usual cycle of time, mileage, and cleanings.

[funcat]

When l am on my own l smoke in the motor with the window open. BUT, yes you can smell the fag. Soooooooooooo she doesn't moan l put the aircon on recycle, no air from outside, spray some house hold air freshener in side and leave for a few minutes with engine idling. Job done, no smell.

Well, that's just what they did. Sprayed some air freshener... And took away the low-quality plastic stinking mats. We'll see if that solves durably the problem. They are now hitting me with a 2.700 THB price tag for replacement mats for Pajero (look a bit like those MRO posted some times ago).

In a very thai manner, they assured nobody of the dealership smoked in the car... Then, as I suggested it might be the option mounters... "Maybe"... LOL

One thing is delaying: the English owner manual. Pushed back by one week again. The dealer was suggesting me to go to Chonburi, Pattaya or Hua Hin to request it from one of the local dealers....

My PJS had a pretty unpleasant smell to it when new as well but I don't think that it was actually cigarettes. Maybe the rubber mats or something from the manufacturing or delivery process. Whatever it was it went away after some time with a bit of air freshener, and the usual cycle of time, mileage, and cleanings.

I think that that was a "new" car smell and not a cigar...my new Ranger smelled very strongly first few days,but now is better already.

[rics21]

Many thanks for the congratulations... Actually, I specifically demanded black. It so happened that a 2WD happened to be available... One week after ordering a 4WD.

Would not have accepted another color. It always looks classy and can go anywhere with glamour, if I may say so.

i have to get my black PJS polished/ wax/ whatever every 3 months. but it is way better than the grey.

congrats on the new vehicle.

[jibberjabberjibberjabber]

I have had a PJS for a couple of weeks now and have to say I am a little underwhelmed. My main gribes would be that the turbo lag is fairly extreme, the brakes are fairly snatchy, the engine is a little on the noisy side and the car wallows a bit through corners (probably just an SUV thing as I've not had experience with one before).

I definitely like ride position of being up high and in a straight line the ride is fine, no worries foing over the Rama IV rail crossing etc. The build quality seems fine and I am getting 450km out of a tank primarily being used in the urban environment.

I guess all in all it is fine but a little umm.... unsophisticated ?

This is a company car so I have to change it in 18-24 months but I am not sure I would go for another one. The Honda Accord 2.4 is going to be my option then and I may well be tempted by what is going to be a much more developed car albeit a lot more blah

Would be interesting to hear from other PJS owners as to what they think their next move will be.

[anon210]

Answering some of the points raised...

- Turbo lag: it is true that you must really put the pedal to the metal to get your acceleration. Not a big deal for me, as I prefer driving softly, and the motor has been responsive when I called upon it (without going beyond 2500 rpm).

- Brakes: strangely, they have been very responsive and reactive and smooth for me... Are you perhaps braking very hard and triggering ABS? I tend to try to predict braking, and hence to smoothly slow down the car, but whenever I needed to do it quickly, they have done the job.

- Noisy engine: that is true, especially when accelerating quickly. However, here again, not a big deal for me, as I want a reliable and durable engine, even if less comfortable.

- Wallowing: at speed, sudden changes of trajectory are indeed paid back with this wallowing. It all depends of the speed, but at 80-100 kms, faultless cornering for me. Above, I guess it is a bit dangerous for a SUV with a high centre of gravity.I believe other SUV (CRV, Escape to take two names) have less of this issue.

- I regularly drive over the Rama IV rail crossing as well... And it is true it absorbs very well any road irregularity.

- Consumption seems a bit on the high side (even for the city). Is it your driving style? A tank is normally 70 ltrs...

- pros and cons to owning a sedan vs a SUV; if you are mainly in city, it may make sense, but your road visibility is going to be seriously reduced. Further to that, the road irregularities may be tough on you. In terms of prestige, the SUV is definitely better here.

Within 2 yrs, I don't know what will be on the market, so difficult to predict. We will have to appraise by then, but I don't wish to change car every two years. Unless there is an excellent price at resale...

[thailoht]

Answering some of the points raised...

- Turbo lag: it is true that you must really put the pedal to the metal to get your acceleration. Not a big deal for me, as I prefer driving softly, and the motor has been responsive when I called upon it (without going beyond 2500 rpm).

- Brakes: strangely, they have been very responsive and reactive and smooth for me... Are you perhaps braking very hard and triggering ABS? I tend to try to predict braking, and hence to smoothly slow down the car, but whenever I needed to do it quickly, they have done the job.

- Noisy engine: that is true, especially when accelerating quickly. However, here again, not a big deal for me, as I want a reliable and durable engine, even if less comfortable.

- Wallowing: at speed, sudden changes of trajectory are indeed paid back with this wallowing. It all depends of the speed, but at 80-100 kms, faultless cornering for me. Above, I guess it is a bit dangerous for a SUV with a high centre of gravity.I believe other SUV (CRV, Escape to take two names) have less of this issue.

- I regularly drive over the Rama IV rail crossing as well... And it is true it absorbs very well any road irregularity.

- Consumption seems a bit on the high side (even for the city). Is it your driving style? A tank is normally 70 ltrs...

- pros and cons to owning a sedan vs a SUV; if you are mainly in city, it may make sense, but your road visibility is going to be seriously reduced. Further to that, the road irregularities may be tough on you. In terms of prestige, the SUV is definitely better here.

Within 2 yrs, I don't know what will be on the market, so difficult to predict. We will have to appraise by then, but I don't wish to change car every two years. Unless there is an excellent price at resale...

Very nicely stated .... !

[jibberjabberjibberjabber]

I really enjoy the motoring forum, thoughtful, polite and on topic responses - such a marked difference from many of the other forums!

Thanks for your thoughts Freemind.

Seems I am probably being a little heavy with the accelerator leading to heavy fuel consumption. I am fortunate that as part of the company car deal I also get a very generous 20,000 of gas per month bundled in so that isn't much of a worry for me. All in it is costing me 17,500 per month for the car incl maintainance, insurance etc with 20k of free gas - a stonking good deal IMO.

Re the braking, I am not sure what it is, I guess I should do some testing in an empty parking lot some place to try and figure out whether it is my driving style or the abs kicking in.

As for changing cars, I guess that is another perk of the company car scheme. I do however think we have a reasonable view as to what is coming down the line, the 2013 Accord has already been revealed for instance. Going forward it looks like the SUV option will be the CRV so my choice will be between that and the Accord.

[rics21]

Its like 7.1 km/ litre for me. The PJS is draining diesel like 6 wheeler.

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[eaustev]

I really enjoy the motoring forum, thoughtful, polite and on topic responses - such a marked difference from many of the other forums!

Thanks for your thoughts Freemind.

Seems I am probably being a little heavy with the accelerator leading to heavy fuel consumption. I am fortunate that as part of the company car deal I also get a very generous 20,000 of gas per month bundled in so that isn't much of a worry for me. All in it is costing me 17,500 per month for the car incl maintainance, insurance etc with 20k of free gas - a stonking good deal IMO.

Re the braking, I am not sure what it is, I guess I should do some testing in an empty parking lot some place to try and figure out whether it is my driving style or the abs kicking in.

As for changing cars, I guess that is another perk of the company car scheme. I do however think we have a reasonable view as to what is coming down the line, the 2013 Accord has already been revealed for instance. Going forward it looks like the SUV option will be the CRV so my choice will be between that and the Accord.

The braking in my PJS is also quite OK and predictable so maybe it is a particular issue with yours. My diesel consumption is also around 10 km/l with most of the mileage around BKK so maybe you are driving a bit harder, which I guess is fair enough if somebody else is paying the fuel bills.

You are right though in terms of handling and a few other things that the PJS (or any similar PPV vehicle) are not the sharpest tools in the shed so if you are coming from a sedan you will have to get used to a bit of wallowing when changing direction quickly. For myself I don't mind, and actually quite enjoy it and appreciate the ability to bounce my way around no matter what the road conditions. I had an Escape for many years and it was a little better, but it was also not averse to a bit of wallowing so I think it is across the board to at least some degree unless you want to pay for an X5.

When it comes to trading the PJS on something else in a few years time my options will be limited through having far too many children. Given that I will need another 7 seater, cannot abide the thought of driving a van, and all of the more sophisticated 7 seat SUVs are ridiculously expensive, I guess I will be looking at something similar again. It will be interesting to see how the replacement of the Everest turns out, but for the mean time happy enough with the PJS.

Don't fancy a CVR as everbody keeps assuming that you have borrowed the wife's car.

[anon210]

As for changing cars, I guess that is another perk of the company car scheme. I do however think we have a reasonable view as to what is coming down the line, the 2013 Accord has already been revealed for instance. Going forward it looks like the SUV option will be the CRV so my choice will be between that and the Accord.

CRV of the latest years has been described as a gas guzzler and poor quality build. So, not sure that is a good choice. I had the chance of driving a very old CRV (2002-2003 model) , and it was incredibly imprecise in steering and brakes were at best vague. The build quality, instead was rugged and solid (a bit like today's PJS). Nevertheless, I always felt so in danger within that car, even if I only drove it in the city... It is true that this imprecision in the steering makes it precisely so well adapted to women.

As I am a lawyer, I was wondering if you paid taxes on your company car and fuel allowance? I guess that is what the 17 K correspond to...

As to gas consumption, I was carrying three people, but the car did its job without penalizing me on the gas, but I accelerated slowly instead of speeding up radically from stop. Provided you give it time, the motor can take you up to speed without even going beyond 2.000 rpm. This is the key to saving gas...

[mogandave]

As for changing cars, I guess that is another perk of the company car scheme. I do however think we have a reasonable view as to what is coming down the line, the 2013 Accord has already been revealed for instance. Going forward it looks like the SUV option will be the CRV so my choice will be between that and the Accord.

CRV of the latest years has been described as a gas guzzler and poor quality build. So, not sure that is a good choice. I had the chance of driving a very old CRV (2002-2003 model) , and it was incredibly imprecise in steering and brakes were at best vague. The build quality, instead was rugged and solid (a bit like today's PJS). Nevertheless, I always felt so in danger within that car, even if I only drove it in the city... It is true that this imprecision in the steering makes it precisely so well adapted to women.

As I am a lawyer, I was wondering if you paid taxes on your company car and fuel allowance? I guess that is what the 17 K correspond to...

As to gas consumption, I was carrying three people, but the car did its job without penalizing me on the gas, but I accelerated slowly instead of speeding up radically from stop. Provided you give it time, the motor can take you up to speed without even going beyond 2.000 rpm. This is the key to saving gas...

You don't have to pay income taxes on the vehicle if it is considered for company use.

[Jitar]

I have a PJS and I am happy with it but I do not drive in BKK a lot. When I do, the turbo lag and engine noise when accelerating are more evident. I guess that's the penalty for moving around 2 tonnes with a small diesel. The PJS would not my first choice as a city runabout but it is a very good choice outside BKK, e.g. highways and rough roads etc. It pulls up hills really well and the engine is nicer to live with away from stop start traffic. I do not have any issue with "snatchy" brakes and get around 10km/L.

PPV's like the PJS and Fortuners etc are never going to be as good at cornering as a car, or the more car like cross-over SUV's like the Escape & CRV. However the PJS handles very well on gravel and rough roads, the 4WD version is pretty good off road and is still a reasonable compromise for smooth stuff. Also when heavily loaded with people and gear, the PJS fuel consumption and handling suffer less than with an Escape or CRV.

Mitsu could improve on a few things.

Some of the versions of the PJS sold overseas have rear disc brakes, more airbags and stability control program, why not here?

The Alpine audio system on the GT is outdated with no USB input, no Bluetooth etc. The PJS GT also lacks an information display for ambient temp, fuel use, est range etc.

A stronger auto trans that could handle full engine torque with out de-rating would be nice. Toyota and Isuzu de-rate their auto versions too but it's a poor solution.

The standard Bridgestone Dueler tyres on the PJS do not help handling much. The ride, Braking, steering response and feel can all be improved with better highway tyres. There are better off road tyres around as well.

Next time round I will be looking at the same type of vehicle. The PJS and Fortuner are both good, and hopefully Ford will come up with something competitive for the new Everest replacement. I personally am not a fan of the Captiva and CRV. Not sure about the Trailblazer, the styling of rear door and rear window look a bit weird to me but I have not driven one yet.

[anon210]

And here is the first picture of the "Elephant"!

So far, appoaching the 1000 km mark...

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[anon210]

Ok, so last week-end, I had to do my big move! I changed condo, and it was the occasion of experimenting the versatility of the Pajero and its space.

The foldable seats made it perfect for me... I could load up the car and transfer a lot of stuff at once. The funny part was that at the new place, one of the staff asked the other from where all these things kept coming... The guy answered (in Thai!) "this is is a Pajero!".

Further to that, the car remains very easy to park and maneuver into very tight and confined spaces (getting more confident now about that), and a pleasure to drive.

Driving experience... well, I get occasionally to experience the turbo lag when having to overtake or change lanes quickly. Not that serious, as the total delay is less than a second, but still perceivable.

The motor keeps at under 2.000 rpm even when accelerating (I never really have to "floor" the pedal), which is good, but in city, the consumption increases a lot... I guess we will not be very far from the figures of a previous poster, with exclusively city driving.

Road irregularities are absorbed with ease, but the counterpart of this is the way the car bends in a curve, I guess. Corners are taken very tightly, but you feel the car inclining in the driver's seat. Nothing alarming, and you just need to adapt your speed. Brakes are always faultless.

Overall: very happy with the car.

[burnsie]

Did you sort the smell out or does it still smell like an ashtray??

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[anon210]

Did you sort the smell out or does it still smell like an ashtray??

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The smell has been reduced a little bit... I guess the time for the tobacco to evacuate from the conduits.

But of course, they said they did not smell anything (and everybody else does). So, i'm writing to Mitsu headquarters to get sorted out 1° Owner Manual; 2° Roadside assistance (did not provide me anything!); 3° Smoke smell.

[anon210]

Update: Sent a mail through the website of Mitsu Thailand. Was called within two hours by the call center who took good note of my observations and said they would contact the dealership to help (also for the manual and the tobacco odor). They asked if I had notified the dealership after receiving the car (which I did by mail). So far, thus a good point for Mitsu corporate (I think it was MRO who observed their quick response and that they addressed the issues precisely and to the fact).