Mitsubishi Pajero: Know its alternatives

Mitsubishi Pajero has been living up to its name and people’s expectations for many years now. Mitsubishi received a lot of appreciation for designing the Pajero when it was first launched. Even today the Mitsubishi Pajero specs sheet shows a capable SUV that has got a great design and a powerful 3.2-litre inline 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that produces 192 PS and 441 Nm of torque.

There’s only a single variant of the Pajero available in the Philippines that comes with a 5-speed automatic transmission with 4WD. As far as the pricing is concerned, the Mitsubishi Pajero price has been set at Php 2.84 million. That’s a lot of money and there are many other cars available around that price range. So, let’s look at a few alternatives to the Mitsubishi Pajero.

2019 Ford Explorer

The Ford Explorer is one capable SUV from the American manufacturer available in our country. Ford has even brought a facelifted model for 2019. The 2019 Explorer gets a few new elements on the outside like L-shaped fog lamps, new front grille, a set of a new four-pipe exhaust system, etc. The interior is more or less the same but now the infotainment system supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity options along with Ford’s Sync 3 system.

Looking at the Ford Explorer specs, you’ll notice that the new model continues to run on the same old engine options - a 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine that produces 274 PS of max power and generates a peak torque of 408 Nm and a 3.5-litre V6 engine EcoBoost engine that churns out 370 PS of max power and 475 Nm of peak torque. There’s a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Explorer does handle itself pretty well in decent off-road situations.

The 2019 Ford Explorer price starts at Php 2,798,000 for the base model with the 2.3L engine and you’d need to pay Php 3,178,000 for the 3.5L model with AWD.

2018 Mazda CX-9

The CX-9 is Mazda’s top-of-the-line 7-seater SUV that offers a whole lot of features for the price. To begin with, it looks fabulous, thanks to Mazda’s ‘KODO: Soul of Motion’ design language. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the CX-9 is one of the best looking SUVs that you can buy right now.

The interior of the 2018 Mazda CX-9 has been beautifully done. It’s very spacious as well. Being a 7-seater, there’s ample amount of space for all the occupants to move around. Even the last row offers a decent amount of leg and headroom. The boot space isn’t that great with the third row of seats upright, but you can always expand it by folding the seats.

Moving towards the Mazda CX-9 specs, it’s powered by Mazda’s SKYACTIV-G 2.5L turbo engine that produces 228 hp of max power and generates a whopping 420 Nm of torque that kicks in from as low as 2,000 revs. These numbers should be sufficient to make the CX-9 a good performer. Talking about performance, Mazda didn’t compromise the ride quality for enhancing the performance of the car. The CX-9 offers a plush ride thanks to its finely tuned suspension setup and Mazda’s GVC or G-Vectoring control that helps the CX-9 to handle the corners more precisely.

The Mazda CX-9 price range starts at Php 2.35 million for the FWD variant. There’s the AWD model that’s available at Php 2.83 million.

Nissan Terra

There are five Nissan Terra variants available in the Philippines. From these variants, you can pick between a 7-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission, and between 4x2 and 4x4 drive options. Irrespective of the variant you choose, the Nissan Terra spec will be more or less the same considering the fact that it comes with a single engine option - a 2.5L which has got 190 PS of max power and 450 Nm of peak torque. This powerful engine helps the Terra to give a great performance on tarmac and tackle various off-road conditions as well.

The Terra is an attractive car thanks to Nissan’s signature chrome grille pattern at the front. Also, the massive headlamps along with the unique design of the LED daytime running lights give the Terra a modern and intimidating appearance. There are 7 different Nissan Terra colour options - Brilliant Silver, Galaxy Black, Fiery Red, Aspen Pearl White, Earth Brown, Flare Metallic Gold and Lunar Metallic Gray - that you can pick. The Nissan Terra price starts at Php 1.5 million for the base model with 2WD.