It's a Car, It's a Truck, It's Mitsubishi's Montero/Pajero Sport LS (1997)

03/28/97

Some might say that the new Mitsubishi Montero Sport will one day grow up to be a Toyota Land Cruiser. The new SUV from Mitsu does have some Land Cruiser/4Runner qualities about it. It has what the makers of sport utes strive for: a car like interior and driving features and the capacity to deliver packages and plow through snow in style. The Sport LS has a V6 motor that the folks at Mitsu like to tout as "peppy," although in reality it didn't show us much in the speed area. It is adequate.

The CLIMB into the cabin didn't bother our testers, however a frail lady may take exception to the act of actually climbing into the car, as its floor is higher than usual in order to give the vehicle a clearance of 8.5 inches for off-road sojourning.

The tilt wheel works, and the pedals seem a bit close together. The steering wheel is not bus-like, as found on many other SUVs. The Sport is a bit shorter than the big $30,000-$42,000 Montero and is priced accordingly with a MSRP that starts at $18,065 for an underpowered 4-banger with 4 speed manual trans.

It has a ladder-type frame like its big bro and is 107 inches across from axle to axle.

The LS is motivated by a 173hp V6 engine. It has four-wheel drive, a four speed automatic gear box, leather seats, power door locks and windows, and air; it stickered out at $31,555, which also included the big all season radials, limited slip diff, rear seat heater, and a sunroof.

We found the Sport to be one of the more stylish SUVs in its category, and the two-tone paint scheme with silver bottom belt line garnered more than a few comments along the lines of, "nice, what is it?"

At the top of this thought piece we noted that it was car-like: it really does have tight, sports car handling, albeit from a higher perch.

Standard safety features include dual air bags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 3 point seat belts for all outboard passengers, side impact door beams and 4-wheel disc brakes.

The Montero Sport features a special hold setting for the trans for driving on low-traction surfaces.

As mentioned Mitsu is bragging about the peppy feel of the Sport. Although it does have adequate steam, we don't think it will standout performance-wise. Especially not with five adults on board and a load of travel and sports gear. But hey, it looks good.

Bill Maloney -- The Auto Channel