How To Buy Used Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Safely At Maruti Suzuki Brezza Price? (Video)

Buying used cars makes much sense today. The prices have levelled so well that you can now buy a pre-owned premium/ luxury SUV at the price of a brand-new B2 or C-segment product. For instance, you can buy a pre-owned Pajero Sport for the price of a new Maruti Brezza. Interested? Walk along as we delve deeper into the details of this deal…

The Maruti Brezza currently starts at 8.34 Lakh, ex-showroom and goes up to 14.14 Lakh for the top-spec. The on-road price of the top-spec is around 17 lakh! For a total of 14 odd lakhs, you can buy a well-kept Mitsubishi Pajero Sport from 2012-15- much less than the on-road price of a Brezza!

If you have ever dreamt of owning this SUV, this could be the time. A recent video by ‘Content With Cars’ shows a neat example and explains how you can own the Sport rather safely. The host gives details of what it feels like to be inside and drive the Sport.

What’s Special About The Pajero Sport?

Back in its days, the Pajero Sport’s segment had three major players in it- The Fortuner, Endeavour and the Pajero itself. Of these, it was the Pajero Sport that offered the best ride quality. It was big, butch and offered ample cabin comfort. The rear seats did not feel as raised and comfort-compromised as it felt on the Fortuner or Endeavour.

It even had an engine (4D56) that was powerful, capable, reliable and refined. You could choose between manual and automatic versions and it was just the manual variants that offered 4×4 hardware. The automatics were all 4x2s. The manual version had 176 bhp and 350 Nm while the torque on the automatic model was a good 400 Nm. The acceleration is quick as well. The stock fuel efficiency figures were decent- 6-7 kpl in cities and 10-11 kpl on the highways.

The engine is also quite tuner-friendly. With a simple Intercooler upgrade and remap, you can milk out more juice from this engine (up to 25-30% hike can be expected) without having to go for a turbo-upgrade. Using larger turbochargers will allow for further boosts.

The automatic transmission on this vehicle could feel dated today but still does a good job. You’ll get to find a slight slip in the lower gears. You’ll need to get the revs high to take off. The Sport also had impressive road manners and body control. This could have probably been the best-handling one among its rivals.

Launched in 2012, the Sport used to sit below the Montero (globally called Pajero) and was meant to be an interim offering between the Pajero and Montero. It was thus given the suffix ‘Sport’ the same way Land Rover chose to come up with the ‘Range Rover’ and ‘Range Rover Sport’.

This SUV has an immense road presence. Due to its butch stance, driving it is fun, and could even be slightly intimidating for those around. The visibility offered to the occupants is impressive. The low-set window lines and large glass areas are to be thanked for this. This vehicle could fit the wants of someone looking for a big, butch, ladder-frame SUV that feels and rides like one.

How To Safely Buy The Pajero Sport?

Since you’re still interested in buying the Sport, here are a few things to keep in mind while hunting for one:

• Look for the best example. Prioritize vehicle health over the model year.
• Do a proper vehicle inspection without any compromises on the checklist.
• Expect odometer tampering on almost all units, and thus use other signals and checks to assess vehicle health.
• Do deep checks for rust, accident history and other damages.
• Parts would be slightly more expensive than those of your favourite Toyota.
• Do deep research and follow global forums for knowledge acquisition. This learning will be of use in your ownership.
• The Sport’s engine used a secondary rubber belt to run the balancer shaft. The teeth of this would get worn out with use, bringing about a tweaked timing and more vibrations and noise. It is important to keep a watch on this and do timely replacements. A purchase could cost you around Rs 3,500.
• It is better to avoid MY12 vehicles, as a best practice. Those had overheating issues back in the day. Even though the manufacturer took time and fixed it then, they could have had long-term impacts on the vehicle health.
• Pick the newest example you can afford.

If it makes sense to buy a Pajero Sport over a Brezza depends on passionate you and your wallet are, about this SUV. It is definitely going to cost you more to own, than the Maruti. Having said that, dreams are all we live for, and if this is one, maybe you should give it a try…