SA's 'forgotten' go-anywhere SUV

ADVENTURE: THE UNHERALDED MITSUBISHI PAJERO IS AS CAPABLE AS ITS COMPETITORS

- Jim Freeman

» Maximum power output from the 2.4 litre engine is 133kW@3500rpm.

I can guarantee you that, when asked to name the Big Five of the African bush, most people get stuck after lion, leopard, elephant, [itals] [pause] [itals] rhino... The same probably goes with the country's legendary automotive bundu-bashers: Land Rover, Toyota, Ford, Isuzu and? Bet you had to dig deep to come up with the Cape buffalo and Mitsubishi Pajero.

"You're going to love this one," muttered Ian Loubser, custodian of Mitsubishi's media fleet in the Western Cape, as he handed over the new 2.4-litre turbo-diesel Pajero Sport Aspire a few weeks ago.

"It's everything rolled into one; luxury sedan, SUV and serious off-roader." He might have added that, with a 1.8m width, 813 litre maximum load volume and payload of nearly 700kg, the Pajero Sport wouldn't be too shabby as a bakkie either.

This was rather important because, for the past year or so, I've been restoring antique wood furniture for my girlfriend in Jeffreys Bay, carting pieces home to Stellenbosch after every visit.