Mitsubishi Pajero VS Jeep Grand Cherokee
Mitsubishi Pajero
Likes
Dislikes
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Likes
- Air suspension
- Very capable 4WD
- Smooth and refined PHEV
Dislikes
- Hefty price-tag
- Disappointing electric driving range
- Wheel and tyres not suited to off-roading
Summary
Mitsubishi Pajero
Mitsubishi’s Pajero is a genuine seven-seater 4WD wagon with a lot of substance and little in the way of pretence.
It’s functional without being at all flashy and that suits plenty of people – real people – but the Pajero’s traditional styling and paucity of driver-assist tech, compared to some of its rivals, are factors enough when combined to keep its fanbase, only medium-sized but still very loyal.
Read on.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 3.2L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 9.1L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Australia's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, has arrived at a time when the company’s sales figures need a decent shot in the arm.
Though it’s seemingly spearheading a large and extra-large SUV hybrid push into the Aussie market, with the likes of a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series hybrid on its way, the marque’s debut PHEV is only available here in the range-topping Summit Reserve spec, and only as a five-seater.
So, does the 4xe have enough of a jump on any large SUV hybrid rivals – including a rumoured but postponed Ford Everest hybrid – and is it enough to give the brand a much-needed boost?
Read on.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L |
| Fuel Type | — |
| Fuel Efficiency | 3.2L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Verdict
Mitsubishi Pajero7/10
The Pajero is an old-style 4WD with plenty of heart but sorely lacking safety tech, including stuff like AEB, that’s offered in much cheaper vehicles. Its engine is a bit gruff, its ride is a bit firm and its price-tag seems steep for something so out of step with the current 4WD wagon market.
It is, however, a solid all-rounder: it’s a good daily driver, a decent off-road tourer and it makes a solid towing platform. The Pajero is not flashy or overly stylised – and that’s part of its simple charm. Plus there are heaps of accessories for it including alloy nudge bar, Thule luggage pod, roof-rack cross bars, Thule bike carrier and more.
If it was cheaper, and had more safety tech, it would be a more appealing buying proposition.
Jeep Grand Cherokee7/10
A wise man* once said "Being first can sometimes feel like being wrong" and perhaps that's how it is with the 4xe, but at least Jeep Australia is giving the large SUV hybrid realm a good ol' try.
* Former CarsGuide Big Kohuna, Glen Knowles.
The company's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, is not perfect by anyone's standards, however, it is a definite move in the right direction.
It's a quiet and refined drive, it retains the brand's renowned 4WD capability, and even its hefty price-tag likely won't dissuade Jeep loyalists from giving it a go.
Design
Mitsubishi Pajero
It’s still a chunky-looking vehicle, with hard edges and a straight-up-and-down appearance, which is fine, I reckon. It manages to narrowly avoid a generic SUV-look.
The interior is a family-friendly space with plenty of room, simple clean lines, and durable surfaces.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Practicality
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero is easy to get in and out of. Even climbing into the third row, if you’ve been banished there, doesn’t require the dislocation of your own limbs, or the need to adopt a posture not unlike something a yoga master might do in a tight space in order to drink his or her mug of piping-hot dirty chai.
Front-row seats are generally supportive but are on the firm rather than plush side of things. Durable plastic surfaces abound and the seats are covered in “sports cloth with leather-look bolster” (fabric seat trim with synthetic leather bolster in real words), which is all nice-looking enough and able to cope with life’s messiness – yes, I’m talking about everyone’s kids.
The multimedia system is a workable unit with a clear 7.0-inch screen.
The dashboard and controls are still a bit old-school but it’s all easy enough to locate and operate.
The second row, a 60/40 split-fold arrangement, offers enough comfort and is easy to fold and push forward, or lock into place and slide forwards or backwards.
The third row isn’t terrible but it is quite firm.
Second- and third-row passengers get air vents.
As for storage options, driver and front passenger get cupholders between their seats, second-row passengers have a drop-down arm-rest incorporating two cupholders and third-row passengers get a cupholder each.
In terms of cargo room in general there is: 170 litres (with all seats in use); 846-litres (with third-row seats folded away); 1429-litres (with second- and thirds-row seats folded away). There is a listed maximum capacity of 1789-litres (but that’s if the second- and third-row seats are folded away and you pack to the ceiling.)
There are four tie-downs on the floor at each corner of the rear cargo area.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV retains the regular model’s level of functionality but adds a reasonably classy touch to everything.
All seats offer adequate comfort, support and room.
There are plenty of storage spaces, cupholders etc, and charging points - two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 12V socket in the front and two USB-A and two USB-C plus a 230V point in the back.
Controls are generally easy enough to locate and operate although some buttons are positioned in awkward places – including drive-mode buttons under the steering wheel – and it sometimes takes a few finger-stabs at the multimedia touchscreen to get to where you want to go in the operating system.
In terms of packability, the rear cargo area has a listed 1067 litres of space, and, with the second row folded and out of the way, that space opens up to 2004 litres.
Price and features
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Exceed has gone and the GLS is now the top-tier buy of a two-variant range which includes the cheaper GLX.
The current drive-away offer for 2020 Mitsubishi Pajero GLS is $56,990. Beyond all of the standard GLS gear – including heated and powered front leather seats, leather-topped steering wheel, 7.0-inch colour touchscreen media unit (with Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Bluetooth), rear parking sensors, automatic wipers and headlights, 18-inch wheels, and cargo blind – the GLS gets a Rockford Acoustic Design premium sound system with 12 surround-sound speakers and an integrated 10-inch subwoofer. The system has HDMI, two USB inputs and AM/FM/DAB radio.
Of course, in terms of off-road gear, you also get Mitsubishi's Super Select II 4WD system, as well as centre and rear diff-locks.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The five-seat Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a MSRP of $129,950 (excluding on-road costs).
Standard features include a 10.1-inch multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 19-speaker audio system, quilted Palermo leather-trimmed seats, air suspension and 21-inch alloy wheels.
It also has a heated steering wheel, 12-way power-adjustable seats and four-way power lumbar adjustment with memory for driver and front passenger, driver and front passenger seat massage function and heated and ventilated seats (driver, front passenger and rear outboard passengers).
A Mode 2 charging cable is also included.
An 'Advanced Technology Group' pack is available as a $5500 option and that includes a head-up display, a 10.25-inch screen for the front passenger, wireless phone charger, and night vision camera.
Exterior paint options include 'Bright White', 'Diamond Black', 'Silver Zynith', 'Velvet Red', 'Baltic Grey', 'Rocky Mountain', 'Midnight Sky' and 'Hydro Blue'.
Under the bonnet
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero has a 3.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine (141kW at 3800rpm and 441Nm at 2000rpm), teamed with a five-speed automatic transmission. The engine is gruff when pushed hard, but it’s very gutsy.
The Super Select II 4WD system, of which I’m a fan, is retained.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged petrol engine, two electric motors (one on each axle) and a 17.3kWh battery.
Combined engine and electric outputs for power and torque are 280kW and 637Nm, respectively. The 4xe has it over any of its stablemates equipped with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine because that yields 210kW and 344Nm.
The 4xe has an eight-speed automatic torque-converter transmission and regenerative braking.
Drive modes include 'Hybrid' (with combined engine and electric motor providing “maximum instant torque and impressive acceleration”, according to Jeep), 'Electric' (“zero emissions”) and 'eSave' (aims to save battery power).
There are a few options available when it comes time to charge the 4xe.
The 4xe vehicle has a Mode 2 charging cable so you can charge it at home in less than 10 hours, according to Jeep.
With a full charge, the 4xe has a claimed driving range, on electric charge alone, of 52km.
Jeep reckons a Mode 3 (wall box) single-phase electric vehicle charger will fully charge the 4xe in less than three hours.
If out and about and looking for a charge, a 4xe driver can use the onboard 'UConnect' system to locate an appropriate public charging station.
Efficiency
Mitsubishi Pajero
Fuel consumption is listed as 9.1L/100km (combined). We recorded 10.35L/100km after 640km of general driving, including about 30km of 4WDing (in high range) and about 10km of low-range 4WDing thrown into the mix. The Pajero has an 88-litre fuel tank.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
As mentioned, the 4xe has a listed electric-only driving range of 52km.
On our official test day, we drove just under 50km on a full electric charge and then the rest of the trip was courtesy of the good ol’ petrol engine.
Jeep's official figure for the combined cycle is just 3.2L/100km, but that's predicated on keeping the hybrid battery charged at all times. On fuel-only we recorded 11.6L/100km.
The 4xe has a 72-litre fuel tank (you need 95RON premium to fill it), so going by that on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect to get a driving range of about 620km out of a full tank.
Add an approximate electric range of about 50km on a full charge to that figure and you have a total estimated driving range of 670km.
Driving
Mitsubishi Pajero
For a blocky seven-seater 4WD with a listed kerb weight of 2319kg, and at 4900mm long (with a 2780mm-long wheelbase), 1875mm wide and 1900mm high, the Pajero manages to get around rather nicely. It’s quick off the mark and agile and, with an 11.4m turning circle, the Pajero is easy enough to manoeuvre with precision on city streets.
Because the cabin is straight up and down and its glass areas are so prevalent, all-round visibility for the driver is tremendous, making it easy to position – and that translates into a direct advantage for off-road efficacy as well, which we’ll get to in a bit.
As mentioned, the engine is gutsy, with plenty of low-down urge and, matched with the five-speed auto (really, who needs more than five?), and if driven energetically this Mitsu is a lively drive on bitumen for such a substantial 4WD.
Speaking of 4WD, how’d it go off-road? I’m glad you asked – see below.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
We’re all time-poor, right? So, why should I take up your time and rattle on about the 4xe for a thousand words when I can get the essence of it across to you, the reader, in a few sentences? Call me, Mr Thoughtful.
This is generally a big, quiet and refined, easy-steering large SUV, but it feels bulky at times and tends to be quite fussy on irregular surfaces, exhibiting a jittery ride on even brief sections of light corrugations on dirt tracks.
The 4xe’s PHEV set-up is smooth and highly responsive on-road and you can switch between the aforementioned drive modes to suit the circumstance.
Driving range on electric only is listed as 52km. I only recorded a total distance of just under 50km, and it’s a very quiet and smooth drive while relying on electric power.
It regenerates power rather quickly down big hills and via braking, but we’d exhausted all electric charge by the time we’d reached our 4WD test track.
As expected, this Grand Cherokee tackled every off-road challenge without any strife.
The air suspension, set to full off-road height, is a bonus.
Our 4WD test track consists of difficult set-pieces, including one small steep rocky hill that I’ve seen heavily modified vehicles struggle to conquer and, to the Jeep’s credit, it climbed the incline, no sweat.
The 4xe’s efforts were only ever hampered by its 'all-season' Continental CrossContact tyres (275/45R21) which are much better suited to blacktop driving and the fact the 4xe costs upwards of $129,950 and I didn’t want to risk any damage to it.
The 4xe has a listed wading depth of 610mm but our test track was dry so I never had the chance to do any water crossings.
The Grand Cherokee has a solid enough rep as a towing vehicle but, take note, the 4xe is rated to tow 2722kg.
Safety
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero has a five-star ANCAP rating as a result of testing in 2011. It has six airbags (driver and front passenger SRS airbags, driver and front passenger side SRS airbags, curtain SRS airbags), two ISOFIX points on the left and right second-row seats, three child restraint top tether points as well as emergency brake assist and a reversing camera, but it’s missing stuff like auto emergency braking and lane-departure warning.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from assessment this year.
Safety gear includes AEB with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, driver monitoring, traffic sign recognition, intersection collision assist, and a surround-view parking camera.
The Summit Reserve spec brings with it 'ParkSense' parallel and perpendicular park assist and (low-level autonomous) 'Active Driving Assist'.
It has eight airbags including front, side, and knee (for driver and front passenger), sides (for second-row passengers) and full curtain airbags.
Ownership
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero is covered by Mitsubishi’s five-year/100,000km warranty with five-year perforation corrosion cover.
Capped-price servicing is available for the vehicle's first three years (at $479 a pop, for a total cost of $1437). Service intervals are scheduled at 15,000km/12 months.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit Reserve 4xe PHEV has a five-year/100,000km warranty and a lifetime roadside assist service.
Servicing is set at 12-month/12,000km intervals and capped price servicing keeps what you pay for each appointment at $399 for the first five.