New Car Test - Mitsubishi Pajero io

20 June, 2002

Now only good when thought of in isolation.

By Julian Edgar

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Time stands still for no one.

And that is especially true in the automotive area, where the competent performer from a few years ago can suddenly become this year's also-ran. When one stand-out car gets released, others of the same genre suffer - and that's the situation with Mitsubishi's Pajero io. It's an honest, forthright and humble car, head down and bum up as it conscientiously does its job. But the problem is that things have changed: no longer do buyers in this market want to see a live rear axle with drum brakes, to drive a 1310kg car with only 95kW, or to even have the need of a box-section chassis.

Well, a correction then: no longer do most buyers want those things. Especially when at $32,690, the as-tested little Pajero is actually $700 more expensive than the Nissan X-Trail, a vehicle with a stunning 39 per cent more power, not only four-wheel discs but also far more sophisticated twin-spot front brake calipers, more interior space, infinitely better on the road, an intelligent four wheel drive system... the list goes on.

If you're a farmer looking at buying a simple and rugged small truck, one that will (slowly!) tow a trailer, clamber across muddy paddocks, use its excellent approach and departure angle capability and ultra-low locked four-wheel drive to get across the south-west paddock's half-metre deep tricky creek crossing... things like that, then the Pajero io should be a definite on your try-before-you-buy shopping list. But if you want a car to get you to the surf - and then along the beach - or to take you on a quick long distance trip to the snow, or for that occasional camping trip with your partner, well, there are simply better small four-wheel drive vehicles around.

That is not a criticism of the Pajero io in isolation; that's a criticism when the car is placed into the context of what else is available.

The Pajero io has just been updated - the 1.8 and 1.6 litre engines replaced by the more powerful 4G94 2-litre, and some quite successful cosmetic changes have been made. If nothing else, the little car looks tuff and perky. There are new body-coloured front and rear bumpers, grille and a redesigned bonnet. A large rear spoiler is fitted, and this limited edition ZR model also comes with decals, roof rails and a spare wheel cover. Use the electronic remote to open the door and you'll find an inviting interior - a better looking place, for example, than the aforesaid X-Trail. The seats are good - though lacking a little in side support - and the equipment is extensive, with a single CD radio, air-conditioning, twin airbags and (you can't see it but it's there) ABS.

Jump into the back seat and things tighten up considerably - knee-room is very poor though toe- and head-room are both fine. Around to the load area and open the large single door (unlike the side dors, this one opens and shuts with a feeling of real solidity) and you'll be confronted with, well, a very small load area. As with all vehicles of this type, the fore-aft and sideways dimensions of the cargo space are really quite small - throw in the high floor needed to clear the live rear axle and many hatchback cars have more usable space. The rear seat, however, folds forward on a 50/50 split - and with the seats down, the length stretches to 1200mm, although when you think about it, that's still not much.

On the road the Pajero io is slow and loud. To give adequate response from the low-powered engine, the gearing is very short - so engine revs are always high. For example, in fifth gear at 110 km/h the engine is spinning very busily at 3800 rpm. More than once our drivers went to change up to sixth... But by the same token, the engine is also sweet and willing - it will spin easily to its 6000 rpm redline - and of course that's just as well, since you'll be up there a lot when making passing manoeuvres and climbing steep hills. But at low (read: urban) speeds the engine is quite responsive; you could take a quick test-drive around the block and actually think that the Pajeri io is quite punchy. But any activity requiring the bottom line of a decent power/weight ratio is a definite downer.

However the little Pajero is easy to drive: the gearbox and clutch are light, the steering well-weighted, and visibility quite good. It's not at all a daunting car to get into and take for a spin. Partially helped by its small exterior dimensions (yes, even the "long wheelbase" 5-door) but even more helped by the user-friendliness of its controls, it's easy to feel quickly at home. Until it comes to the four wheel drive system, anyway. Whether you view the dual lever gearbox as a blessing or a curse will depend entirely on where you're coming from; the farmer will love it, but many others will hate it. Despite Mitsubishi making a big deal of its "Super Select" four wheel drive system, basically it's a 20 year-old-approach to getting power to all the wheels.

Generally, you'll drive around just in rear-wheel drive - yes, café latte drinkers, four wheel drives often aren't. Although four-wheel drive can be selected on sealed roads, the performance is noticeably slowed by the extra driveline drag. Unlike some of the opposition (eg Subaru), there's no constant viscous coupled four-wheel drive, (which means that the car's always in four wheel drive with all the safety benefits which that brings - on roads of all sorts), and neither is there an automatic engagement of four wheel drive when slip is detected (hmm, that X-Trail again). Instead, there's a dirty great lever that needs to be yanked to engage all-paw traction, and which can then be moved a further step to select an ultra-low gear range suitable for towing logs up hills. Or dead cows out of dams, for that matter. And that's why the hard-core farmer buyers of the Pajero io will love its four-wheel drive system - and most others, er, not like it so much.

Again, a couple of years ago, the four wheel drive system was fine (and of course, for some it still is) but for anyone going four-wheel driving at a lesser level of seriousness than taking an EPIRB and snatch-em straps, it's a lousy system.

Handling? It's better than we remember it from the previous model. In rear-wheel drive, the car understeers going in and power oversteers coming out, though it is predictable in its behaviour. When four-wheel drive is selected it immediately feels vastly more settled (which makes you wonder about the active safety advantages of something like a Subaru), although it corners with some understeer. Stability on the open road is fine, and if the level of outright grip on winding country roads is less than even a cheap Korean hatch, well, that's one of the penalties you pay for buying a traditionally engineered compact four-wheel drive truck.

Truck? Unfortunately, yes. In terms of its ride (lousy, with that solid rear axle thumping through), handling (benign but with low grip), interior room (don't look at the exterior size, look at the interior space - and make sure that you get in the back seat when making the assessment), performance (s-l-o-w), brakes (so, how many cars costing well over thirty grand can you find with drums at the back?), and NVH (just try putting in a few big consecutive days at highway speeds in this beastie), the Pajero io is a long way off the current small four-wheel drive car pace. On test its economy was better than many of the opposition - we averaged 9.7 litres/100 km - but you are certainly paying in many ways for that quality sipping.

The Pajero io a bad car? On its own - not at all. It's only when you start to look at the opposition....

Footnote: Oh yes, and like the previous mode, the Pajero io has simply fantastic headlights. Better in fact, than literally any car we can quickly think of.