We decided to test drive to found out the better of the two - Mitsubishi Pajero and Ford Endeavour. Pajero? Wasn’t it the dull looking, expensive off-roader that lost ground to newer crusaders long back? The brand surely has pedigree and can still be readily recognised by hardcore off-roading buffs, but most people won’t opt for a rally winning car that looks dreary in its road-going guise. Mitsubishi has probably realised this fact as they’ve given their Pajero brand a fresh lease of life by sprucing up the exterior and interior of the car. The ploy seems to have worked, as confirmed by one of the company’s showroom staffers in Pune who admitted that the demand for the SUV has risen after the recent facelift. It wasn’t difficult for us to figure why. The two-tone purple and white colour scheme of our test drive vehicle had most fellow highway motorists craning their necks out of their cars’ windows for a glimpse. The famous off-roader now looks fresh and spunky thanks to its sportier front fender, chromed handlebars and most of all, the new, radical paint scheme with ‘PAJERO’ inscribed across the length of the doors. In its newest avatar, the car oozes attitude. And that’s something the burly boys with bulging biceps are always willing to put their money on. No one ever doubted the off-roading credentials of the Pajero, now it’s got the looks too. Its appearance is the most important change here, for under the skin, the new Pajero is exactly the same as its older avatar. While the Mitsubishi Pajero always had its eyes profoundly transfixed on the goal of hardcore off-roading, the Endeavour is a machine doesn’t hesitate in offering itself to the family man. Long, muscular and full of attitude – the Endeavour never fails to gather attention wherever it goes. The American SUV features a 2.5-litre TDCi turbo diesel engine that produces 153PS of peak power and 330Nm of impressive torque. Moreover, more than 80 percent of that enormous turning force is available from as low as 1500rpm, making the Endeavour one hell of a cruiser on motorways. In comparison, the Pajero’s 120PS of power and 292Nm of torque seem a bit unexciting, and we genuinely feel that the Pajero can do with a bit more power. However, the gear ratios in the Pajero are closely spaced, highlighting the off-road focus of the car. With it’s relatively better spaced ratios, the Endeavour takes the highway with élan. When slotted in the fifth gear, the car always has sufficient grunt to accelerate with assurance and overtake the slouches without a bother. With the Pajero, you have to play around with the stick a bit more, but then, there is more to the story than just cruising convenience. The Endeavour is a long car, you see, and a heavy one at that. And unlike the Pajero’s three-link rear suspension, this Ford SUV rests its rump on leaf springs. This means that every time it passes over an undulation at anything more than crawling speeds, the back benchers end up banging their heads with the roof. Fasten your seatbelts and hold on tight, or wear a helmet if you’re one of the backseat occupants and love your head. Also, you can see and feel the long bonnet of the car pitching mildly every time you accelerate or decelerate, and violently when you brake. The Pajero is better behaved in comparison. Even around corners the Japanese machine feels more sure-footed and in-control than its counterpart from corny Bushland. The Endeavour, however, with its more powerful and torquey engine, hauls its weight with more assurance than the Pajero. The Ford accelerates to 100km/h from standstill in 14.69secs, about 2.5secs quicker than the Pajero. Owing to its low end grunt, and relaxed nature of the engine, the Endeavour manages to return a better fuel efficiency figures than the Pajero –12.12kmpl as opposed to the latter’s 8.9kmpl. On the road, the Endeavour may have a slight advantage in terms of outright acceleration, tractability and fuel economy, but the Pajero comes into its own off the road. You sit up high in the car, and that’s good for visibility – something that’s extremely crucial while driving on challenging terrain. The car, though not small by any means, doesn’t make you feel its heft while placing it. The longer Endeavour, on the other hand, even with its high seating position doesn;t let you gauge its ovrtures as precisely as the Pajero. With a ground clearance of 210mm, the Endeavour has a 5mm edge over the 205mm of the Pajero, but the multi link-rear suspension of the Pajero more than makes up for it. Over big trenches, the Pajero’s wheels tilt and turn to ensure maximum contact and help tremendously in preventing the car’s underbody scrubbing with mother earth. In the Endeavour’s case, you don’t have that flexibility. Also, with a wading depth of 600mm the Pajero can ford through streams and other shallow water bodies with élan. No that the Endeavour is a bad off-roader, in fact, in the 4x4 version, it’s greatly accomplished with a lockable differential and genuine hardcore off-roading genes engineered into it. Its low-end grunt further aids its ability to get out of tough spots. But then, when it comes down to treading on uncharted territories, the Ford tries hard but couldn’t really match the immaculate credentials and capabilities of the Pajero. Both the vehicles have their own virtues and vices. But the one thing that really goes against the Ford Endeavour is its archaic leaf suspension that holds its rear. That suspension is too old to do duties on such an expensive vehicle, especially in today’s day and age. Even with its fantastic engine, great cruising and off-roading capabilities, as well as its enormous presence, the Endeavour doesn’t quite match the Pajero’s heritage, appeal and engineering. But wait, the Pajero is a full Rs 3.50 lakh costlier than the Endeavour. The Mitsubishi is a better SUV, but the advantage comes at a price. And the advantage primarily lies in that rear suspension, for the Endeavour isn’t a bad off-roader at all and even Ford won’t find it too difficult to splash its SUV in vivid colours if it helps the sales. Bring in a multi-link suspension at the rear, Ford. It won’t really cost you all of those 3.50 lakh rupees – and when you’ve done that, the Pajero will have a more competent, yet cheaper rival that won’t let it win so easily! More photos:
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