After looking at Mitsubishi's towing recommendations for both vehicles compared to the suitability for the van we have ordered I chose the Sport for the following reasons. The larger Pajero has a 3T towing limit with a maximum ball load of 250kg which is then reduced to only 180kg for loads over 2.5T. The Sport has a 3.1T towing limit with a 310kg ball load that is not reduced for loads over 2.5T. The disadvantage of the Sport is that it has a GCM limit of only 5410kg compared to just over 6000kg for the much heavier version. (Can anyone tell me how the larger Pajero can have a 6000kg GCM if in theory it isn't supposed to tow more than 2.5T ) ? Mitsubishi also recommends for the Sport that the tow ball weight should be between 5% & 10% of the trailer's load. Although I have always liked the larger Pajero I decided to err on the safe side as the van fully loaded will probably be around the 2800kg mark. I also looked at the MUX but after a test drive of both vehicles I opted for the Mitsi based on both it's performance and comfort unfortunately this was without having anything heavy behind it. By the way I fully agree with all the criticism about the strange appearance of the rear end of the Sport but I bought it to do a job not to win a beauty contest.
From memory the "sport" is a pajero body style on a challenger chassis.
Completely lighter rig.
The sport would be a 2 and a bit tow. The pajero a 2.5t MAX rig.
An MUX is a much better TOW/work veh than either of them.
and I'd have a D-Max over all of them for towing...to 2.5 ton max.
As long as it's tray was loaded.
None are good for 3 ton.
Thanks Macka17 for your feedback you are correct the Sport like the Challenger is based on the Triton ute the difference with the Sport is the rear suspension is multi link coil rather than the leaf springs. I understand your preference for the D-max as it is rated at 3.5T but the MUX has a lower towing capacity, slightly less power and torque and only weighs around 60kg more than the sport. The larger Pajero is rated behind the sport in every category including the power to weight ratio so the only advantage I can see is that its a heavier vehicle. Mitsubishi's suggests with electric trailer breaking and the trailer weight correctly distributed 2700kg should not be a problem for this vehicle. I also have the Dexter stability control fitted to the van and will use a Haymen Reece load distribution bar if needed. Having only been released at the end of last year I guess there are not too many of these vehicles being used as tugs yet so feedback from actual users is a little hard to come by.
Thanks kezngaz, I have had a look at this site lots of good info from people using the sport unfortunately they get hung up on things like appearances rather than the actual performance. I agree with you I think that it is pushing the envelope to believe that a ute based vehicle is going to effectively tow 3.5t or even 3T regardless of the manufacturers numbers that are quoted. I am really hoping to get away with pulling between 2600 & 2700kg as the tare of the van is 2225kg (needs to be confirmed on delivery). Most experienced caravanners are telling me that I should be allowing about 400kg as a load so the 2800kg is actually 180kg more than that. The van's ATM is rated at 3200kg but my intention is to stay around the 2700kg mark even if it means we have to leave things behind..
Hi Belmont Bear,
I own a Pajero and my previous vehicle was a Triton with the 2.5 diesel motor.
The reason why the GCM of the Pajero is 6030 Kg is because the maximum allowable vehicle weight is 3030 Kg (This includes passengers, fuel, added accessories and your ball weight) + maximum braked towing capacity of 3000 Kg with the proviso that the ball weight is less than 180Kg. This towing capacity reduces on a sliding scale to only 2500Kg with a ball weight of 250Kg.
You will find the Pajero Sport is a much lighter vehicle, but can still tow around 3000Kg, there the GCM is lower. Hope that helps.
Having owned the lighter and smaller engined Triton, before the Pajero, I found it really had to work hard pulling my under 2000Kg van and you knew you had a weight controlling your rear end whereas the Pajero does not work as hard and you don't even know your towing anything so as to speak.
Do a search for RV Daily magazine issue 4 (free mag) page 297 onwards. Lots of good info on weights and vehicles.
I have a challenger and it tows my two ton van very well ,sure the Pajero has a bigger engine than the challengers 2.5 ltr but don't let that fool you,the 2.5 develops more power then the old 3ltr version of the Mitsubishi motor, modern tec and bigger turbos are replacing the older spec engines., but having said that the old pajero donk would have a bit more grunt than the challenger motor I agree , but to say the challenger or the later model tritons struggle to pull a two ton van is not true...
Pajero develops max torque @ 2000 RPM as opposed the Pajero sport developing max torque @ 2500 RPM meaning it I is working harder.
The challenger /triton 2.5 had lower specs than the Pajero Sport and certainly did not mean that they could not tow the weight.
They just work harder especially when your climbing hills.
Ok thanks Techman for explaining how the Pajero can get to the 6T GCM it makes sense to me now. Having done my apprenticeship and early trade years working on diesel locomotives I understand that a smaller diesel engine will probably have to work harder to achieve the same output as a larger one especially when getting up to speed or climbing hills. The other drawback will be that fuel consumption on the sport when towing is likely to increase to a point where it won't be that much different to the heavier vehicle (but with a 20ltr smaller tank). Thanks Ron-D for the feedback on the performance of your Challenger does the van you're towing have a Tare of 2T or is that after it's been loaded.
Pajero develops max torque @ 2000 RPM as opposed the Pajero sport developing max torque @ 2500 RPM meaning it I is working harder. The challenger /triton 2.5 had lower specs than the Pajero Sport and certainly did not mean that they could not tow the weight.
They just work harder especially when your climbing hills.
The challenger develops 131kw of power and it does not work hard climbing hills that's not a true statement, they can suffer from a carboned up inlet manifold may be you had that problem.. Severe mountain roads that go straight up and never seem to end yep the car feels it but that's not the norm...
