[Merged:] Montero Sport thread

[Bogeyman]

I saw one on the road yesterday, nasa harap namin as we were travelling along Ortigas Ave. Wala pa ngang plaka. Gandang-ganda si misis sa itsura, tapos bilis pa ng acceleration.

[RafRaf]

from autoindustriya.com:





Beef up MMPC’s SUV lineup

Introduced to further bolster Mitsubishi’s strong sport utility vehicle (SUV) heritage, the Php1.580 million 2005 Montero Sport 4x4 features a 2.8-liter turbo-intercooler diesel engine, which gives out 125 PS and 29.8 kg-m. This engine is mated with a four-speed automatic with an electronic lock-up clutch. For four-wheel drive fun, the Montero Sport is equipped with an Easy Select 4WD transfer case with a synchronized free-wheel front differential. This lets the driver switch from two-wheel drive (2WD) to high-range 4WD at 100 kilometers per hour (kph) with just a movement of the lever.


Providing a faux passenger car ride is a front double wishbone suspension (with sprung torsion bars) and a three-link coil spring suspension at the rear, along with stabilizer bars on both ends to reduce body roll.

The Montero’s exterior, based on its Rallye Dakar-winning Pajero brethren, is designed so that no part of the SUV’s outside will come in contact with the ground. The design of the exterior was conceived with off-roading in mind, making sure that the SUV approaches and departs uneven terrain without a scratch. Also, the Montero’s proven ability to go off-road, even maneuvering through floods is easy thanks to the SUV’s ability to wade through more than nine-inches of water.


While the exterior of the Montero Sport exudes ruggedness, the interior exudes luxury and sportiness. Seats can be configured variably to handle most hauling needs, while a white gauge cluster, genuine leather seats, map lamps and a two-DIN MP3 capable head unit provide creature comforts for all. All-power amenities reduce travel stress while the Mitsubishi Motor Alarm and keyless entry system (MMAS) provides additional convenience and peace of mind.

Also, Mitsubishi deemed that an SUV of this size needs its passengers to travel safe, so it installed leading and trailing areas within the Montero Sport’s ladder frame chassis. The aforementioned areas were designed to crush progressively (in case of an accident) to absorb collision impact. Additional safety features include dual front airbags, three-point ELR seatbelts and the location of the fuel tank within the ladder frame (in front of the rear axle) to prevent it from igniting in case of impacts.

[OTEP]

Ang pogi talaga nito. Parang anak ng Pajero. :D

[RafRaf]

the manila bulletin reports...

For its newly launched models, Dizon said the company is setting a conservative sales target of 50 units a month each for Montero and Grandis although he expects to exceed such target.

These two are the latest addition to Mitsubishi’s array of SUV vehicles.

The Montero Sport’s urban styling is a sharp departure from the boxy styling of conventional 4x4s. Its muscular presence and high ground clearance project an image of rugged durability yet the sleek profile hints at its passenger-car-like performance.

On the other hand, Grandis is a much improved model replacing the Mitsubishi Spacewagon.

Suggested retail price of the 2005 Montero Sport 4x4 and automatic, which is imported on CBU basis from Thailand, is P1,580 million while the 2005 Grandis 2.4 MIVEC, imported from Japan, can be had for P1,480 million.


plus, the reporter informs that...

Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. (MMPC), the country’s number two automaker, will now focus on the assembly of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) instead of the Asian utility vehicles (AUVs) that is slowly losing patronage following the imposition of excise tax on this category.

MMPC senior vice president Melchor Dizon told reporters at the launch of its two new models, Montero and Grandis last Thursday, that its new SUV model to be assembled locally would be market for the domestic and ASEAN countries.

Dizon said the company is going to assemble 3,000 units of the yet unnamed SUV of which two-thirds would be exported to ASEAN countries.

This is part of the P10 billion investment program for the Philippines by the Mitsubishi Group as it plans to transform the Philippines as its production hub for the new SUV.

Of the P10 billion-investment, P8 billion would come from Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan and Mitsubishi Motors of China. MMPC will fill-up the remaining P2 billion.

The amount would be used for product development costs, tooling and additional assembly facilities for the new SUV model.

With this export component, Dizon said this would qualify the company to participate in the Automotive Exports Program (AEP) of the government.

The AEP entities volume exporters of completely built-up units to tax credits of $400 per unit shipped on the first two years of the five-year program. The tax credit will be gradually reduced to $100 per unit.

According to Dizon, exports of the new SUV to ASEAN will start in the last quarter of 2006 or the first quarter of 2007 at the latest.

The new SUV, which has a 40 percent local content, will be an 8-seater vehicle powered by a 2.5 liter diesel engine and 2.4 liter gasoline engine. It will be sold at a price between P600,000 and P1 million.

Ano kaya itong bagong SUV na sinasabi?

[nugundam93]

aaaaaaah!

montero sport nga, inupdate lang yung nguso to keep with the current mitsu styling themes. still, nice pa rin, trusty 4m40...

[cyberdoc95]

RESPONSE TO RAFRAF's ARTICLE FROM MANILA BULLETIN:

I beleive this will be good news for everyone especially those who want to get SUV instead of an AUV kasi AUV's din ngayon is almost a million pesos na rin. This is a good move for Mitsubishi to gain customers. The automotive industry definitely can't ignore the fact that majority of Filipinos still cannot afford a brand new SUV since most of them cost more than P1.5M, then adds with it the revised excise tax law for brand new vehicles(P112,000 plus 40% over P1.1M) that makes SUV's even less desirable by the big chunk of motoring public unless you live in a place, like our town in DAVAO, where SUVs and AUVs are more practical vehicles because of very poor infrastructure.

I really beleive this is the reason why REVO has maintained its popularity(as shown on the reported sales result for 2004), other than being a reliable workhorse, Toyota has kept its price generally acceptable. But with MMC coming up with a full fledged SUV with a competitive price, then I guess it is going to beat the local AUV market.

Kakatuwa lang to witness all these marketing strategies to win customers. Kasi naman talaga ang success ng product is seen on how you perform on sales. Maski pa gaano kaganda ang producto pero hindi naman nabebenta, it is still a failure. :cool:

I got the full article pala from Manila Bulletin. CLICK HERE!

[nugundam93]

onga, now they have another alternative which is competitively-priced...

me want one. :D

[5Speed]

hmmm very competitive ang price nito, comparing w/ Ford Everest na kahit medyo mas mura nang konti eh yang pajero pa rin ang pipiliin ko...ganda porma eh....

ganda nga...hehehe Kahit pa sabihing lumang platform yan eh gusto ko pa rin.... a proven 4x4 SUV....

[FrankDrebin]

Mitsubishi is leaving the AUV market? Hmm...biting the mouth that feeds them? Let's face the fact that AUVs dominate the Phil. auto market simply because of its multi-tasking abilities, simplicity, durability, lots of cargo space and the price at par with sedans. SUVs, well, their market are image-conscious individuals, an offroader or the performance lovahs. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah about its 4x4 abilities but will you use it in your business or a regular people/cargo carrier? Sayang di ba? IMO, AUVs will never leave the Phil Market. Pero maganda yung Montero Sport :D

[mazdamazda]

Mitsubishi is leaving the AUV market? Hmm...biting the mouth that feeds them? Let's face the fact that AUVs dominate the Phil. auto market simply because of its multi-tasking abilities, simplicity, durability, lots of cargo space and the price at par with sedans. SUVs, well, their market are image-conscious individuals, an offroader or the performance lovahs. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah about its 4x4 abilities but will you use it in your business or a regular people/cargo carrier? Sayang di ba? IMO, AUVs will never leave the Phil Market. Pero maganda yung Montero Sport :D

as said in the report... it will be replaced by a low-budget (600K to 1M) new SUV (by 2006)... in essence, it will compete with the other brand's AUVs, but since it will be a global vehicle (not just limited to Asia) it is already an SUV.

the Php1.580 million 2005 Montero Sport 4x4 features a 2.8-liter turbo-intercooler diesel engine, which gives out 125 PS and 29.8 kg-m

now this is just disappointing! 125 ps / hp? the much lower priced sorento, hi-lux, d-max & starex (all of which has the newer crdi engine) will outrun it any day.