Fast-forward with the all-new Montero Sport

ON THE white sands of Kandaya Resort in Cebu, the all-new Montero Sport exhibits capable offroad performance.

Photos by Alvin Uy

MITSUBISHI Motors Philippines staged a ride-and-drive of its all-new Montero Sport in Cebu with some members of the motoring media last week.

The drive started off at Cebu City proper, and the convoy drove all the way to Cebu island’s northernmost tip in Daanbantayan, ending up at the Kandaya Resort, an emerging luxury destination development nestled on a white sandy beach and tropical landscape.

Located about 1 kilometer from Tapilon Point, the destination was an opportunity for the group to drive through winding backroads and long stretches of highways to properly test the performance of the Montero Sport.

Participants were given the opportunity to drive the all-new Montero Sport’s different variants and see how it performed on Philippine roads.

This writer also had the opportunity to test the Montero Sport last year in Japan in an offroading facility near Mount Fuji. The proving grounds of Mount Fuji’s purpose-built Fujigane offroad park in Shizuoka, Japan, was able to convince this writer that its Super Select II shift-on-the-fly 4WD system proved to be much better than the previous generation model.

On top of it, the topline GT model has a diff lock, which is very useful for offroading enthusiasts.

Onroad and offroad, the all-new Montero Sport is a very capable SUV. More than this, the new-generation model is also fitted with new and better features that come with a new level of refinement that is built for today’s highly competitive midsize SUV market.

Several best-in-class features like eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift, eight airbags for enhanced safety, and a 5.6-meter turning radius ensure its supremacy over competitors.

Power at 181 HP is just a notch below the all-new Ford Everest, which is rated at 200 HP. But with a 2.4-liter displacement compared with Ford’s 3.2-liter displacement, the power to displacement ratio makes it a more efficient powerplant.

It also has the best power-to-weight ratio and widest power band, thanks to a cleaner and leaner 4N15 Mivec diesel engine.

It is currently the only diesel engine in this segment locally with variable valve and cam timing. This means better fuel economy (urban or highway traffic), better acceleration and overall performance.

Besides the best-in-class eight airbags, additional safety features include the Forward Collision Mitigation system that warns the driver with an audible beep of possible collision if a vehicle or object is right up ahead, after which it will automatically stop the vehicle to prevent a collision.

Aside from this, it also has a blind spot warning system driver aid.

Letting the numbers speak

Despite challenges hounding its predecessor model on the controversial sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) accusations, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines posted a 50-percent hike in vehicle sales in January this year to 4,867 units compared with the same month in 2015, mainly due to the strong performance of the Montero Sport model.

Sales of the Montero Sport reached 1,622 units, accounting for about a third of the company’s total sales in January.

The Cebu Mitsubishi dealership also reported similar gains in their own local market. Mitsubishi Motor Philippines first vice president for marketing Froilan Dytianquin said the company was “truly delighted with the outcome of total reservations received as well as actual sales turnout last month. It confirms the market’s confidence in the Montero Sport brand.”

Mitsubishi confidently set a target to sell a total of 70,000 units this year, representing a 29-percent increase in sales from the 59,087 units it sold in 2014.

Rene Poro of Fast Autoworld Philippines Corp. (FAPC), distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in Cebu, strongly believes the all-new Montero Sport will be another top seller in their market again very soon.

THE MONTERO Sport is currently the only diesel engine SUV with variable valve and cam timing.

The all-new Mitsubishi Montero Sport was launched in January at the SM Seaside City Cebu. “We already have about 160 reservations for the all-new Montero Sport,” said Poro, referring to the first batch of reservations they had during the launch.

Poro also added that FAPC is targeting to sell at least 550 units in their first three months in the Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao markets. FAPC is owned by the Chiongbian family led by its chair Victor Chiongbian.

The Chiongbians provide the essential trading services for Cebu’s key trading arteries under the Fast Logistics Group, and has been a main driving force in Cebu’s commerce with a high level of service integration including air, sea and inland freight, courier express, warehouse leasing, warehouse management, trucking, toll packing and selling distribution.

It is one of Mitsubishi’s biggest dealership network and trading partner in the south. Last year, it saw a 7-percent growth in sales.

With the new Montero Sport, they are targeting at least a 15-percent growth.