FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2017 MITSUBISHI PAJERO SPORT

Storage in the Pajero Sport is pretty good in the front of the cab. There are two cup holders in the central console they are really well sized to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and will even hold a infant sippy cup.

The door pockets are not lined but they would hold a 600ml bottle.

The central console storage box is large, with a 12V socket, two USB sockets and an HDMI point so you can plug in a device to watch on the media screen. There are grooves in both sides of the box so you can feed wires in and out to the sockets. Also, there is a large shelf in the top of the box that is perfect for storing your phone on.

The glove box is a standard size and there is a big glasses holder in the ceiling.

On the back of both front seats, there are half map pockets for the second-row passengers

I could get a 600ml water bottle in the back door pockets and second-row passengers have access to a pair of cup-holders in the fold-down central armrest.

The Pajero Sport was a five-seat SUV and Mitsubishi later turned it into a seven seater by adding two seats into the boot space.

The third row of seats has two cup holders on one side of the boot and none on the other.
When using the Pajero Sport as a five-seater it is really great having cup holders in the boot!! It's such a good BabyDrive feature!

When I head out on a journey with Tulsi I usually take a travel cup of tea with me! Mainly because I’m tired and need the caffeine like most new mums! Also in case she falls asleep so I pull over and have a few minutes still time with a cuppa! Or I have water bottles that although they all say they don’t leak inevitably after they have been dropped a few times they all leak so it is a juggle to keep vessels upright and away from bubs or interested toddlers!
So I go to the boot of the car with bub, bags, drinks, snacks and I hope the boot has automatic opening as I don’t have a hand free and basically dump everything in there whilst I strap bub into her seat and organise everything. Having drinks holders in the boot helps so much as you can just pop your drinks hot and cold in there out of the way. Knowing they are not going to spill or fall over or burn anyone!

As a seven seater we could not get the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle Stroller into the boot but we could get five shopping bags across the boot space.

With the third row of seats down we could get the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle and six shopping bags in the boot.

The boot is a really usable space with a wide rectangular mouth and a flat, carpeted base which is fantastic for an emergency nappy change! The height is good for lifting things in and out of and easy to slide things in and out to with the even floor and carpet.

There is under floor storage too in the Pajero Sport. The first section of boot floor can be lifted up and there is a plastic storage space with an assortment of sized sections. I found this area a fantastic BabyDrive feature for holding wet, muddy or sandy items and was easily cleaned too.

I found the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport to be a very beepy, baby waking car!
The indicators were my worst noise by far! They made an awful noise that you could not adjust the volume of. I have avoided changing lanes due to noisy indicators when driving trying to get my little girl to sleep!!

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The reversing sensors also have a loud beep to them and are rather sensitive but I could turn them off with a button by my right knee.

The media system uses Apple Car Play and Android Auto, which not only makes the media system menus much simpler to navigate because it’s the same as your phone, but for me I love it because it makes muting the sat-nav voice simple. There is just a button on the map screen to mute it and then you press it again when you need the voice!

I find on most journeys when I use sat-nav I only need directions for the last part of the journey. I know how to get to the area I am going and then it’s just the exact address I need help with. Because I need to input the address before I head off I found myself on most occasions when you can’t mute the sat nav voice having to listen to all the directions, which disturbs your concentration, any conversation in the car at the time or more importantly my sleeping baby! So being able to mute the sat nav voice until you reach the part where you actually need it is gold!

That said, I found with the Pajero sport I could actually alter the volume of the sat nay voice using the volume controls on the steering wheel?! This was one of the best systems I have used!

Your audio settings are remembered in the Pajero Sport too, so if you are listening to the radio on your previous journey it will automatically come on the next time you get in the car.

I found the windows noisy to use too they made a big clunk like noise when opening and closing. I could lock all the passenger windows from the controls on the driver's door which is good to stop little people opening and closing the windows.

The doors were much quieter opening than they were closing and if you start the engine with the driver's door open then another alarm sounds until you close it!
You can also lock the doors from the driver's door control panel.

With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn’t notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.
With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!

Another annoying beeping I kept getting was accompanied by a dash display telling me the steering wheel was not locked.

There is a seatbelt removal warning but you can come to a stop, park the car with the engine running and the driver take off their seatbelt and open the door without baby waking alarms going off!

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!!(ps I only stand outside the car I am not a bad mother!!)

As mentioned, the Pajero Sport was originally a five-seater car but Mitsubishi later added two seats in the boot to make it a seven-seater.

In the second row of seats there are two ISOFix connection points in the outer seats. These are concealed in the fabric at the back of the seat bases. I know what I am looking for so they were easy for me to find but they were not clearly labelled. The thick fabric around the bars made them difficult to connect to also.

Now we move on to the top tether, which made the ISOfix look simple!!

There is only one top tether in this seven-seat vehicle! YES you read that correctly! Only the central seat in the second row has a top tether point. This is situated in the centre of the ceiling above the third row headrests, which would definitely affect the visibility for the rear passengers.
I was very confused as to how Mitsubishi expected me to install my child seat, which uses both top tether and ISOfix connectors, as there is no ISOFix in the central seat and no top tethers for either of the outer seats!!? So I consulted the manual in the glove box to find… I had to fit the top tether anchor points myself!!!

I was completely shocked by this and think it is ridiculous, Mitsubishi! Not only do you have to spend more money to purchase the top tether points you need but you would have to buy the correct tool too!?

I think it is really leaving the gate open for wrongly installed top tether points and thus a safety issue. I like to think that something that is a legal requirement and vital for car safety would be installed by experts and not a tired new mum who barely has time to sleep let alone install top tether anchor points!! If you need a seven-seater car the chances are you have more than one child and so your time is even more limited!!

I did install a top tether point, but it was hard to do and I had to get someone else to tighten it up to the correct torque or Newton Metres or something!? That's ridiculous, Mitsubishi! This is a family vehicle, so think about the practicality for the people who are going to be using it!

Oh, and the instructions on the packet said to remove the top tether after use?? Don’t even get me started!! Yes, sure I’ll do that every time I take my child out of the car shall I? NOT!!

My rant over!! 😉

We did manage to fit three child seats across the second row of seats, but it would be best to try the child seats in the car to see which configuration works best for you as some child seats are bigger than others.

I installed the Mountain Buggy Protect infant capsule and the Infasecure Kompressor4, both rear facing, in the outer seats and the Infasecure Foldaway booster seat in the central seat.

Posting bub into her seat from inside the car was fine there was plenty of room. I actually found it a little tricky form the outside of the Pajero Sport because it was so high up! It actually felt higher than the Volkswagen Amarok for posting bub in to her child seat.

There is plenty of room in the second row of seats, so space for a feed was not a problem. With one rear-facing child seat installed there was stacks of room.

The outer twi second-row seats are very comfy and the seat backs recline too! The seatbelt buckles go into the seat base too so they do not stick into your bottom!

The seats are all black leather so easy to wipe clean too.

The second-row seat base does not slide or adjust except for the third row access seat. There is plenty of legroom for the second row passengers.

There is a really good amount of legroom for the third row of seats also. The seats are firmer in the back, but nice and big with plenty of space.

However, the third-row seats do have to deal with the central seat belt and possibly three top tether straps across their heads, which is definitely something to take into consideration.

By the end of the week in the Pajero Sport driver's seat, I still hadn’t found a perfect seating position!  I always felt a bit perched on the seat, even though it looks plush and armchair like.

For a mum travelling in the second row seats, the outer seat is very comfortable and you can have a ponytail. However, the middle seat is uncomfortable because the fold down armrest in the back is really hard to lean against. There is also a seatbelt buckle in the seat cushion that sticks in your buttocks! You also have to sit pressed against the child seat next to you!

For the first year of Tulsis life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

There are air conditioning vents throughout the Pajero Sport. There are four on the front dashboard. I found the air-con controls simple to use and centrally located on the dashboard.

Four more vents are provided for the rear passengers, one in the ceiling on each side of the car, above the second and third row of seats.

The controls for the rear vents are located in the centre of the ceiling with the rear interior light above the second row passenger’s heads. There is just a fan speed up and down control and on/off.

There is a master switch for the rear air on the front dashboard to turn it on and off. This is definitely a good BabyDrive feature, you need to be able to take control of the airflow in the back if little passengers are too hot or cold and also if bigger kids are messing around with the controls or fighting over them.

Another good feature is if you are only using the car as a five-seater and have your shopping in the boot, you can use the air con vents to cool the boot and your shopping!!

I could not reach to turn the rear lights on and off.

I often will reach back to turn on the interior light if I am driving at night time, I find my little girl gets less distressed traveling at night that way. It helps if I can reach the interior light from the drivers seat so I can turn it on and off whilst driving. I often find my daughter will need it on as we start our journey in the dark but once she falls asleep I can turn it off.
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

The windows in the Pajero Sport are heavily tinted and the rear windscreen is quite small so we had no problems with the sun being in rear-facing infants' faces and did not have to fit our own sunshades.

In the front, the visibility is good out of the front of the car but out the back when manoeuvring and reversing the back windscreen feels tunnel like, I think because it is smaller? You do of course have the rear view camera but I like to be able to see with my own eyes too.
The side windows are big so the second-row passenger would have the best visibility I think.
In the third row, visibility is a bit distorted with all the top tether straps in your face and the small side windows.

There is only a vanity mirror in the front passenger seat in the Pajero Sport, which is rather disappointing because I’d imagine for a mother of five the only time you’d perhaps get to look at yourself in the mirror might perhaps be when you’re waiting outside the school to pick them up!

I know since becoming a mum that IF I put makeup on it is usually during Bub's nap and time in the car, parked up somewhere with a cuppa!

There is a handle above both rear doors that are well positioned for hanging a child's toy from to keep rear facing bubs amused.

There are three 12V sockets in the Pajero sport, great for a family day out to plug in the Esky.

There is no DVD player in the back of the seven seater Pajero Sport. There used to be one when it was a five-seater.

There are floor mats throughout the Pajero Sport.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was good to drive! It was nippy and accelerates fast for a large vehicle like this.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport comes with seven airbags as standard. Dual frontal airbags, front side airbags and drivers knee airbag and curtain airbags for all three row, but only in the GLS and Exceed versions. The bottom spec Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GLX has no third row curtain airbags?! WHAT?? Yes, you read that correctly! The cheapest version of this seven-seat, family SUV has no curtain airbags for the third row seats, so definitely a huge negative for a BabyDrive.

It's a strange concept when we most often put our children in the third row as they’re normally the smallest ones who will fit in there! You just have to pay more for the two high spec models, the GLS and Exceed, which both come with curtain airbags the full length of the vehicle.

Also in the Pajero Sport, the self-installation of top tether anchor points was a safety concern for me. If that safety anchor point in the vehicle is to hold my infant's seat in place in an accident, I was hoping that an expert installed that at the factory and someone double-checked it was done correctly! Not tired mother of five fitting it in around everything else in her day and hoping she got it right?! Or little old me who has no idea what a torque wrench or Newton Metres are?!

The Australian Child Restraint Resource Initiative (ACRI) issued a warning in November 2017 about the installation of top tether points in the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. The report said consumers should not use the top tether anchor points that come with your child seat in the Pajero Sport and that the bolt threads in them are different to the Mitsubishi ones and ONLY the Mitsubishi top tether anchor points are safe to use.

I wonder if the reason they are not installed is that they are easy to bang your head on when getting in and out of the rear row of seats and they really hurt! I can vouch for that!!

The Pajero Sport received a five-star ANCAP safety rating and overall scored 36.22 out of 37. 15.72/16 in the frontal offset test 16/16 in side impact test and 2/2 in the pole test. These results are based on the crash test results of the Triton Ute that has the same engine and chassis.

The GLS model we drove also comes with ABS brakes, electronic brake force distribution, stability control and traction control,  emergency brake assist,

There are seatbelt reminders for all the seats even the third row! And a lit illustration on the dashboard that tells you which seats are occupied and do or don’t have their seatbelt on!

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!