Remember the Great SUV Boom? I mean old-school Body-On-Frame SUVs, that were mostly just a truck with a longer body. Yes, there’s still a few around, but they’re mostly on the fringes now. But back in the 1980s and 1990s and into the 00’s, these were the hot number. Most of all the Explorer, S10-Blazer, Jeep Cherokee, Bronco II, and a raft of Japanese brand trucks. And some of them are starting to get a bit uncommon on the streets, like this Montero Sport. So we’d better document it before they’re all gone. And forgotten, as this is not exactly a highly memorable vehicle.
We’ve had a very thorough CC on the original Montero (Pajero), which graced us from 1983 to 1991. It was one of the pioneers of the genre, beating the Cherokee and other American compact SUVs to the market. Originally only as a short wheelbase two-door, it was joined later. by a larger four door. It was a success for Mitsubishi. In 1991, it was replaced by the gen2 version, similar but with the edges rounded off, in the spirit of the times. Sales started to trail off.
In 2001, Mitsubishi went upscale with the Montero/Pajero, featuring a unibody construction to improve rigidity and ride quality, and a new 3.8 L 24 valve V6 engine. Its sales continued to be quite modest in the US, and it was withdrawn from the market in 2006. Its ambitious pricing opened the door for a lower-tier SUV: enter the Montero Sport.
The Montero (Pajero) Sport was heavily based on the third generation Triton pickup (K50/60/70). And also on the gen2 Montero, sharing its wheelbase and suspension. In essence, it was a cheaper gen2 Montero, with a lower profile body shared with the pickup. And built in anticipation of the much more expensive gen3 Montero arriving within a few years.
It arrived hereabouts in 1997, making this one a first-year model.
Front suspension was IFS with torsion bars. Rear suspension started out as leaf springs, but in 2000, the rear suspension was upgraded to a coil spring setup. This one clearly has a V6, which was the venerable 3.0 L unit, and was teamed with a four speed automatic. The lowest cost ES model had a 2.4 L four and 5-speed stick. In 1999, a new high-end Limited arrived, with the larger 3.5 L V6.
Along with the coil spring rear end, in 2000, the four cylinder went away, at least in the US. Outside the US, several diesel engines were available. Further refinements came along in 2002, with a new full-time AWD system. And in its last year, 2004, the 3.5 V6 was the only engine.
(sorry about the bad focus) The Montero Sport went on to have a long life in various parts of Asia, and was built until 2008, including local production in China. An evergreen.
The interior is about as typical or generic as it gets from this era: a sea of gray vinyl and fabric. Or is it that brownish tint? I can’t tell for sure.
This Montero Sport was the subject of a CC Clue back in October. I rarely do them anymore, because you all are way too good, and they’re usually identified in minutes. But this one was a bit harder than average, and it took a whopping nine hours before Dave got it. Congratulations.
I’m not exactly inspired to go on about this truck for great lengths. These were typical Mitsubishis trucks: tough and in this case, more than a bit on the crude side, But quite effective. And I rather miss these simple Mini-Travelalls.
Despite the wheel flares, it looks quite sleek from the side after the last decade of wacko styling, but why didn’t they continue the chrome trim to the third window (and the windshield)? Too wagony?
There is no chrome, not intentionally at least. You are seeing the black flaking or wearing off the metal trim. When new that was all black.
The Montero is an oddity and I think more should have been sold.
Not sure why there’s a picture of a Chevy truck interior there… what did I miss?
I was shooting the pickup interior and the Montero photobombed it from across the street. It made for a difficult Clue.
Totally forgettable…or are they? I have a new respect for these after watching a few videos by Andrew Camarata where he beats the ever loving crap out of his Montero Sport in upstate NY and it keeps comping back for more, Apparently the chassis and suspension are pretty beefy
They’re definitely underrated rigs in the US. Very beefy drivetrains. I consider them to be about 85% of a 3rd gen 4Runner quality/capability wise for 50% (or less) of the price.
I owned one, literally for an *hour* about 6 years ago.
A coworker had one with 200k+ miles, a busted-out window, and so many codes it wasn’t ever going to pass smog. I offered him $200.
He and his wife dropped the thing off at my house. I took out the really good bottle jack that came in this, waited for them to drive out of sight, and drove it to the junkyard, where they gave me $400.
I’m a horrible person.
I’ve always wondered if it wasn’t the other way around: that the L200/Triton was developed from the Montero Sport. Or that both were designed together from the very beginning. If you look carefully, you can see that the Triton has a raised roof between the roof rails, to gain a few millimeters of cabin height (most welcome in the back seat. To me, it looks somewhat improvised, and have always wondered if there is a story behind that. At least here in Chile, the Montero Sport was sold unchanged until 2011, and IIRC was built in Thailand. After that, a second generation came. Now we are in the third gen, all very closely related to the current Tritons/L200s
I like the tall stance of these old BOF SUVs, along with their flaired fenders, tall sidewalls complete with the matching spare on the tailgate. That look is what I always assumed was the mass appeal of the things, that’s what I liked about them anyway, but all those rugged vestiges disappeared in the great crossover epoch, so I’m just baffled.
I always imagined the Montero sport was what was parodied in Grand Theft Auto III as the Miabatsu Monstrosity. There were some funny ads I remember on the in-game radio stations.
I love GTA parodies of real vehicles. My personal favorite is the Moonbeam which is a spoof of the Chevy Astro.
I think a lot of people went for exactly what you describe and then after one or perhaps two of those decided that they liked sitting up high, but not so much the limitations that are strengths when used as designed, i.e. offroad but not necessarily in normal life as well as the generally poor gas mileage. However the Crossover offered the good (seating position, convenience of the hatch) while in the meantime often handling similar or better and now delivering as good or better gas mileage as whatever (sedan most likely) was traded in for that first SUV back in the day, never mind that the equivalent sedan in the meantime does even better in that regard.
The Explorer is in my mind perhaps the poster child example of that within the same nameplate over time. Highly popular first, second, and third generations, then sort of withered for the fourth as the Crossover market really hit its stride, then a second coming as a 5th gen large FWD-based Crossover which it could have stayed as and still remained popular. The jury is still out on whether the RWD current one will do as well over time, 2020 did quite well even though it seemed an early intro with some troubles.
Jeep Cherokee is aunit body so as Nissan Pathfinder in 1990s. In Central NJ I still see Mentero Sport running around, but strangely suddenly in the last few years the third generation of Mentero was not seen, maybe owners give up them because of part and repair costs. And I don’t recall when it was last time I saw a first and second generation of Mentero, they were all gone too. Three body on frame SUVs are missed here — Land Cruiser, Trooper and ML. They all are very good all terrain vehicles with proper tires. Land Cruiser is the best but most expensive. My ML350 served me well for 14 years until I sold it last November. I witnessed one time ML with regular tires got out the ditch in a farm with fan fair. In my opinion, ML is not as bad as most people tend to believe. Actually the most forgotten Mitsu SUV is its car based 3-row Endeavor, any one recall its existence?
My Aunt an Uncle had a white one they put many miles on. They called it “the jeep”. I think they eventually donated it to some charity.
Where I live the the Toyota 4runner is a very common sight both new and old. Makes me wonder why this particular BOF SUV has such staying power and popularity. What makes it so special?
My brother-in-law had one he bought from Carmax in used condition with a few 10s of thousands of miles on it. Commuted in it and towed his fiberglass fishing boat, took it up 200,000 or so with nothing more than oil changes. Eventually something “blew up” (his words, he’s not a car guy.)
Replaced it with a leased Tacoma 4×4 because by that point he had a job where he could write off part of the lease as a business expense.
Lots of these in Oz, 90% Tdi, sold as the Challenger. Second-gen, below, is handsome, to my eyes, and the third is not bad either, in the Modern Angry idiom. Many retiree owners bought one to hitch to a caravan for their Lap of Australia retirement trip. (The Grey Nomads, they’re called).
Toyotas are the holy grail for the Nomads (and mandatory for anyone who actually lives outback), but are priced accordingly. Years ago, head of Toyota Aus once made it clear how happy they were to take advantage of their status when he was being asked why Toyota made so much optional and expensive: “”Mate, if we could charge for putting more air in the tyres, we would”. So a similar vehicle to the small Landcruiser, the Prado, but 30% less, sold well, and does still (under Pajero Sport moniker).
They have an issue, though. The roof isn’t as high as a Montero-proper, as it is based entirely on the full-chassis Triton ute, meaning the seats are quite low to the floor. Neither as roomy or comfortable as they look.
Oops, that’s 3rd-gen above, second is here.
My brother just had an incredibly clean ’98 (AZ truck) in his shop for a low power issue. Got to spend some time around it as he was finishing up work on it (crank gear had shifted on the crank snout, timing belt/oil seals/plugs/etc). 191k and this thing looks (and now drives) like new. Beautiful forest green over sandy grey, this one had a cloth interior and the somewhat rare and desirable locking rear diff option. Love the styling on these, very “butch” but in an honest and attractive way. Like a stocky bulldog with its fat tires on 15 inch wheels, minimal front overhang, rear tire carrier.
In a direct comparison to my ’96 4Runner Limited, the Montero feels just a bit tighter in terms of legroom and with a smaller trunk, rides a bit rougher (torsion bar and leaf springs versus a-arms and 4 link coils), steers vaguer (recirculating ball versus rack and pinion), and the 3.0L is a good bit wheezier than the Toyota 3.4L, in midrange torque especially (173hp/188 tq to 183hp/217tq). The later upgrade to the 3.5L and 5spd auto really woke these Monteros up I think. So it’s about 80% of a 3rd gen 4Runner, but looking at how crazy old Toyota prices have gotten (I sold my ’96 for $7700, or $1500 more than I paid 7 years and 50k miles ago), the Monteros go for about half.