Best SUV’s of the year: No surprises here

For the past two years the Toyota Fortuner has received accolades from several quarters as being the best sport utility vehicle of the year.

And rightly so, because it has a reliable engine and mechanics with very good off-roading capabilities. Also to be considered is its high sales volumes; even newer challengers such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer affected its sales but not drastically.

The problem with the sales figures is that most Fortuners being sold are 4×2 models. In other words they are used as city vehicles and seldom as off-road vehicles.

Comparing the Fortuner, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Chevrolet Trailblazer and Nissan Pathfinder, taking into consideration where the market is heading, and therefore testing automatic turbo diesel derivatives of the above models, revealed the winner as the Pajero Sport.

Its 2.5 Di-D turbo diesel (131 kW and 400Nm) comprehensively beat the Fortuner’s 120 kW and 343 Nm. It has five gears compared with the Toyota’s four. It has a tighter turning circle and a better laid-out interior and the Superselect 4×4 shows you to select 2H, 4H, 4H with closed centre diff or 4L with closed circuit diff. The Fortuner on the other hand is a part-time 4×4.

The Pajero’s handling is one of its strong points. Whether on tar or dirt it never puts a foot wrong. And on top of that the Pajero costs R435 900 (manual) and R445 900 (auto) compared with R471 700 and R483 900 for the equivalent Fortuner models.

But what about the Trailblazer turbo diesel? Yes, it provides a lot of oomph (132 kW and 470 Nm). But its lack of a diff lock and its 18-inch wheels are not ideal for serious off-roading, two requirements of many potential 4×4 buyers.

Make no mistake in most other respects it is an excellent vehicle. It is just that it does not match up to the Mitsubishi and the Toyota when it comes to serious off-roading.