Autocar India is reporting that the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport AT will be brought to the market in August, and that it has received official confirmation. Deliveries of the variant will begin in September. Mitsubishi announced in February that the Pajero Sport AT would be introduced in India by the end of the year, through CKD assembly at HM's plant in Tiruvallur, near Chennai.
Mitsubishi currently sells the Pajero Sport in one variant, with a five-speed manual gearbox.
The engine of the current Pajero, the 2.5-liter 16-valve intercooled turbocharged DOHC common rail, will be retained. The new transmission is expected to be a five-speed automatic. Paired to the manual gearbox, the four-cylinder engine delivers 178 PS @ 4,000 rpm and 400 Nm at 2,000 - 2,500 rpm.
The report adds that the clutchless Pajero would get a few aesthetic changes. Last year, the Pajero Sport was launched with an updated grille and front bumper along with new skid plates and a different alloy wheels. New cloth seat fabrics and a touchscreen system with navigation were the other inclusions. We believe these changes would be borne by the new variant.
A premium of 1.5 lakh rupees is expected on the automatic variant over the manual which is priced at INR 23.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). There's no short of competition for this variant as Hyundai's Santa Fe and Toyota's Fortuner come with automatic transmissions.
[Source - AutocarIndia.com]
