Since it was redesigned in 1992, the four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Montero has not been courting W-2 schlubs like myself.
Instead, it has become an upmarket sport utility aimed at people who diversify their stock holdings and subtract items like depreciation from their tax liabilities. To wit: The 1997 Montero LS starts at $29,290. The even saltier SR model opens at $36,460 and can be optioned out to well in excess of forty large.Recently, it finally dawned on the snorkelers in the Mitsubishi Think Tank that those kinds of window stickers are pricing the Montero out of the reach of a lot of us working stiffs and stiffettes.
So, the Japanese automaker has come up with a lower-priced 4wd model for 1997 called the Montero Sport LS.
The Sport LS starts at $23,970. The only Montero cheaper than that isn't really a sport utility as most of us understand them. It is a 2wd model with a teeny-weeny four-cylinder engine that isn't powerful enough to close the lid on its casket.
Of course, when you start loading the extras on the affordable Sport LS, it becomes significantly less affordable. The Montero Kmart model I tested did, indeed, have a starting price of $23,970. But its options raised the as-tested tag to a rather antithetical $30,271.
Mitsubishi created the Sport LS model, which is more than $5,000 cheaper than the LS, by taking a significant amount of content out of a regular LS. The Sport has a shorter standard-equipment list and replaces the LS' full-time/part-time 4wd with a cheaper part-time system. It also substitutes last year's 3-liter V-6 for the new 3.5-liter engine now employed in the regular LS and the SR.
The V-6 assigned to the Sport adds even more high drama to this year's Montero engine changes. Last year, Mitsubishi offered the Montero with two V-6s: the 3-liter, 177-horsepower engine used in the LS, and the 3.5-liter, 215-horsepower powerplant employed in the up-scale SR.
At the outset of the 1997 model year, the 3-liter engine was temporarily dropped, and the twin-cam, 3.5-liter V-6 was replaced by a "single-cam" version of that engine that develops 200 horses instead of 215. That new, cheaper 3.5-liter is now used in both the LS and RS.
The 3-liter V-6 was disinterred, however, for the recently released Sport LS model. This engine has 188 foot pounds of torque, which is 40 fewer than the 3.5 develops. That difference is significant, because a vehicle's torque, or pulling ability, is what matters most in real-world driving situations. It's torque that gets you off the dime and into the flow of expressway traffic.
While it doesn't have the 3.5's testosterone levels, the 3-liter does not leave the Sport LS underpowered. The test vehicle moved out decently, even though it was saddled with an automatic transmission and a corpulent 4,400-pound curb weight.
As it turned out, the Sport's ride was a lot more exceptional than its power supply. This is, in fact, a very nice-riding sport utility. When you team up that ride with supportive seats and a relatively low level of cabin cacophony, you have an unusually comfortable sport utility.
The Sport LS also handles and brakes competently. Visibility is first-rate, as is instrument and control layout. The roomy interior is attractive as well as ergonomically sound. I particularly liked the nubby, tweedy upholstery in the tester, which belied the fact that Mitsubishi has had to cut some corners to bring the Sport LS in at this price.
The Sport LS' part-time 4wd isn't nearly as fancy as the system in the LS and SR, but it serves the vehicle well off-road.
What doesn't serve the Sport LS well off-road are the optional tubular running boards I found on the tester. These things became the lowest point on the vehicle - and hung it up on a log I was attempting to traverse.
You can argue, of course, that these things are useful to short people like my wife - and that reduced ground clearance doesn't really matter because so few people take sport utilities off road.
But being an off-road purist, I think these impediments should be replaced with a sign that says: "Too short? Too bad."i Montero Sport LS
Base vehicle: Full/part-time 4wd, 3-liter engine, four-speed automatic transmission, power steering, power disc brakes, 15-inch steel wheels, P225/75R15 mud/snow tires, full-size spare, dual air bags, skid plates, stainless-steel exhaust system, stereo/cas-sette, power antenna, overhead con-sole with digital clock, variable intermittent wipers, split-fold rear seats, tilt steering, visor vanity mirrors, rear wiper/washer/de-frost-er, tinted rear glass.
Test model: Antilock braking system, air conditioning, alloy wheels, P265/70R15 mud/snow tires, chrome grille accent, fender flares, running boards, upgraded sound system, power sunroof, cargo net, power windows, doors and outside mirrors, cruise control, floor mats, roof rack, wheel locks.
Base price: $23,970
Test model: $30,271
EPA city rating: 18
Test mileage: 12.1
Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper, five years/60,000 miles on powertrain, and three years/36,000 miles on electronics.