The Mitsubishi Montero Sport has enjoyed a long reputation of toughness and great off-road skills on any terrain. This is true--particularly if you choose the 4WD variant. Couple it with good on-road manners and more comfortable and luxurious interiors, and it reveals a softer side that adds a gentler aspect to its one-dimensional ruggedness.
It's this versatility that has made it one of the most popular mid-sized SUVs in the country today.
The Montero Sport 2018 comes in many variants: Its 2-wheel Drive (2WD) has GLS Premium A/T, GLS eight-speed A/T, and GLX six-speed M/T variants. Meanwhile, its 4-wheel drive (4WD) offers GT eight-speed A/T and GLS six-speed M/T variants. Both come at 4,785 mm (L) x 1815 mm (W) x 1,805 mm (H). They have the same 218 mm ground clearance. This SUV can tackle extreme floods very well, enough to wade in flood depths that measure 700 mm--thrice its ground clearance--without any problems. Under the hood of the Montero Sport is a first-of-its-kind Euro-4 compliant 2.4-liter four-cylinder Clean Diesel engine. Its Mitsubishi Innovative Valve Timing Electronic Control System (MIVEC) helps you drive it with low exhaust emissions and fuel consumption coupled with a high power output. Its maximum power stands at 179 hp @ 430 Nm of torque.
The 2018 Montero Sport now comes with a redesigned front fascia, incorporating the Dynamic Shield grille that's now the standard design for all upcoming Mitsubishi models. The chrome lines surrounding the air intakes give it a more futuristic and modern appeal. There's a sense of dynamism here, just by looking at its sleek LED head and tail lights. And speaking of LED headlights, it's worth noting that they're much brighter and whiter compared to the previous generation. This increases nighttime visibility very well.
The Montero Sport has an elegant interior, and with those minute stitches on the seats, even give it an air of luxury as well. Here's one thing we really like about the Montero Sport: its front seats. They're very comfortable, and if you use the electronic adjustment located on both sides, can make it ergonomic and supportive to your back as well. What's more, the rounded shoulder, plus the multi-layer cushioning seats are extremely comfortable and conducive for long trips to the province. This seven-seater offers enough space, but they become significantly smaller the farther you go back. You can feel this vaguely on the second row, but once you go to the third row, then you'd wish you were shorter in height. The problem may be the floor--which is higher--thus making you sit with your knees bent at an unfavorable angle (the taller you get). Both the 2WD and 4WD offer an Instrument Cluster, a multi-information display, and a standard 2-Din Single In-dash audio system.
The Montero Sport has been very generous in providing its passengers a comfortable driving experience. It comes with standard DVD, MP3, WMA, and MPEG4 player/Tuner/iPod compatibility with Aux-In and USB port/Bluetooth connectivity. The side mirrors can automatically be folded with a touch of a button--even when it's locked from the outside. Storage is ample--but not impressive for us to give it a perfect 10. At the very least, we'll settle for a six here, since utilitarian space is quite lacking. If you have many knick-knacks around, we'd suggest you bring in your own personal organizer inside. That solves the problem of not having enough space to keep things organized and neat inside.
The third row can actually be folded flat to make the cargo room at the back humongous. Still, we'd like to warn you that it's not like another brand's magic seats here, so forget one-push buttons, here. In fact, pray that the air conditioner is working well, since you're probably going to sweat a bit just getting them all folded up and flat as a pancake.
The Montero Sport 2018 has excellent safety features--especially its 4WD variants. They come with seven airbags and seatbelts, Active Stability and Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, Trailer Stability Assist, Anti-Lock Braking System, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Brake Assist, Brake Override System, Reverse Sensors, Reverse Camera, ISOFIX, and Tether Anchors. Meanwhile, its 2WD variant have six airbags for passenger and driver, seatbelts for all rows, Anti-Lock Braking System, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Reverse Camera, ISOFIX, and Tether Anchors.
What we like about this SUV is that it looks like a tough, aggressive SUV, but drives like a quiet sedan. There's minimal noise when driven in slow to average speeds in the highway, although its huge size and active steering can be a challenge when you're making a tight turn in limited spaces. There are also times when it drives and handles like a truck when driven fast on paved roads, so go easy on the accelerator from time to time.
Here's a tip: Get the 2WD if you're the type of person who likes to use it more for work, short travels, or leisure. If you're more of the adventurous type, then go with the 4WD that offers four drive settings and four differential terrain controls (or modes). These controls add a more versatile driving experience. For instance, you can choose the 2H drive setting for daily commutes. The 4H setting is for added traction when driving on slippery roads; 4HLc is for rugged terrain and better off-road experience; and 4LLc is for extreme ruggedness and difficult terrain.
Fuel efficiency is above average. It registers around 6-9 km/L for city driving and you can even push it to 17 km/L for 90 kph highway driving.
The 2018 Mitsubishi Montero Sport lives true to its name. Sporty, aggressive, strong, versatile, and indomitable, its resilience is legendary, despite the controversies it faced in recent years--like the Sudden Unintended Acceleration (SUA) incident it faced in 2015. (By the way, you can still avail of their free inspection here).
Indeed, its name precedes its reputation extremely well. There's a reason why the Montero Sport was the second best-selling SUV in 2017, you know.
Updated on August 7, 2020 by Gail Alcabaza
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