Paj EVO

[Myfeckin FTO]

Mate of mine just bought a Pajero EVO in Japan - should be here by Feb - hopefully in time for our rolling road day meet.

http://www.ibcjapan.co.jp/vehicles/Chec ... 5%AB%EA%9B

3.5litre V6 Mivec - Hmmm - 280BHP & 240Lb/FT torque.
Manual & steel silver - make a good companion for my Steel Silver GPX - It will look like the FTO's daddy!

What d ye think?

MfFTO

[CJ]

I always liked the Pajero Evo, a bit mean looking but not to everyones taste. I'd say the things horses into the petrol, not to mention the tax implications. If the suspension is anything like the standard SWB, I can't imagine the thing holding the road too well!

CJ

[Myfeckin FTO]

I always liked the Pajero Evo, a bit mean looking but not to everyones taste. I'd say the things horses into the petrol, not to mention the tax implications. If the suspension is anything like the standard SWB,
I can't imagine the thing holding the road too well!
CJ

Well it won't handle like an FTO but it has a wider track and far stiffer suspension than a standard Pajero - and from reviews I have read over the past few years in magazines it would put a few cars to shame.
It has massive road presence though - I saw a couple of these in the UK and a white one down here in Clare only 2 weeks ago - the kit is almost the same as used on the Paris - Dakar rally EVO's - don't believe a picture does it justice - it looks quite menacing in the flesh.

You're right about the fuel economy though - you will be lucky to average 18-20 MPG and tax on a 3.5litre will be steep. Then again I don't exactly get fantastic fuel economy on my GPX - probably 25MPG at best.
A Paj EVO will give a Manual GPX a good run for its money (0-60 circa 6secs for manual Paj Evo) - there are not many jeeps around that can compete with that. Imagine the fright you could give the boyracers in their Corsa's.

[Mustang]

Bit of a menacing beast. I think Kamikaze best describes it. A few years back, Drive (the Irish motoring program) drove one of these. One of their better reviews (Instead of their usual drive a crap car say it's great so as not to offend the Irish distrubutor, and risk having their supply of test cars cut off). As I recall you can switch the drive from 4WD to RWD. Basically the review consisted of loads of lairy RWD sideways drifting on forest tracks, very entertaining to watch.

If you can afford the running/ fuel costs, then why not. But 280bhp from a 3.5L mivec don't impress me much. Surely you could get more out of the engine???

[Myfeckin FTO]

....As I recall you can switch the drive from 4WD to RWD. Basically the review consisted of loads of lairy RWD sideways drifting on forest tracks, very entertaining to watch.

If you can afford the running/ fuel costs, then why not. But 280bhp from a 3.5L mivec don't impress me much. Surely you could get more out of the engine???

Yeah - You can leave it in 4WD or switch to RWD while moving (under 60mph) - I imagine it would get fairly hairy though if you drove hard with RWD rather than 4WD.

Mitsubishi claim 280bhp just as Nissan claim 280BHP for the 2.6 litre turbo skyline - all down to the manufacturers gentlemans agreement in Japan not to build cars with more than 280BHP. Thats not to say it hasn't actually got more than that - though I don't expect it to compete with a skyline for power (theres no way a skyline R34 GTR has only 280BHP even though thats the manufactures figure).
The Paj Evo's Mivec engine appartently responds well to normal modifications - filter/exhaust/manifold/ecu upgrade etc. In fact the UK Paj Evo club appartently use the FTO aftermarket filters (HKS/ITG etc) - would imagine the ECU upgrade would be quite similar as well. Its just a larger Mivec engine. Still goes like a bat-out-of-hell for a jeep as standard - 280BHP and 240lb/ft of torque will give you plenty of trills in a SWB Paj though calling this thing a Pajero is a bit like calling an EVO VI a lancer.

[Speedyboy]

It wouldnt be my cup of tea tbh, I'd rather run an proper EVO IV which id imagine wouldnt cost much more to run and a lot more fun/faster

If i had to run a jeep i think id buy a durty diesel, I couldnt hack 20mpg from a horsebox puller

[Myfeckin FTO]

It wouldnt be my cup of tea tbh, I'd rather run an proper EVO IV which id imagine wouldnt cost much more to run and a lot more fun/faster

If i had to run a jeep i think id buy a durty diesel, I couldnt hack 20mpg from a horsebox puller

Well -he's selling his Scooby at the moment - so he's already had the 4WD rally car fix - this is something a little different. It would probably be a little cheaper to run an EVO IV/V/VI than a Paj EVO but there is a big difference between a diesel PAJ and an EVO Paj - its a bit like saying I'd prefer a diesel lancer to an EVO VI.

The reason I drive an FTO is cause its different - good performance - good looker - and I'd wanted one from the day I saw it in magazines in 1994. Similar with the Paj EVO - a standard diesel version just wouldn't do it for me. If you want performance and presence and want to drive on the roads down here in the West - then a Paj EVO is a good choice - I tend to spend most of my time looking out for potholes,ridges,bad surfaces or sh1te on the road when driving the FTO - stuff you wouldn't have to worry about in a Paj Evo without having to compromise on performance.

The West of Ireland would be one of the few places where a Paj Evo would actually make sense - Far more than the UK (where most of the Paj Evo imports go) where petrol is much more expensive and roads are far better and more congested. And my mate will probably bring this in as a commercial, lowering the VRT rate and the yearly tax rate considerably. He will have paid less for a v good condition 98 Paj Evo (40K miles) than a standard Irish spec 98 Paj SWB diesel that has been pulling horseboxes and has had a hell of a lot more abuse. I know what I'd prefer

[Speedyboy]

tend to spend most of my time looking out for potholes,ridges,bad surfaces or sh1te on the road when driving the FTO

Im the same way but I know some of the lads in Galway use rally wheels and dont have and problem with bad roads

As an enthusiast the bang from your buck on a mud plugger like that is a disaster and the centre of gravity is too high to be driven fast safely. Did anyone see the overfinch range rover on top gear? Some stupid amount spent on making it fast but it was keeling like boat on every turn.

[Speedyboy]

On another note did he buy from IBC or use an Irish agent. How did he find them to deal with?

[Myfeckin FTO]

On another note did he buy from IBC or use an Irish agent. How did he find them to deal with?

Bought through IBC - so far so good - they downgraded it from a 4.5 to a 4.0 due to slight wear on the steering wheel and have been been open and honest with regard to pricing. Getting them to ship might be a different story though - I'd imagine it will be slower than my mate would like.

[Speedyboy]

Try get it sent on a direct sailing to Ireland bits can be pulled of the car if it stops along the way.

Im not 100% about their grading similar cars on www.showatrade.com seem to have a lower grade but i could easily be wrong

[PajEvo]

Hello there little brothers,

Well Big Brother made it safely to Irish shores, escaped the nasty tax man and is now road legal. So far so good anyway and she's a bit of a brute but in a very lovable way

IBC were excellent and I'd recommend them from usability of the website to having staff available 24*7 for answering questions. They even have an online chat thingy so you don't have huge phonebills to Japan, it also lets you record the conversation as a transcript is mailed to you if you want.

BTW if any of those boy racers start picking on you in the school yard, let big brother know and we'll sort them out

Later,
Ger.

[Speedyboy]

Congratulations !

escaped the nasty tax man

Tell us more !!!

[CJ]

Welcome PajEvo, and don't worry about us, we can look after ourselves with the boy racers

CJ

[Myfeckin FTO]

Got to drive the Paj Evo on the way back from Dublin - My jeep experience to date has been our families Isuzu Trooper and Toyota Landcruiser TurboDiesels - so this was a bit of a shock to the system - it felt strange been able to overtake my FTO and a line of cars so easily in a jeep. The 60-100 figure in 3rd gear (thats KMH Garda ) would give my Manual GPX a very good run for its money. As for road presence - watching the faces of the boyracers was comical and pulling in for petrol in Dublin was an event in itself - my trusty GPX didn't get a look in.

Ger - you'll have to get some decent pictures up.

I'll let you explain the VRT - talk about poxy!

[Kace]

Wait til you get the 22" rims on that PajEvo and as they say on PMR - it will be TIGHT !!!!