1. Overview
2. Gallery
   • Photo Gallery (29)
   • 360° View
   • Video
   • Web Videos (29)
3. Trims and Specs
   • Select a Trim (2)
4. More Resources
   • Related News (0)
   • Other Expert Reviews (9)
   • Consumer Opinions (253)
   • Car Tweets
   • Q&A (11)
5. Next Steps
   • Get Mitsubishi Insurance Quotes
   • Get Mitsubishi Financing Quotes
   • Check Local Classifieds
   • Find a local dealer

     Select State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Select City
     

     See all Mitsubishi dealers

April 3, 2008 http://www.thecarconnection.com/fullreview/mitsubishi_montero_2001

  Marc K. Stengel
EditorMarc K. Stengel

"What does it take?" had to be the question of the hour for Mitsubishi executives on the eve of the 2001 Montero's April debut. This stalwart amongst full-size sport-utility vehicles boasts an 18-year track record, a trophy case full of off-road competition honors (particularly for its near domination of the famed Paris-Dakar Rally), and a sales surge in 1999 of almost 25 percent.

But those sales totaled a mere 5,115 last year, scarcely two-thirds of the results for rarefied Range Rovers costing twice as much. Amongst full-size SUVs—in a market characterized by almost irrational, indiscriminate demand for these hulking brutes—the Montero is pointedly off the pace. It can scale the dunes of Mauritania's Trarza wastelands; it just can't seem to find its way into yuppie garages North America. No wonder, then, that Mitsu is one of the early announcers of a new vehicle for the 2001 model year. Starting afresh with a nearly blank sheet of paper, Mitsubishi has unveiled a brand-new Montero that gives nothing away in the technical capabilities department while nevertheless looking for love in all the right places. Gilt with such marketing slogans as "rugged yet refined," "toughness with style," and even "brutiful," the 2001 Montero is determined to transform itself into a status buy.

I can tell you a thing or two, by the way, about the new Montero's Scamper Factor: In the unforgiving arroyos and sierras of the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Ariz., Mitsubishi recently turned loose a gaggle of auto writers in their new Monteros. For starters, I drove an "entry level" XLS model (base: $30,997) through a variety of highway and unpaved conditions. But it was in a fully equipped Limited version (base: $34,997) that I tackled the most technically demanding scramble up and down a mountainside at walking speeds and often with only three wheels on the ground.

"What does it take?" had to be the question of the hour for Mitsubishi executives on the eve of the 2001 Montero's April debut. This stalwart amongst full-size sport-utility vehicles boasts an 18-year track record, a trophy case full of off-road competition honors (particularly for its near domination of the famed Paris-Dakar Rally), and a sales surge in 1999 of almost 25 percent. But those sales totaled a mere 5,115 last year, scarcely two-thirds of the results for rarefied Range Rovers costing twice as much. Amongst full-size SUVs—in a market characterized by almost irrational, indiscriminate demand for these hulking brutes—the Montero is pointedly off the pace. It can scale the dunes of Mauritania's Trarza wastelands; it just can't seem to find its way into yuppie garages North America. No wonder, then, that Mitsu is one of the early announcers of a new vehicle for the 2001 model year. Starting afresh with a nearly blank sheet of paper, Mitsubishi has unveiled a brand-new Montero that gives nothing away in the technical capabilities department while nevertheless looking for love in all the right places. Gilt with such marketing slogans as "rugged yet refined," "toughness with style," and even "brutiful," the 2001 Montero is determined to transform itself into a status buy. I can tell you a thing or two, by the way, about the new Montero's Scamper Factor: In the unforgiving arroyos and sierras of the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Ariz., Mitsubishi recently turned loose a gaggle of auto writers in their new Monteros. For starters, I drove an "entry level" XLS model (base: $30,997) through a variety of highway and unpaved conditions. But it was in a fully equipped Limited version (base: $34,997) that I tackled the most technically demanding scramble up and down a mountainside at walking speeds and often with only three wheels on the ground. "What does it take?" had to be the question of the hour for Mitsubishi executives on the eve of the 2001 Montero's April debut. This stalwart amongst full-size sport-utility vehicles boasts an 18-year track record, a trophy case full of off-road competition honors (particularly for ...