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Vehicle Tests > Commander vs Pajero vs Prado
Commander vs Pajero vs Prado
Issue: February 2007
Words by Glenn Torrens Photos by Thomas Wielecki
4WD road test - Commander v Pajero vs Prado
* Good ol' US-Japan rivalry
* Three of the best carmakers
* Grunty engines go for gold
Fight club
New kid Jeep Commander muscles in on the seven-seat 4WD market but Pajero and Prado may have a thing or two to say about that when school's out.
Take a rollcall of 4WDs that do double-duty as family cars as well as 'real' offroad work and Toyota's Prado and Mitsubishi's Pajero will most likely be top of the page. And deservedly so. Prado and Pajero have been competently combining the tasks of shifting Aussie families around the suburbs and into the bush for over 10 and 20 years respectively.
Both were recently revised for 2007. Prado has a new diesel engine and transmissions (see First Drive, page 20) and Pajero has a crisp new appearance as well as revised mechanicals. The Jeep Commander, the US brand's first attempt at muscling into the seven seater-family 4WD market, has now joined them in class. So, two Aussie family favourites being challenged by one of the most enduring names in 4WD history: Will it end with cheers or in tears?
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The basics
The Jeep is the oldest family name but the Commander is the new kid in this class. But it's not shy. With its brawn and smouldering attitude, straightaway it's the back-row tough kid, the one leaning back in its chair and raising teachers' eyebrows and begging the question: troublemaker or class clown? Launched mid-2006, Commander inherits most of its Grand Cherokee brother's uni-body DNA, plus its 4.7-litre V8, 5.7 HEMI V8 and (on test) 3.0-litre DOHC V6 turbodiesel engines. Commander, like Grand, uses a five-speed auto (hardware specific to each engine) with a sports shift mode delivering to Jeep's QuadraDrive II full-time 4WD system. This system employs electronically controlled centre, front and rear locking diffs overseen by traction, stability and anti rollover control with of course, ABS brakes. Suspension is by coil-sprung five-link live axle rear and coil-sprung front on upper and lower wishbones. Technically, the car is identical to the Grand up as far as the door handles and dashboard, including the spare wheel location (under the rear of the car) and lift-up tailgate.
Above the window line, the body flares out and squares itself up to a boxy wagon that seats seven and polarises opinion. The Chrysler brand's current design philosophy is one of funky urban innovation (as displayed in the king-hitting 300C executive sedan) but maybe what designers call 'styling influences' have been overdosed-on with the Jeep. Sure, a tough stance and character is not a bad thing, but deadset, the Commander looks like an artillery case. And fake allen key bolt heads inside the headlights, as well as scattered liberally over interior surfaces, is maybe taking things just a bit too far.
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Words by Glenn Torrens Photos by Thomas Wielecki
4WD road test - Commander v Pajero vs Prado
* Good ol' US-Japan rivalry
* Three of the best carmakers
* Grunty engines go for gold
Fight club
New kid Jeep Commander muscles in on the seven-seat 4WD market but Pajero and Prado may have a thing or two to say about that when school's out.
Take a rollcall of 4WDs that do double-duty as family cars as well as 'real' offroad work and Toyota's Prado and Mitsubishi's Pajero will most likely be top of the page. And deservedly so. Prado and Pajero have been competently combining the tasks of shifting Aussie families around the suburbs and into the bush for over 10 and 20 years respectively.
Both were recently revised for 2007. Prado has a new diesel engine and transmissions (see First Drive, page 20) and Pajero has a crisp new appearance as well as revised mechanicals. The Jeep Commander, the US brand's first attempt at muscling into the seven seater-family 4WD market, has now joined them in class. So, two Aussie family favourites being challenged by one of the most enduring names in 4WD history: Will it end with cheers or in tears?
read on below advertisement
The basics
The Jeep is the oldest family name but the Commander is the new kid in this class. But it's not shy. With its brawn and smouldering attitude, straightaway it's the back-row tough kid, the one leaning back in its chair and raising teachers' eyebrows and begging the question: troublemaker or class clown? Launched mid-2006, Commander inherits most of its Grand Cherokee brother's uni-body DNA, plus its 4.7-litre V8, 5.7 HEMI V8 and (on test) 3.0-litre DOHC V6 turbodiesel engines. Commander, like Grand, uses a five-speed auto (hardware specific to each engine) with a sports shift mode delivering to Jeep's QuadraDrive II full-time 4WD system. This system employs electronically controlled centre, front and rear locking diffs overseen by traction, stability and anti rollover control with of course, ABS brakes. Suspension is by coil-sprung five-link live axle rear and coil-sprung front on upper and lower wishbones. Technically, the car is identical to the Grand up as far as the door handles and dashboard, including the spare wheel location (under the rear of the car) and lift-up tailgate.
Above the window line, the body flares out and squares itself up to a boxy wagon that seats seven and polarises opinion. The Chrysler brand's current design philosophy is one of funky urban innovation (as displayed in the king-hitting 300C executive sedan) but maybe what designers call 'styling influences' have been overdosed-on with the Jeep. Sure, a tough stance and character is not a bad thing, but deadset, the Commander looks like an artillery case. And fake allen key bolt heads inside the headlights, as well as scattered liberally over interior surfaces, is maybe taking things just a bit too far.
next page »
