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Mitsubishi Montero Sport vs Toyota Fortuner

October 07, 2009
Good day, sir!

I'm a great fan of Top Gear Philippines! It's awesome! I have all the issues from 2007.

Anyway, my family is going to buy a new car in December and we're stuck in deciding what car to choose between a Toyota Fortuner 2.5D and a Mitsubishi Montero Sport 2.5D. We're choosing a 4x2 because we don't think we need a 4x4. Personally, I like the Fortuner solely because of the looks. I was able to convince my dad to buy a Fortuner but I came across a site where I found out D4D engines can never be trusted because they stall unpredictably. They also have a choking problem. Different sites said D4D has a problem with the fuel supply pump. We don't want to spend money on something that will keep us worrying every time we use it. I also read from the site of the Fortuner Club of the Philippines that the Fortuner of one member stalled while overtaking on a highway going to Baguio. That's very dangerous and disappointing. I was really, really turned off when I learned about this. Also, the Fortuner has a very bumpy ride as compared to the Montero Sport. Although the Montero has winning specs, I love the looks of the Fortuner so much.

I need your expert advice. I hope that you reply soon.

All the best,

Luigi

Hi Luigi!

Glad to hear from you!

Both SUVs are great. If you ended up with either of them, you'll be very happy indeed.

Regarding the Fortuner's diesel fuel problems, I believe a lot of it is exaggerated. I own a 3.0 D4-D Hilux AWD and I have never had a problem with it (knock on wood!). What's crucial is for you to fill up in a clean gasoline forecourt/station that always stocks new diesel and does not get flooded. The D4-D/CRDI system of Toyota definitely does not take much abuse from poor diesel fuel quality so prevention of getting bad diesel into the engine is key.

Another thing is to make sure that you religiously follow Toyota's scheduled maintenance service of 5,000 kilometers even when using fully-synthetic oil. It's quite costly as each service costs me about P8,000 for almost seven liters of oil, filters and some cleaning chemicals that the dealership uses but my Hilux has never missed a beat after having covered almost 80,000 kilometers in four years.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the 2.5 D4-D engine because it is, in my own opinion, pitifully weak, and is nothing compared to the Toyota Fortuner 3.0 D4-D variant.

Now the Montero Sport 2.5 however is a real bargain. Spec for spec, value-for-money, performance-wise, it is hard to beat the Montero Sport! This is one fast SUV. When you're wondering if you really need a Montero Sport 3.2, just get inside and you'll see where your extra money was spent on.

The Fortuner does look classier inside, uses better quality plastics and has better headroom than the Montero, but in my opinion is not worth the stiff premium they are asking compared to the Montero Sport.

Good luck!

Botchi Santos


Lost in a sea of cars and not quite sure which one to get? Click here to email your car query so Botchi can help you pick the right vehicle!
 
Tags: Toyota, Mitsubishi, SUV, Toyota Philippines, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Philippines, Mitsubishi Montero Sport, 4x4, 4x2

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COMMENTS

  • rybaxs says based on the Topgear Buyer's guide, Mitsubishi Montero Sport 2.5D is more than 32HP, longer wheelbase and the price is lesser than the Fortuner. I just wonder about DI-D(Direct Injection Diesel) and D-4D (Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Common Rail Diesel Engine), what's the difference with these two engines? (October 07, 2009 12:04:09 pm)
  • daryl clark y.ybañez says good day! yes,luigi.you're right d4d engines really have a big problem with fuel supply pump.i encountered this problem with my hi-ace commuter and innova.and the price for fuel supply pump'hmm 69,925.00php ouch! even if you have the money,you'll wait at least 2 weeks before the sparepart will arrive.i'm wondering why toyota don't have a stock with commonly replaced spareparts.here's the problem lists i,ve encountered with my commuter:alternator bearing(very common),blower fans(radiator & back/inside),gear shift cable,shock absorbers,& many more i just don't know their part/s name. (October 07, 2009 01:24:18 pm)
  • Kurt says How about comparing the Fortuner 3.0 with the Montero Sport 3.2? Also, I have asked the Casa if the Fortuner 3.0 will run on Bio Diesel and they don't know. Does anyone know? My wife and I are looking for between these 2 models. We want something that is reliable,etc.. And also, comfort is important and for it to be very roomy. Any suggestion on which would be the best? To me its a very close decision. We are also, looking to buy around Jan/Feb. Thank u for your help. (October 07, 2009 04:04:06 pm)
  • TUNDRAG says 1.Fort is an old model compare to the recently launched Monty. 2.Diese engine- Though Toyota is known for its reliability, Mitsu 4D56 /4M41 has the advantage over the D4D for durabilty / longevity. 3. Monty has comfy ride compare to the Fort trucky ride. Better TEST DRIVE for you to decide. (October 07, 2009 06:54:42 pm)
  • Luigi says Hi! thanks for the great advice! Because of your advice, my dad is now considering a chevy captiva or montero 2.5. I know they don't belong to the same class but the they have almost the same price. One advantage of Chevy is its fuel consumption. Moreover, the torque is 320NM while the hp is 150ps. The engine spec is greater than the 2.5DiD, which has 314NM for torque and 134ps for hp. Also, they offered 50k worth of discount. That's huge for us! However, I read from a site that it's quite slow. How come it's slow when it has greater engine specs than the montero? any comment on this. Your comment is very crucial as my family can't decide which one to choose. (October 08, 2009 12:54:25 am)
  • John Martin Balinghasay says hi luigi, you said you are looking for a "car" and not a truck and you only need two drive wheels and you like a car pleasing to the eyes; so IMHO i dont think you need a Montero sport, if you are looking at a korean product like the captiva, i would suggest you take a good look at the hyundai santa fe which had better reviews than the captiva. and I would not buy a car from a manufacturer who just went bankrupt and is now trying to revive itself whereas hyundai has been the ONLY manufacturer which has significantly improved over the past 10 years. . . (October 08, 2009 08:36:45 am)
  • jameski says First, forget about the 2.5 Fortuner. Second, you wont regret getting the 2.5 Montero Sport. Captiva is a nice choice. In fact, it has good reviews, even won in the C! magazine compact SUV award. But it's Chevy & the plastics are bad inside. And it will have a low resale value compare to the two. If I were you, just get the top of the line Mitsubishi Strada 3.2. Has better interior than the 2.5 Montero & is fuel efficient too. And it costs less. They are now selling the facelifter 2010 model which looks more attractive. (October 08, 2009 11:06:26 am)
  • heav says Go ahead with the CAPTIVAting SUV. It has durable VM Motori diesel than Mitsu & Toyota. The Captiva SUV, made by the American company Chevrolet, is fitted with a common rail diesel engine designed by VM Motori and produced, under license, by General Motors Daewoo Auto & Technology (GMDAT) at its plant in Gunsan, Korea. This engine has a power output of 150 CV @ 4000 rpm, and a max torque of 310 Nm @ 2000 rpm. These excellent values are achieved at low speed; perfect conditions for a Sport Utility Vehicle. Combined fuel consumption is 7.6L/100 Km. (October 08, 2009 11:23:35 am)
  • Luigi says Thanks! hahaha sante fe is really out of the budget :( I want the montero but I don't see the point of having a very vehicle since it's only my mom and I who'll use it. My father and other siblings are not in the country. I love the montero 3.2 but it's too expensive:( (October 08, 2009 09:14:09 pm)
  • raphael says don't worry about the fuel supply of the fortuner. it was already corrected by toyota. the fuel supply of the fortuner today is was already changed. (October 08, 2009 09:41:18 pm)
  • Luigi says what about the engine of captiva? It's kinda intriguing because it produces more power than the montero 2.5Di-D. (October 09, 2009 02:19:19 am)
  • Nestor says The Fortuner still looks good compared to the Montero.... (October 09, 2009 05:15:00 pm)
  • evilwez says hi! i owned a 2009 fortuner.. and i can say that all the problems you all mentioned was now improved by toyota.. except for the bumpy ride..=) and for luigi, try to take a look on Honda Showrooms for CRv or for ford, the new everest.. =) (October 10, 2009 08:44:16 am)
  • Roland says Toyota D4D engine sucks, i had change the fuel supply pump of my hilux 3 times, all under warranty. but the time i have to wait for my unit to be used again is a torture. it really stalled even toyota people checked the fuel if it is contaminated with foreign particles, it appears that fuel i am using at the time the unit stalled were perfectly clean. for the price i paid for the unit i am totally dissatisfied. not to mention the risk of having an accident every time you overtake. (October 10, 2009 09:08:19 am)
  • pine says i strongly agree to j.m. balinghasay. the SANTA FE CRDI seems to be in the limelight but its sumthng you should consider. if its good looks, powerful engine you are looking for, the sta. fe is the real deal. 2.2CRDi STA.FE vs. 2.5FORTUNER vs. 2.5MONTERO. A test drive will ease ur mind. forget the captiva. (October 10, 2009 12:12:20 pm)
  • ramon roque says I suggest that you neither take Fortuner or Montero but instead, get one of the new FORD EVEREST, spacious, durable and very quiet inside. (October 10, 2009 12:15:29 pm)
  • ninoy says go 4 mitsu montero 3.2 gls sport edition (October 10, 2009 04:52:06 pm)
  • evilwez says one thing na auko sa montero is their aircon.. tsktsk.. walang airon sa gitna tapos s likod nsa gilid lng.. kng pang family use xa kawawa ang mga nsa likod lalo n pag nabilad sa araw ang sasakyan.. and yeah, mukha ngang ok ang hyundai, pero totoo bng gapang ang mga hyundai especially the starex pag sa mga paakyat lalo na sa baguio..?? (October 10, 2009 06:59:37 pm)
  • Babylyn says I second the motion with Pine, Luigi....forget about the captiva (Chevrolet, for that matter) I had my Chevy ***** sold for poor gas consumption and trust me, the original panel was replaced in less than a year coz it was reading miles and not kilometer, duh! My poor bebe stayed more in casa than in my OWN CASA.Resale value sucks! (October 11, 2009 09:22:05 am)
  • spike says You're doing great luigi, collect advise then sellect, if you haven't been on this site, *****.com, try to visit it, very informative, then click on ''the car chart'' (October 12, 2009 06:16:05 am)
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