23 June 2001: Mitusbishi Motor Corporation has strongly refuted a claim by the US-based Consumer Reports magazine that its 2001 Montero Limited SUV (Pajero in this market) has a 'non acceptable' rating in rollover tests.

The magazine is published by the Consumers Union and has only previously given such a rating twice - to the Suzuki Samurai in 1988 and the Isuzu Trooper in 1996. This latest claim has been already rubbished by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's US operation, which claims the test - which tipped the Montero on two wheels during an emergency avoidance maneuvre at the same speed in nine out of ten runs - is 'unrealistic'.

The company said it had no record of rollover accidents involving the vehicle and that independent tests had proved the vehicle to be safe. Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America said the tests do not depict a maneuver that would be needed by drivers in a real-world setting and called the CU test a 'staged' rollover.

But Consumers Union said their tests raised a serious safety risk to vehicle owners. The organisation said that on the same day, on the same course with the same drivers, it had tested six other similarly-sized SUVs and none of them exhibited any problems with tip-ups.

The safety rating does not apply to the more popular Montero Sport, which Consumer Reports tested using the same emergency avoidance-maneuver test and it passed, although the magazine said the Montero Sport has been redesigned since that earlier test and it could not comment on the safety or chance of a rollover in the current models. The current third generation model of the Montero was introduced in 1999, but the LWB Pajero Sport sold in Ireland (above) is still based on the second generation vehicle.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has raised doubts about Consumer Reports' testing in the past, saying the results were 'unscientific and could be influenced by the driver'. But the NHTSA has itself only awarded the Monetro Sport two stars in rollover resistance out of a possible five. It has not yet rated the 2001 Montero Limited, but Consumer Reports said Mitsubishi had told them it would get three out of five stars, similar to many other SUVs.

Isuzu sued Consumer Reports in 1997 over its rating for the Trooper. While a jury found the magazine had made some false statements, it did not award any damages to the carmaker. Suzuki Motor also sued the magazine but that lawsuit was dismissed.

DaimlerChrysler has had a controlling 34% stake Mitsubishi since last year. The company has had to deal with a scandal over hiding customer complaints from Japan's Transport Ministry over a 20 year period. This led to the recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles and the resignation of the company's president. BB