Lifestyle dwarf with unfine manners
This time the candidate of the used car check is the Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin 1.8 GDI from 2000. We know from experience: The tiny Italo-Japanese is chic, but also expensive and sometimes quite bitchy.
Oh, how sweet, the lady rejoices in rapture while the gentleman twists her eyes. Again and again the same reactions to Mitsubishi's off-road gnome, which was once dressed by Italy's star couturier. The Pajero Pinin, built by Pininfarina in Bairo Canavese near Turin, sold exactly 15,593 times in Germany from autumn 1999 to spring 2006: the ladies' choice in the off-road class - if you can believe the common clichés. However, this is not about his social degree and gender-specific gusto. But only about the question: What type of guy does one bring into the house with an aged Pinin according to rational criteria - friend or lout? First of all: He is expensive, the little one. The cheapest early works, which I track down within a wide radius, should all cost almost 10,000 euros. Except one who offers himself for 6980. Exactly this piece I dissect. As far as this is possible in the context of anonymity.
Runs always, but neither economical nor
carefree
To the model history of the Pinin. Almost simultaneously, the original versions 1.8 GDI (120 hp) and 2.0 GDI (129 hp) were launched, each with the pioneering achievement of gasoline direct injection. The latter: four doors, 4.04 meters long. The former: two doors, 3.74 meters short. Their replacement came in 2001 as the 1.8 MPI (114 hp) with a conventional mixture system and simplified all-wheel drive (central differential) without off-road reduction instead of the permanent solution that could be switched off. This was still offered by the 2.0 GDI, which continued to run unchanged. Except that both engines could be combined with both superstructure variants since then. What distinguishes all Pinin GDI: With their 4x4 technology, they are unrivaled within their generation and class. What doesn't make them stand out: the GDI engine. On the one hand, direct feeding is not as economical as hoped for, on the other hand, it often causes problems. This is presumably due to the alcohol compounds in Europe's petrol fuels. Fluctuating idling speed and bad partial load jerking is the results, the sooting of the combustion chambers is the terminal station. And that means: head down, decoking the inside of the machine - expensive fun. After all: Somehow it always runs. All versions, however, have one thing in common: the cuddly rust prevention, the complicated front axle adjustment (tires run off crookedly) and the short-lived and rather expensive exhaust system.
Consumption: never under nine, at full
throttle 16 liters per 100 km
No sunny pre-image to visit the apparently very favorable candidate, a 1.8 GDI. It stands at an independent dealer, is not prepared. Behind the impression of careless care, however, lies an almost scratch- and dent-free Pajero Pinin. The extensive test drive shows that everything works without any worries. Except for the leaky exhaust and the dancing idle - of course. Is the price negotiable? However, and upwards, as I learn. 6980 euros, that's the export rate. The little one only goes into domestic private hands with fresh HU/AU and a guarantee. Makes 7500 Euro smooth. The bold announcement, but parts of the exhaust system and rear tires (front new) must be calculated.
The history of the Pinin? "No idea", says the dealer, he has it from a VW partner. But I could call the previous owner - a fair gesture. The phone call results: The man bought the car as a three-month-old demonstration car and now gave it in payment for a new Golf. Idle jerking? "An unsolvable problem right from the start." Major damage? Absolutely: "With a count of 30,000 oil filters tight, piston seizure, completely new engine - Sch...-Carre", he moans. And by this, he also means consumption: Never under nine, at full throttle 16 liters to 100. I am not surprised - these are exactly our experiences. The only astonishing thing is that the Mitsubishi used to live on the North Sea island of Föhr and is still stainless.
Let's summarize: Pajero Pinin 1.8 GDI, almost 77,000 kilometers, the engine only 47,000, accident-free, fully equipped. If the defects are still repaired, it is a bargain for 7500 euros. Because according to our estimate the value is just under 9000 Euros. So a good buy - if it has to be a Pajero Pinin with GDI technology.
Used vehicle test report
If you want an older off-road dwarf with a permanent all-wheel drive, you can't get past the Pinin GDI, but you have to expect engine problems. If it should be such a type, our test specimen is a good (and favorable) choice. Is reduction gear unimportant? Then you go to the more carefree 1.8 MPI. Or the right to the Suzuki Grand Vitara.