Hey there... does anyone own a Isuzu Mux, Pajero or Pajero Sport? Looking to purchase in about a month or so and starting to do my homework now. Basically need a 7 seat 4wd. It will hopefully be a 10 year car and will be hopefully used to to a lot of travelling and moddest off-roading.. The 6/7th seats will get used about once a week with little kids around town.
I've ruled out the Everest and Fortuner for price, the Holden Trailblazer for after sales service/parts, Ssangyong Rexton due to it being new and the airbags dont cover the 3rd row and also ruled out all the chinese 7 seaters, LDV, Foton etc..
Isuzu Mux ticks my boxes for most things. Although its a bit old school in technology and a bit basic....but thats not necessarily a bad thing. The boot is a good size and the split 6/7th seat are a practical design.
Pajero Sport is similar price (maybe cheaper) with more tech, safety features, AWD mode as well as 4H and 4L and also a diff lock. It again ticks most of my boxes, except the boot is smaller and the way the 6/7th row seats fold is stupid (seats partially fold into floor and partially butt up against 2nd row seats). In my opinion this makes the interior space less practical as you cant drop the single 2nd row seat to put something long in (such as bike or the weekend bunnings project stuff).
It's big brother Pajero also seems good. A bit older, boxier and pricier but I like it better than the Pajero Sport and is apparently a joy to drive as its not a ute based SUV. Only cons I can see though are the 6/7th seats is a single bench seat, therefore taking up more room when in place. Oh, and id definitely need it to fit a bike inside as the towbar bike mounts for pajeros kill the departure angle due to the rear mount spare tyre.
Thanks guys and girls..hopefully you can give me some further insight.