Brief comparison of 2014 Ford Endeavour with Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

As Ford India launches the refreshed version of Endeavour, the competition in premium SUV segment becomes more furious. The latest SUV from the 'Blue Oval' company will lock horns with the segment leader Toyota Fortuner and Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. Now, what makes Ford Endeavour so tempting is the fact that SUV is couple of lakhs cheaper from the other two. Besides, it boasts 4x4 option in automatic variant- a feature missed in Toyota Fortuner.

Launched in 2009, Fortuner got a mild facelift in the year 2012. Since its arrival, the SUV is doing wonders for the company. A combination of sportiness and immense road presence backed with the best after sales service of Toyota, makes the SUV, a first choice for the customers. While the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is the most expensive of the three. To dig deep, we have done a brief comparison featuring exterior design, interiors along with the engine and performance of all three SUVs.

Exterior Design:

The refreshed Ford Endeavour sports sleek headlamps, redesigned fog lamp bezel, bold front grille and bumper with skid plates. The 16-inch wheels feature a set of stylish alloy trims. The spare wheel is mounted on the rear tailgate which gives this SUV a rugged appeal. The same concept can also be seen in compact SUV sibling Ford EcoSport.

On the other hand, Toyota Fortuner has quite an aggressive and imposing styling. The vehicle features Toyota's signatory grille with the logo embarked in the middle. Headlamps are more sleeker with the self-leveling projector lamps. The interesting thing to notice on the bonnet is the presence of wide air-scoop which cools the intercooler. Body coloured ORVMs and door handles add more to the uniformity of the vehicle. The vehicle moves on 17-inch wheels and has a ground clearance of 221mm, much more than the 215mm of Pajero Sport and 210mm of Endeavour. 

Pajero Sport features chrome plated vertical bar type front grille, front skid plate and side steps. At the rear, wiper and washer is provided in accordance with the rough climate conditions and off-roading capability. Talking about the sheer exterior size, Endeavour with the length of 5060mm takes the lead, while the baby Land Cruiser (Fortuner) is 10 mm longer than the Pajero Sport. In terms of width and height, Fortuner has an edge while the wheelbase of Endeavour is maximum when compared to the other two SUVs. 

Interior and Comfort:

As all the three SUVs come with a seating configuration of 7 to 8 people, the interior and comfort becomes a vital feature. The 2014 Endeavour gets all the latest tech updates which includes touchscreen enabled SATNAV entertainment system with Navigation, music system with bluetooth connectivity and reverse parking camera. Being the longest among three, the SUV provides ample knee and legroom till the third row. 

Fortuner is also equipped with the same features with an addition of cruise control. The quality of material used is of top-notch and the illuminated ‘Optitron’ dials are easy to read. The middle row is quite comfortable while the third row is good enough for kids only. Moreover, in the Pajero Sport, absence of touchscreen and rear parking camera is well compensated by the addition of central console display which provides information like fuel economy, temperature, compass and pressure. Pajero Sport embraces enough leg and headroom to cater 7-8 average passengers with ease.