(Courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors)

Responding to demands for gas-engine sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi has introduced the Pajero Sport V6.

'€œThis gasoline engine-powered vehicle was put into production after we saw that there were customers who wanted an alternative to diesel engine-powered vehicles,'€ said Duljatmono, operating general manager at PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian (KTB), the authorized dealer for the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) in Indonesia.

'€œThe market segment that we are targeting is customers in big cities, such as Medan, Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung, who lead high-end lifestyles.'€

The new gasoline variant is also intended for customers in areas that lack supplies of diesel fuel.

The Pajero Sport has won 17 awards and become the best-selling SUV in Indonesia following its introduction in 2009, since when more than 55,000 of the vehicles have been sold.

The new variant comes with a V6, single overhead camshaft (SOHC) engine with a 3,000 cc capacity under its hood, which produces 220 horsepower (HP) at 6,250 revolutions per minute (rpm), the largest output in its class.

Interior: (Courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors)
The V6 engine comes with the Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control (MIVEC) technology that minimizes fuel consumption, lowers gas emissions and reduces engine noise.

The diesel variants of the Pajero Sport are the Dakar 4x4 A/T and 4x2 A/T, the Exceed 4x2 A/T, the GLX 4x4 M/T and the GLS 4x2 M/T.

KTB said the latest SUV variant was priced at Rp 481 million (US$42,337), based on the 2013 vehicle-ownership transfer tax. There will be an adjustment of some 5 percent when the 2014 tax comes out.

The company has set a sales target of 150 vehicles per month for the V6 variant, adding to the total sales target of 1,300 cars per month for all six variants.

The gasoline variant is similar to its diesel counterparts, but it comes with certain design features, such as an V6 MIVEC emblem on each side of the car and a V6 3.0 emblem to the rear.

The Pajero Sport V6 gasoline model is equipped with a number of features, including panoramic roof, a paddle-shift lever, fog lights and a double DIN audio system, which includes GPS navigation and a parking camera.

Color options for the V6 are white pearl, titanium grey, black mica, medium red, metallic quartz brown and deep blue mica.

All Pajero Sport models are imported from Thailand, one of Mitsubishi'€™s production bases for the global market; KTB has no plans to have it assembled in Indonesia.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.