#2000 SLK KOMPRESSOR LEG ROOM MANUAL#

#2000 SLK KOMPRESSOR LEG ROOM MANUAL#

The Montero Sport has a manual transfer-case lever that hard-core off-roaders prefer to the electro-four-wheel-drive switches popularized by the ubiquitous Explorer. Off-road, they stick to mud paths with confidence. We think the bigger tires add unwanted bounce on suburban side streets. The long wheelbase means it rides well, just a bit more jiggly on pavement than an Explorer. Its 43 cubic feet of cargo volume equals that of the spacious Ford Explorer. The Montero Sport looks tough, but it's as convenient as a Camry wagon inside, with two covered bins under the rear floor. For example, a V-6 four-wheel-drive LS model with air and a five-speed manual is $24,490. We'd be a bit more thrifty if it were our checkbook. LS models get a 173-hp 3.0-liter V-6 (the base engine in last year's big Montero) and can be had with a choice of rear-drive or part-time four-wheel drive and a manual or automatic transmission. Mitsubishi expects that most buyers will opt for LS models, priced in the mid-twenties with popular equipment. The base Montero Sport ES starts at $18,065 as a rear-driver with a 134-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a manual transmission only. In Japan, you can get an L-200 wagon with coil springs in the rear, but to save assembly costs, the Montero Sport gets a leaf-sprung rear axle. Both also share front unequal-length control arms and torsion bars. The Montero Sport shares the front bodywork of the latest Mighty Max pickup truck (no longer sold in the U.S.), but its full-length ladder-type frame has more in common with that of the bigger Montero wagon, including a 107.3-inch wheelbase. The L-200 is now the Montero Sport in the United States. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has been building a smaller wagon (seven inches lower and shorter) called the L-200 for Asia and South America. dealers, however, want more SUVs to sell, especially in the under-$30K market. Mitsubishi says that's all it can build, too. Why a Montero Sport? Big Monteros are priced from $30,000 to $42,000 plus, and they're selling well-12,083 last year. (5) The floor height is above the road surface enough to provide a tall 8.5 inches of ground clearance, although the climb could impair Grandma's entering and exiting. (4) The Montero Sport, although shorter than its big brother, still sits tall enough to provide excellent visibility over traffic. (3) The front seats are firm, but they work a good compromise between holding you in place on bumps and in corners and allowing easy entry and exit-even while wearing an expedition-grade parka. The wheel also isn't as buslike horizontal as the larger Montero's. (2) The steering wheel is angled up to leave room for long legs, yet you need not have long gorilla arms to reach it. Big feet can easily tap-dance on these controls to keep the wagon poised on slick surfaces. (1) The pedals are close together, and the control action of the brakes, clutch, and throttle is smooth on the road. The new Mitsubishi Montero Sport's attributes follow the principles of automotive feng shui: It is not merely the newest buzzword to appear in metro-newspaper lifestyle sections, although it is applied most often to interior design. Literally, that means 'wind and water,' but its popular meaning has to do with the 'Chinese art of placement,' the act of enhancing one's environment by putting things in their most advantageous places. If you're not a Tibetan Buddhist or a Chinese Taoist, this may sound foreign: Mitsubishi's latest sport-utility vehicle adheres to feng shui (pronounced fung shway). From the April 1997 issue of Car and Driver.

2000 slk kompressor leg room