FHM.com.ph

Boy, is Mitsubishi relentless in their drive to make the Montero more of a household name than it already is.

It is the VGT that solves the usual turbo lag problem that plagues turbocharger-equipped vehicles.

The movable vanes of the turbocharger “creates a narrow passageway, which causes the exhaust gases to accelerate and spin the turbo’s turbine blades faster.

"This increases the engine’s overall efficiency across the entire RPM range,” writes Patrick Tadeo on topgear.com.ph.

In the same topgear article, Tadeo talks about how on a shotgun ride with Hiroshi Masuoka, two-time Paris-Dakar champion, the Montero smoothed through corners.

“If the Montero Sport GVT can handle the kind of thrashing it experienced in the hands of 2-time Paris-Dakar contender, it can certainly handler the pothole-strewn streets of the Philippines,” Tadeo says.

“The GTV adds more driving excitement by pairing the GVT engine with a f-speed INVECS-II automatic transmission with sportronic manual override,” writes Ulysses Ang of Philippine Star. “Aside from the +/- slot on the transmission base, the GVT completes the package with Magnesium Alloy paddle shifters on the steering column.

But the Montero is not all about smoothing the rough. Check out its looks: a nicely curved hood, the sport honey-comb grille, chrome side mirrors, and a carbon fiber finished rear spoiler, just to name a few.

And then there’s its interiors: leather steering, the center console’s piano black veneer paneling, wood grain paneling and leather seats, complete with 8-way power adjustment for the driver.

If you’re looking to buy an SUV, the P1,295,000 price tag of Mitsubishi’s Montero Sport GVT doesn’t look half as intimidating, now does it?