Which is the greatest?

By ALISTAIR SLOANE

Mitsubishi is sparring with a problem over its new three-door Pajero. But it says it will move quickly to overcome it, just like boxing great Muhammad Ali, who has lent his voice to their ads, did in the ring.

The carmaker has imported two short-wheelbase Pajeros, one better equipped and more expensive than the other. But the market for three-door four-wheel-drives in New Zealand isn't big and Mitsubishi will have to drop the least popular model.

"We are dipping our toe in the water to see the reaction to the shorter Pajero," says Mitsubishi marketing executive Ross Cameron.

"The market is too small in New Zealand for us to run two short-wheelbase models. So we will offer the two specifications to see which one turns out to be the most popular."

Mitsubishi isn't just using some of Ali's "I am the greatest" catchphrases to promote its Pajero range, it is borrowing the trial-and-error strategy Ali used to beat George Foreman in 1974.

In Foreman's corner was the shrewd Archie Moore, one of the finest boxers of all time.

As the fight unfolded, with Ali deliberately covering up and working the ropes to deflect many of the stronger Foreman's roundhouse blows, Moore twigged that Ali was gambling on Foreman punching himself out early in the fight. The gamble was working.

Moore told Foreman to pretend Ali was a locked Cadillac car. "Ain't no use trying to get in the Cadillac by going through the side doors - you gotta get in through the front window," Moore said.

He wanted Foreman to box smarter, think clearer, punch straighter and expose Ali's chin - the "front window." But the advice was lost on the confused and tired Foreman. The longer Ali stayed on the ropes, the longer Foreman kept trying to beat his way in through the side doors. Ali soon knocked him out to retain the heavyweight title for the third time.

Mitsubishi is also aiming to go through the front window, if you like - by quickly exposing the short-wheelbase Pajero New Zealand wants the most.

It will be the only Japanese carmaker to bring in such a serious offroad model new. Toyota imports some used three-door Prados through its Signature Class programme, and used three-door Nissan Patrols remain popular. But that's about it.

The three-door Pajero is available only with a 3.2-litre, direct-injection turbocharged diesel engine. The entry-level GLS costs $65,500, the better-equipped Exceed, $70,500. The rear seats can be tipped forward to increase cargo space.

The efficient engine develops 121kW and 373Nm of pulling power and is mated to a five-speed manual/automatic transmission which uses an electronic four-wheel-drive system. This automatically splits front and rear torque between 30:70 and 50:50 to optimise handling and traction. The rear differential can be locked when needed.

The suspension set-up consists of coil springs with double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. Stabiliser bars are also fitted.

Body styling is similar to the long-wheelbase Pajero but the vehicle's monocoque body sits on a 2545mm wheelbase which, at 4280mm overall, is shorter by 515mm. The grille and deep front bumper, with its centre skid plate, give the Pajero an aggressive appearance.

The Exceed comes with more goodies - side airbags, roof rails and fog lamps, a different-coloured grille, chromed rear vision mirror, a wooden steering wheel and dash, leather trim and a power-adjustable driver's seat.

Standard equipment includes a Kenwood radio-cassette with 10-disc CD changer and six speakers, engine immobiliser, twin airbags, ABS anti-lock brakes, drink holders, grab handles, map-reading lights ... Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.

Mitsubishi floated the idea to hire Ali to front its television advertising campaign for the all-new Pajero last year.

The voiceover commercial, where the man who called himself the greatest boxer of all time talks about wrasslin' alligators and whales, has stung Australian and New Zealand buyers into action.

"We have had a very good response," says Mitsubishi New Zealand marketing manager Mike Alexander.

"The target market for the Pajero was the age group which would have remembered Ali. But the surprise to us is the people in their 20s and younger who recognise his voice."

The campaign was dreamed up by the company's advertising agency in Australia, with Mitsubishi in Australia and New Zealand sharing the cost of buying the rights to Ali's voice from his promotions company in the United States. The ads were filmed in Queenstown.

"The background to it is that because the Pajero is very much refined in comparison with the previous model, we didn't want to lose the rough and tough image that it built its reputation on," says Alexander.

"So we went for somebody who was equally as rough and tough, who [quoting Ali] murdered rocks, injured bricks and made medicine sick."