What Does Montero Mean?

That question becomes more interesting with the 2001 model. Originally, the Montero was Mitsubishi's testosterone truck. The new Montero's styling follows what Mitsubishi calls its "geo-mechanical" corporate theme, characterized by its distinct fenders, and its spirit has gone corporate, too.

The most surprising thing is how light the Montero feels. It's much easier to drive, recognizing, perhaps, that the target audience has changed.

Rear seat room is about the best we've seen in this class of truck. And real four-wheel-drive gave us confidence in what passes for winter around here.

Our early-production Montero had some squeaks from the rear doors over bumpy pavement, but that should be sorted out in the models on your dealer's lot.

This Montero Limited - with leather and all the niceties - stickered at over $31,000. You can get bigger utes for that price. But the Montero lacks for nothing, so why would you?

Now the Sport is Less Sporty

Mitsubishi follows a two-SUV policy. Their Montero was a rugged, no-nonsense truck, better suited to the Kalahari than the Dairy Queen. When family-oriented SUVs became more attractive, they came out with the Montero Sport, a taller, somewhat more civilized vehicle that shared little but a name with its brawny sibling.

Well, the new Montero has arrived, and it's more sporty than the Sport, both lighter on its feet and offering more comforts for passengers. The Sport, which hasn't been updated in some years, now feels the more rugged and trucklike of the two. It's also less expensive, while not being particularly antiquated, and is thus a pretty good buy.

We don't expect Mitsubishi will follow Toyota's lead in building a different SUV for every day of the week. But it would be good to know which truck is the sporty one, and what sport ,exactly, they're talking about. Truck polo?