Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Daihatsu and 4 x 4 in the case of the Mitsubishi). The first one has a Daihatsu-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 87hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 112hp engine designed by Mitsubishi.

The fact that the Mitsubishi got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, isn't really an advantage, taken the poor 3-star rating it received. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Pajero Pinin offers a potentially life-saving difference of 36% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Daihatsu as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Daihatsu with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Mitsubishi badge with 4.6 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Terios as average reliability-wise, and Pajero Pinin is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Terios rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

Mitsubishi is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 3.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 155 kilometers per hour, 10km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be Terios, averaging around 7.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (39 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 29% difference compared to Pajero Pinin!

Daihatsu appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Pajero Pinin beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Mitsubishi outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Mitsubishi. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.