From the Archives: 1987 Dodge Raider | Opinions

From the June 1987 challenge of Automobile and Driver.

Chrysler has been eating on delicacies from Mitsubishi so lengthy, it hardly even bothers to prepare dinner anymore. For a decade and a half, the company’s urge for food for small vehicles and vans has been sated giant­ly by its Japanese buying and selling companion. It was solely pure, then, for Chrysler to scan the Mitsubishi menu when it bought hungry for a brand new four-wheel-drive utility automobile. When the Chrysler guys bought all the way down to “Montero,” they known as Mitsubishi and stated, “Guess who’s coming to dinner?”

Chrysler seized on the Montero be­trigger the company’s lineup seemed like a gap-toothed grin. Lacking from the Dodge brigade was something just like the Jeep Wrangler, the Suzuki Samurai, or the Ford Bronco II. Such automobiles signify the small, boxy finish of the off-roader market—rigs which might be much less cumbersome than even the mid-size Chevrolet S-10 Blazer and the Jeep Cherokee. Mitsubishi’s Montero matches this group to a T.

These of you who like four-wheel en­counters of the grime variety will recall that Mitsubishi launched the Montero to the U.S. market in 1983. The brand new Dodge Raider is the Montero’s twin: it is a Japa­nese execution of the Bronco II’s primary theme, and it is nearly the identical dimension because the Ford, give or take an inch or two within the essential dimensions.

The Raider’s structure follows the category blueprint carefully. Its building is body-on-frame. Its suspension consists of con­trol arms and torsion ban up entrance and a inflexible axle and leaf springs within the rear. The well-known Mitsubishi 2.6-liter four-cylin­der (full with steadiness shafts) sends its 109 horsepower by way of both a five-speed handbook or a four-speed computerized trans­mission. Half-time four wheel drive, a two-speed switch case, and robotically locking entrance hubs are customary tools.

Up to now, the Raider may very well be Anytruck, four wheel drive division. The Japanese taste comes from its lengthy record of ordinary options and the way in which it goes about its job. There are some variations, nevertheless, between the Dodge and Mitsubishi methods of doing busi­ness off-road.

The Montero comes into this world in both base or Sport guise, however the Raider is a synthesis of the 2. The Dodge will get its garments from the bottom Montero. All of its trim—together with the grille, moldings, mirrors, and bumpers—is black. The low-key look is ok by us, however California four-by aficionados will in all probability lapse into chrome withdrawal. From the Montero Sport the Raider will get full carpeting, fabric seats, the robotically locking entrance hubs, and, within the middle of the sprint, an auxiliary gauge panel, which incorporates an inclinometer. Just like an plane’s artifi­cial-horizon indicator, the inclinometer measures the angle of grades and warns of impending tip-over; its readings are reliable, nevertheless, solely when the Raider is stationary. A tach, a tilt wheel, a tailgate-mounted spare tire, entrance and rear skid plates, spoker wheels, and tinted glass are additionally customary.

Regardless of immediately’s stronger yen, the Raid­er is an effective worth. You get loads of stuff right here for not a lot cash. Our crimson check Raider was decked out to the gunwales however did not value a second mortgage. Even with A/C, a rear bench seat, an off-road bundle (which features a neat, indepen­dently suspended driver’s seat), and extra, the tab got here to solely $12,212.

That amount of money delivers a relative­ly civilized four-by-four, however nothing you’d ever confuse with a passenger automobile. Varied sedans from Honda, Toyota, Audi, and different makers combine four wheel drive so properly that you just would possibly by no means guess they’ve 4 paws out there for locomotion. The Raider could not idiot you on a guess. From its slab sides to its tall-in-the-saddle driving place, it is pure truck.

By way of efficiency, the Raider has sufficient to get by, however none to spare. With 3370 kilos of road-hugging weight to haul round, the massive 4 has its fingers full attending to 60 mph in lower than sixteen sec­onds. You possibly can sustain with visitors with out a lot pressure and cruise comfortably at 70 to 75 mph, however thrills usually are not included.

Nor does the Raider win any gold stars for experience and dealing with. For automobiles on this class, it is strictly mid-pack. The six-foot-tall physique ideas precariously in exhausting cornering, simply pegging the inclinometer. Half­ly due to its brief wheelbase (92.5 inches), the Raider hobbyhorses over most bumps. Not less than the suspended driv­er’s seat helps soften the jolts.

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Dial-a-physique: The suspended driver’s seat can accommodate pilots from mini to large.

Mitsubishi deserves reward for together with this ingenious perch. Just like the seats in long-haul semis, it is suspended from beneath, with coil springs and a hydraulic damper to soak up vertical masses. You possibly can set the springs to deal with physiques rang­ing from 125 kilos to greater than 225, or you possibly can lock the suspension system down should you so need.

We devoted most of our time with the Raider to evaluating its on-road habits, as a result of the civilized world is the place most Raiders will roll up most of their miles. However what of the mudslinger dwelling in its soul? We additionally spent a while exploring unpaved territory, and right here the Raider is extra in its component. Its Jeep-like fea­tures—8.3 inches of floor clearance, fats mud-and-snow tires, all-wheel drive, and skid plates—offer you a way of invincibil­ity that makes you go searching for bother over the subsequent hill. Like most of its compe­tition, the Raider needs to be almost unstop­pable if pushed intelligently.

Checked out this manner, the Raider basks in a way more flattering gentle. For a rough-and-tumble off-road rig, it is virtually ur­bane. Its inside is nearly luxurious for a automobile within the mountain-goat division, its gearbox snicks with Japanese precision, and its stately coachwork can get by, roughly, in well mannered society.

In the end, the goodness of a automobile just like the Dodge Raider is within the eye of the beholder. If, once you gaze into its paint, you see your self in an Eddie Bauer down jacket and mountain climbing boots, it’s possible you’ll be on to one thing. Then again, in case your re­flection is carrying a enterprise go well with, look elsewhere.

Director, Purchaser’s Information

Wealthy Ceppos has evaluated vehicles and automotive know-how throughout a profession that has encompassed 10 years at Common Motors, two stints at Automobile and Driver totaling 19 years, and 1000’s of miles logged in racing vehicles. He was in music faculty when he realized what he actually wished to do in life and, someway, it is labored out. In between his two C/D postings he served as govt editor of Car Journal; was an govt vp at Campbell Advertising & Communications; labored in GM’s product-development space; and have become writer of Autoweek. He has raced repeatedly since faculty, held SCCA and IMSA professional racing licenses, and has competed within the 24 Hours of Daytona. He at the moment ministers to a 1999 Miata and a 1965 Corvette convertible and appreciates that none of his youthful colleagues have but uttered “Okay, Boomer” when he tells certainly one of his tales in regards to the loopy outdated days at C/D.