Mitsubishi revealed a fifth-generation Pajero on September 2, a body-on-frame SUV built in Thailand that the company plans to sell in around 100 countries. It is the first new Pajero since the global model was dropped in 2021, and it is aimed squarely at the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Americans last saw this vehicle as the Montero, which left the U.S. in 2006. There is no word yet on whether the new one crosses the Pacific.
Built like a truck on purpose
The new Pajero sits on a ladder frame derived from the Triton pickup rather than the unibody construction almost every SUV uses now. That is the whole point of it. It has a double-wishbone front suspension, a five-link rigid rear axle, a locking center differential, low-range gearing, and Mitsubishi's Super All-Wheel Control system, which manages drive and braking at each wheel and traces back to the Lancer Evolution.
The numbers back it up. Ground clearance is 9.1 inches, the approach angle is 30.4 degrees and departure is 25.8, and the wheelbase is 113 inches on a body 193.7 inches long. The standard engine is a 2.4-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder with an eight-speed automatic, with a hybrid to follow.
Thailand gets it first, then Japan and Australia during the current fiscal year, with the wider rollout from fiscal 2027.
What it looks like, and what it lost
The design is the interesting part for a site like this one. It reads as a proper off-roader rather than a crossover pretending, with chunky mud flaps, side steps, and visibly long suspension travel. Mitsubishi says the aim was balance, a vehicle that feels settled on the highway and still crawls.
One old signature is gone. The side-hinged rear door with the spare wheel bolted to it has been replaced by a conventional tailgate with the spare mounted underneath. Fans of the Dakar-era shape will notice. The Multi Meter did come back, though not as a separate gauge, but as a digital readout in the center screen showing pitch, roll, altitude and torque split.
Inside it is more luxurious than any Mitsubishi in memory, with leather across most surfaces on the top trim, two 14.3-inch screens, a 12-speaker Yamaha system, and a cooled bin under the armrest. Physical controls survive, including a rotary knob for the four-wheel-drive modes.
The original Pajero launched in 1982 and sold more than 3.3 million across 170 countries, winning Dakar along the way. Put the new one against a Land Cruiser on WhipJury and see whether the comeback looks the part.
Sources:
Dimensions, suspension, interior and the tailgate change: Motor1
Ladder frame, S-AWC, markets and rollout timing: Mitsubishi Motors
Engine and Land Cruiser positioning: CarBuzz
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Cam Walsh has been obsessing over cars since before he could drive one. Based out of Atlanta, Cam covers automotive design, car culture, and the eternal debate over which whips actually look the part.
