Mitsubishi Delica
JDM · Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Delica: The Pajero-Based Van That Became a Cult Import
The Mitsubishi Delica is a range of vans and pickups Mitsubishi has built since 1968. Its name is short for "delivery car," and its four-wheel-drive versions, built on Pajero hardware, have made older Delicas a popular import in Canada and the United States.
The first Delica was a cab-over pickup that went into production in July 1968 with a 1,088 cc engine making 58 PS. Van versions followed a year later. Export markets knew it by many names, including the L300 and later L400 in Europe, the Express and Starwagon in Australia, and plain Van and Wagon in the United States, where Mitsubishi sold it in small numbers from 1987 to 1990.
Four-wheel drive arrived in October 1982 on the second generation, a first in the Japanese van market, using a modified Mitsubishi Pajero chassis. The third generation of June 1986 switched to a monocoque body with rounded styling Mitsubishi called "soft cube," and its 4WD chassis again drew on the Pajero. The fourth generation, launched May 12, 1994, was called the Delica Space Gear in Japan. It shared its engine and transmission with the Pajero and kept high and low range gearing and a differential lock. Engines included 2.4-liter and 3.0-liter gas options and diesels up to a 2.8-liter intercooled turbodiesel.
The fifth generation, the Delica D:5, went on sale in Japan on January 31, 2007. It rides on the GS platform shared with the Outlander. A 2.2-liter turbodiesel making 148 PS joined the lineup in January 2013, and a facelift went on sale in February 2019. Older RHD Delicas became a gray-market import favorite once they were old enough: Canada's threshold is 15 years and the U.S. threshold is 25. The 4WD turbodiesel van is a common pick for Canadian postal workers who need right-hand drive. In 2021, Maine began de-registering imported Delicas by classifying them as off-road all-terrain vehicles.