Mitsubishi could have brought the Pajero name back on a rebadged ASX and cashed in on nostalgia. It did not. The new Pajero shares its ladder frame with the Triton, runs a genuine low-range transfer case, and prices from $68,490 before on-road costs. That is the story, and it is a better one than most people expected.
The old Pajero left Australian showrooms in 2021 after the nameplate had quietly drifted toward soft-roader territory in its final years. Reviving it as anything less than a proper 4WD would have burned the goodwill the badge still carries here. Mitsubishi went the other way.
What Mitsubishi actually built
The new Pajero runs a 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel four making 150kW and 480Nm through an eight-speed automatic, paired with Super Select II switchable four-wheel drive. The ladder frame is derived from the current Triton, sharing the front floor section, which is exactly the architecture Prado and Everest already use.
It measures 4920mm long on a 2870mm wheelbase, with 230mm of ground clearance. Braked towing sits at 3500kg, matching Prado and the updated GWM Tank 500, though short of the Patrol’s 3700kg. Five and seven-seat layouts are both offered.
Does the badge still mean anything mechanically, or is this just marketing?
Mechanically, yes. A shared floor pan with a ute is not exotic engineering, it is how Prado, Everest and Tank 500 are all built. What matters is that Mitsubishi chose the harder, more expensive path over a soft-roader that would have traded on the name alone.
What it costs against the cars it actually has to beat
Four grades, GLS five-seat at $68,490, GLS seven-seat at $69,990, Exceed at $79,990 and GSR at $84,990, all before on-road costs. That undercuts the Prado’s $73,200 to $100,690 range at every equivalent trim level, and it sits well clear of the GWM Tank 500’s territory from the top end while still beating it on towing.
The Patrol Y63 is a different fight entirely. Its 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 makes 317kW and 700Nm, and pricing runs $98,990 to $145,990. That is a genuine LandCruiser 300 rival. The Pajero is not chasing it. It is chasing Prado buyers who want the extra 3500kg of towing headroom without the flagship price tag.
4×4 SUV Comparison
When you can actually order one
Australian deliveries start in December 2026. Mitsubishi Australia general manager for product strategy Bruce Hampel confirmed local validation testing is already underway, saying the brand has “vehicles in Australia at the moment” being run through Australian conditions ahead of launch. That is not an import announcement made from a Tokyo stage, it is a car already being proven on local roads.
Full specification and colour details are due closer to launch, and towing figures could still move before then. Treat the numbers above as the confirmed baseline, not the final word.
It also lands into a segment getting more crowded by the month. CarsGuide has already flagged the incoming Denza B5 as a future rival, alongside the established Prado and Patrol fight. None of that changes what the Pajero needs to do at launch: prove the Triton-derived hardware holds up and get dealers stocked before Prado buyers commit elsewhere.
Who this actually suits
Buyers cross-shopping a Prado GX or GXL and wanting more capability for less money should put the Pajero on the list without hesitation. Anyone chasing V8 or V6 petrol grunt, or the Patrol’s flagship badge, is shopping a different car entirely and should not waste a test drive on the diesel four.
What matters most is that the fear did not happen. Mitsubishi had an easy, cynical version of this car available and skipped it. The Pajero name comes back attached to a real ladder frame and a real transfer case, priced to actually threaten Prado’s cheaper grades rather than just borrow its old fans’ nostalgia.
