Mitsubishi’s newest Pajero – more than likely a follow up to the Pajero Sport – will be revealed before the end of 2026, and some examples have already been spied on Australian roads.
In a post uploaded to Facebook group Car Spotters Australia, Jackson Dainer spotted a camouflaged version of the upcoming SUV in New South Wales, with its South Australian registration a dead giveaway that this is Mitsubishi’s new off-road SUV.
As has previously been speculated, its overall design looks to be largely related to the Destinator, a Prado-sized SUV for South-East Asia and some parts of Africa.
This will include the Pajero going boxier in its exterior shape, mirroring the Triton ute upon which it’s expected to be related.
Built in Thailand alongside the Triton, it’s all but confirmed Mitsubishi will drop the ‘Sport’ moniker from the Pajero’s name, with seemingly no plans to bring back the full-sized LandCruiser rival.
Like the current Pajero Sport, the Pajero reportedly will be based on the same platform as the Triton, and share the ute’s twin-turbo 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, six-speed automatic transmission and full-time 4×4 system.
The Pajero could also adopt plug-in hybrid power, with the technology under development for the Triton. It’s expected it’ll be built in Thailand alongside the Triton, unlike previous generations of the full-size SUV which were largely produced in Japan.
Like many ute-based SUVs such as the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X, the Pajero will reportedly share similar dimensions to the Triton, however it could end up being shorter in length due to not needing a tub, despite likely being fitted with three rows of seats.
While Australia last saw the Pajero in showrooms in 2021, the Pajero Sport was pulled from sale locally early last year due to not being compliant with then-incoming Australian Design Rules around the performance of autonomous emergency braking systems.
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