Mitsubishi Pajero Final Edition revealed

UPDATE 17/05/2021 11:00am: Pricing for the 22MY Mitsubishi Pajero Final Edition has been confirmed at a $500 premium over the three existing variants on which it's based, with a starting price of $54,990 plus on-road costs. However, all three variants are available at lower drive-away prices: $52,490 DA for the GLX, $59,490 DA for the GLS and $62,990 DA for the Exceed.

Original article published 14/05/2021: The Mitsubishi Pajero has been around nearly as long as Mitsubishi Australia itself, but now it’s being farewelled after a 39-year production run by the Mitsubishi Pajero Final Edition.

Revealed today and due in showrooms within weeks, the 2021 Mitsubishi Pajero Final Edition will be limited to just 800 units for Australia, where the first two-door Pajero arrived in 1983 – three years after Mitsubishi Motors Australia was established – followed by the four-door in 1984.

It will be available in all three model grades – GLS, GLX and Exceed – and, like all Pajeros, fitted with seven seats and a 141kW/441Nm 3.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder matched with a five-speed auto and four-wheel drive.

Pricing is yet to be announced, but the existing models are priced at $54,990 (GLX), $59,990 (GLS) and $62,990 (Exceed) – all plus on-road costs – and the Final Edition is likely to command a small price premium, if any.

There are no mechanical changes, but there will be a Final Edition badge and a range of locally fitted accessories including a tinted bonnet protector, leather cover for the owner’s manual and service book, carpet floor mats, plastic cargo liner and a protective boot lip cover.

All Mitsubishi Pajeros come standard with heavy-duty equipment including a rear differential lock, 3.0-tonne towing capacity, 700mm wading depth, 36.6-degree approach angle, 22.5-degree ramp-over angle and 25-degree departure angle.

Also standard across the range is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and while the base GLX rides on 17-inch alloys, GLS and Exceed variants add 18s and Rockford premium audio.

Mitsubishi announced it would axe the Pajero – whose name lives on with the Triton ute-based Pajero Sport seven-seat off-roader – in July 2020, when it posted its biggest operating loss in 18 years and said it would exit Europe and slash costs by 20 per cent.

Killing off rather than replacing the current Pajero, which is now 15 years old but rides on a platform that dates back to 1999, was a direct result of that cost-cutting.

The Mitsubishi Pajero has found more than 3.3 million sales globally over four generations since 1982, including more than 150,000 in Australia, where sales peaked at about 8500 in 2002 but shrank to a third of that last year when less than 2400 were sold.