Mitsubishi Pajero GSR 2027 Review

The 2027 Mitsubishi Pajero range opens at $68,490 plus on-road costs (ORC) for the five-seat GLS, followed by the seven-seat GLS at $69,990 +ORC, the EXCEED at $79,990 +ORC and the flagship GSR tested here at $84,990 +ORC.

That makes it more of a Prado-priced proposition than an Everest or Isuzu MU-X one. The mid-spec EXCEED lines up dollar-for-dollar with the Ford Everest Tremor ($79,990 +ORC) and sits just under the Toyota Prado GXL ($80,665 +ORC), while the Prado range opens at $73,200 +ORC for the GX.

Demand is strong, with Mitsubishi claiming more than 11,000 expressions of interest. First deliveries are due in early December, and Mitsubishi says it expects sales to split roughly a third, a third, a third across the three grades rather than the flagship hogging the lion’s share.

Every Pajero gets Super Select II 4x4 with 2H, 4H, 4HLc and 4LLc modes, low-range gearing, a rear diff lock, Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) with Active Yaw Control, seven drive modes, a full-size alloy spare and 3500kg braked towing with Trailer Stability Assist.

The GSR adds 20-inch alloys, twin 14.3-inch screens, two-tone premium leather, ventilated and heated front seats, memory settings, a panoramic sunroof, adaptive LED high beams, a digital rear-view mirror and a 12-speaker Yamaha Ultimate stereo. Even the GLS gets twin 12.3-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, front and rear parking sensors and a 3D Multi Around Monitor with a see-through bonnet view.

Safety includes eight airbags (including a front-centre and driver’s knee airbag), AEB with pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist detection, rear AEB, adaptive cruise with lane-keeping, blind-spot warning and front and rear cross-traffic alert. It has not yet been tested by ANCAP.

Power comes from a 2442cc 2.4-litre four-cylinder single-turbo diesel making 150kW and 480Nm, 10Nm more than the Triton, driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic. It needs AdBlue and has an 80-litre fuel tank. Mitsubishi’s 10-year/200,000km warranty, 10 years of capped-price servicing and up to 10 years roadside assist apply when serviced at a Mitsubishi dealer.

Let’s get the elephant out of the way first. When we drove the Pajero in Japan, Mitsubishi confiscated our cameras at the gate. This time, nobody took anything off us, and we finally got it into the dirt.

Straight out of the Triton Raider, which shares some of the Pajero’s bones, the difference is chalk and cheese. The Pajero is quieter, smoother and soaks up the early bumps with far more poise. You can hold a conversation off-road without raising your voice. Mitsubishi made big claims about off-road luxury, and on this evidence it wasn’t fibbing.

That lines up with what we found on the Okazaki proving ground in Japan, where it barely sounded like a diesel at idle. Acoustic glass and loads of extra sound deadening do the heavy lifting, and that hush carries over to gravel and ruts.

The four-wheel drive system is the real highlight. On a sandy, rocky section where the Triton spun an inside wheel in 4H, the Pajero didn’t even blink, shuffling torque around subtly and pulling through without fuss. We never needed to lock the centre diff or reach for low range.

Super Select II is also a genuine point of difference. You can run full-time 4H on wet bitumen or gravel without driveline wind-up, something the GWM Tank 500 diesel and its part-time system can’t match. It’s a lineage stretching back to the Super Select system that debuted on the second-gen Pajero in 1991.

Throttle modulation is soft and progressive, so you won’t stab it and lurch forward, but there’s enough response to pick your way through technical sections. The slight lag we felt from the gearbox in Japan was absent off-road, and paddle shifters make holding a gear easy, especially in low range.

The steering has a little heft without being heavy, and placing the nose is child’s play. The crease down the middle of the bonnet works as a handy aiming line through tight gaps.

The suspension is the other big win. Up front are high-mount double wishbones with 30 per cent more travel than the old Pajero Sport, while the rear runs a five-link rigid axle. Coils all round, a thicker front anti-roll bar and extra rubber on the bump stops make for a plush, approachable ride that feels almost light on its feet. Japan’s promise that the supple tune would translate off-road has been delivered on.

The ladder frame is far stiffer than you might expect from a Triton derivative. Only the front section and front floor carry over, with the rest new and using more high-tensile steel, yet it remains absorbent and compliant over rough ground.

Tech helps too. The see-through bonnet works well, there are multiple camera views including a fisheye chin view and a 3D overhead, and the classic altimeter, pitch and roll gauges are back. Hill descent control has been fine-tuned and held a smooth, steady pace downhill.

Inside, the GSR feels lovely. The leather is supple, the ergonomics are spot-on and outward vision is excellent thanks to the bonnet shape and A-pillars. It feels a step above the Prado in cabin finish, and even the cloth-trimmed GLS we drove in Japan felt properly upmarket.

Then there’s practicality. On payload the Pajero tops our pecking order, the EXCEED rated at 734kg against 690kg for the Everest Tremor and Tank 500 Vanta, and 620kg for the seven-seat Prado GXL. Payload across the range runs from 702kg (GSR) to 818kg (GLS five-seat).

The test track was the biggest limitation. It was a gentle fire trail with a few slippery, sandy pinches, so it didn’t push the Pajero anywhere near its limits. We drove on Dunlop highway-terrain tyres and never needed low range, so we still have plenty to learn on proper tracks.

The engine remains the big question, just as it was in Japan. At 2.4 litres it’s down on capacity against the three-litre diesels in this class, and it’s at the back of the pack for power. The Everest Tremor leads with 184kW, the Tank 500 Vanta makes 170kW, and the Prado GXL and Pajero tie on 150kW.

Off-road at low speed, the eight-speed auto makes the most of it, but we couldn’t test it with a heavy caravan on the back. Towing was apparently a non-negotiable since development kicked off around 2019, with multiple tow modes, but we’ll reserve judgement.

The towing numbers are competitive but not class-leading. The Pajero’s 3215kg GVM sits behind the Tank 500 Vanta (3395kg) and Everest Tremor (3240kg) but ahead of the Prado GXL (3150kg). Its 6340kg GCM is last of the four, though only 10kg behind the Everest Tremor (6350kg), with the Tank 500 Vanta at 6545kg and the Prado GXL leading on 6600kg.

Touring range could be a sore point. The 80-litre tank matches the Everest but is well short of the Prado’s 110 litres and the Tank 500 Vanta’s 131 litres across two tanks. Mitsubishi claims 7.1–7.2L/100km, but we haven’t tested it, and fuel use will climb steeply with a van hitched up.

Not everyone will love AdBlue either, and that’s fair enough.

Ground clearance is modest rather than towering at 228mm. The full-size spare now lives under the rear, which frees the tailgate to open horizontally and provide shelter from rain, but we miss the classic tailgate-mounted wheel. 

Finally, this is a Prado-priced vehicle, not an MU-X or Everest bargain, so it needs to deliver on the bitumen as well. 

It’s too early to give a definitive verdict, but two short drives, on-road in Japan and off-road in South Australia, both point in the same direction. Cautious optimism is the order of the day.

This doesn’t feel undercooked. It feels confident and stoic off-road, far more resolved than the Triton or the old Pajero Sport, and it has a cabin that will win buyers over in showrooms. The pedigree helps too: 26 Dakar Rally starts, 12 wins and a nameplate few rivals can match.

For now, here’s how the pecking order looks. The Everest is the muscle, the Prado tows the most, the Tank 500 carries the most fuel, and the Pajero hauls the most and does it in the plushest cabin. Whether the 2.4-litre engine can keep up when it’s loaded and towing is the question we’ll answer when we drive it on our own turf.

Backed by a 10-year warranty, it’s looking pretty shiny. We can’t wait to drive it again.

2027 Mitsubishi Pajero GSR at a glance:
Price: $84,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: December 2026
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 150kW/480Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 190g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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