“Overwhelming dealer interest” in new Mitsubishi Pajero

Mitsubishi Australia has observed “overwhelming dealer interest” in its new-generation Pajero large SUV just days after the nameplate was confirmed to be returning late this year.

Off the back of last week’s Pajero nameplate announcement, Mitsubishi Australia product strategy general manager Bruce Hampel revealed to carsales the dealer interest and online buzz surrounding the returning icon was immense.

“There’s no doubt that the Pajero holds a special place in Mitsubishi’s DNA, which we’re seeing reflected in the overwhelming dealer interest and online commentary since last week’s announcement,” he said.

Since it’ll be at least another couple of months before expressions of interest open for the new model, we don’t have a concrete metric to quantify consumer interest in the reborn Pajero at a dealer level, however we can quantify the online commentary.

The Pajero’s return was officially announced on Friday, May 29 – our socials team, posted the report to Facebook at 6pm on May 31 (Monday) and the post has already attracted 300 comments, more than 3700 likes and around 130 shares.

Granted, some opted to debate the relevance of the nameplate seeing as the upcoming model will be based on the current MV Triton ute as opposed to an all-new or monocoque platform as per the previous generation.

It will be significantly bigger than the old Triton-based Pajero Sport however, as well as more powerful, capable and technologically advanced.

Asked whether the Pajero would feature a localised suspension tune as per the latest Outlander and to a more extreme extent, the Triton Raider, Hampel was selective in his wording, not wanting to give too much away.

 “While we’re not currently in a position to reveal specifics regarding the suspension and steering tuning program, we’ve been working closely with MMC to rigorously test the Pajero in Australia’s unique conditions – from inner city to outback – to ensure it can confidently tackle any adventure,” he said.

While cryptic and ultimately not that revealing, Hampel’s comment suggests Mitsubishi is smart enough to recognise the significance of this model and that it has to work in Australia, especially against competition like the locally-developed Ford Everest and all-conquering Toyota Prado.

More details of the new-generation Pajero will no doubt come to light over the coming weeks and months in the lead-up to its global reveal in either August or September.

Pricing and finer spec details won’t be announced until closer to its local release in December, but you could safely assume it will be competitive with the Isuzu MU-X on price and (ideally) undercut the V6 Everest and LandCruiser-derived Prado.

*Lead image AI generated

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