Mitsubishi Pajero reportedly being revived for 2027

Reports out of Japan say that Mitsubishi is getting ready to bring back the Pajero (aka Montero for us Americans). The SUV was killed off in 2021 to the disappointment of die-hard Mitsubishi fans, but if the reports are correct the company is reversing the decision.

The report comes from Best Car, but the details are being reserved for its February 10th print issue. The magazine says it has “confirmed” that development of a new Pajero has begun with the goal of reaching production in 2027. That would be welcome news.

The Pajero was built on a dedicated platform in a dedicated factory that was actually named Pajero Manufacturing Co., Ltd. That factory has since been sold to a toilet paper manufacturer, and the chances of Mitsubishi getting it back are about as thin as public restroom single-ply.

What is likely happening is that the Pajero will be built on the same platform that underpins the new Triton pickup. The Triton, a popular model in southeast Asia, had not been sold in Japan since 2011 but will be reintroduced to the Japanese market in 2024. We’d bet that if a Pajero is coming, cash-strapped Mitsubishi will be building a Pajero on the Triton platform.

Of course, there already is a Pajero built on the Triton platform, sort of. It’s an SUV called the Pajero Sport, which we got in the US as the Montero Sport. It’s possible that Mitsubishi will simply drop the “Sport” from the Pajero Sport name and sell the truck as the Pajero in Japan. However, this would seem to contradict a separate Best Car report that a Pajero Sport is likely coming out in 2025.

The Triton is currently built locally in Thailand. If the new Pajero or Pajero Sport, whatever it turns out to be, uses that platform it’ll likely be built there too since the Pajero factory is gone. So the question is, is a Pajero not built at Pajero Manufacturing Co., Ltd. a real Pajero?