2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport assessment

The Mitsubishi Triton dual-cab ute just lately obtained an intensive generational overhaul, but it surely appears the intently associated Pajero Sport massive off-road SUV gained’t get replaced for a while.

The Japanese model’s rival to the likes of the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X has been feeling its age for some time, however this 12 months Mitsubishi gave it solely a minor replace forward of an anticipated alternative within the latter half of this decade.

For 2024-25, the Pajero Sport picks up some very minor design adjustments on the skin, in addition to a brand new steering wheel nicked from the brand new Triton on the within.

The native vary additionally are available for a restructure, with 4×2 fashions culled and a few additional gear added to the bottom mannequin to justify the upper entry level. In any other case, it’s a lot the identical because the automobile that first debuted means again in 2015.

On take a look at right here we’ve the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR, the most costly variant on sale in Australia, priced at slightly below $65,000 earlier than on-road prices.

WATCH: Paul’s video assessment of the 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR

That places the ageing seven-seat wagon up towards some very stiff competitors. Even a mid-spec Ford Everest gives far newer and extra complete know-how (to not point out better refinement) for comparable cash, and different rivals within the phase supply bigger, extra highly effective turbo-diesel engines with larger towing capacities.

Given the Pajero Sport has lengthy traded on its status for worth, does this newest iteration command just a few {dollars} too many?

How a lot does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport price?

As famous earlier, the mannequin you see right here begins from $64,840 plus on-road prices, or $67,890 drive-away for Victorian consumers on the time of writing.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What’s the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport like on the within?

As with the skin, the adjustments to the MY24’s inside are very minor.

As we famous, there’s a brand new steering wheel borrowed from the most recent Triton, and a revised digital instrument cluster for the upper grades, which I really like lower than the previous one.

It retains its 8.0-inch measurement, although the graphics are extra squared off and there’s no digital tacho dial like there was within the previous one – it’s simply laid out a little bit awkwardly.

The brand new steering wheel is an enchancment although, with a sportier, extra basic design and nicer multifunction switchgear. Within the GSR you additionally get a brand new quilted burgundy and black artificial leather-based upholstery which is… completely different.

I’m usually one to have a good time when a producer gives an inside choice that isn’t black, however Mitsubishi’s alternative of trim right here is kind of polarising. It would look higher inside a black automotive, however towards the brilliant white paint of our tester, it appeared a little bit off.

Materials high quality and the general atmosphere is far the identical in any other case, with a mixture of nicer padded surfaces and loads of laborious sporting plastic, and lashings of fingerprint-attracting and scratch-prone piano black trim.

The show tech is, let’s face it, previous hat. Step out of the Pajero Sport and into one thing like a Ford Everest and you are feeling each little bit of the 10-year age hole, which is a disgrace given the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance interface within the Outlander and Triton is a marked enchancment by way of readability and response, not to mention options.

Within the GSR, the 8.0-inch touchscreen comes with built-in satellite tv for pc navigation sourced from TomTom that appears prefer it got here out of a kind of moveable items from a while in the past, however you possibly can counter that with (wired) Apple CarPlay or Android Auto cellphone mirroring.

Nonetheless, it’s sluggish, low in decision and simply doesn’t look wherever close to as fashionable or high-end as rival techniques like Ford’s wonderful Sync 4 unit.

It’s the same theme all through the dashboard, with the red-backlit local weather controls giving late ’90s or early ’00s vibes, and the toggle switches for the seat heaters are likewise fairly old-school.

The majority of it’s nonetheless very practical, however the area beneath the centre stack clearly wasn’t designed for a future with bigger phablet smartphones – the location of the USB ports can be a contact awkward when the automobile is in Park.

My iPhone 15 Professional Max struggled to slot in there with out knocking towards the shifter and the dearth of a rubberised platform made it vulnerable to slipping out.

Broader storage choices are high quality, with first rate door bins and a cubby beneath the centre armrest, plus a pair of cupholders behind the rotary 4WD mode selector.

Transferring into the rear, apart from the brand new upholstery within the GSR, it’s once more extra of the identical. There’s a superb quantity of area for adults, and children might be very happy again there.

Sturdy seize handles on the B-pillars and aspect steps make getting in simpler, although it’s on the narrower aspect. The elevated seat top makes head room a bit tight for taller people like a few of my colleagues – although 6’1″ me suits simply high quality.

Facilities embody roof-mounted air vents and seize handles, rear USB ports (4 within the cabin all up), and a useful 220V energy socket. Plus there are pockets in every seatback and a flip-down armrest with cupholders.

The third row is useful to have for emergencies, however is finest suited to youngsters. The ‘sporty’ exterior design additionally means the rearmost home windows are fairly small, which means that smaller passengers might discover them laborious to see out of.

The seats do fold down into the ground when not in use however, as the images right here present, not fairly as neatly as in quite a few rival SUVs.

The additional seating row does impression boot area. The bottom five-seat GLX has 673 litres of capability, whereas with the third row folded the seven-seater solely has 502 litres.

With the third row in use this shrinks to 131L, and with each rows folded you get a most of 1488L. The boot in five-seater mode measures 1370mm lengthy by 885mm tall, with 1000mm between the wheel-arch covers.

A full-size spare tyre is mounted beneath the automobile.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What’s beneath the bonnet?

The Pajero Sport carries over its four-cylinder 2.4-litre single-turbo diesel engine and eight-speed auto, which differs to the brand new Triton’s twin-turbo oiler and six-speed automated.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

How does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport drive?

Not a lot has modified since I drove the pre-update mannequin late final 12 months.

Being a little bit older than a few of its rivals, the Pajero Sport’s common powertrain refinement isn’t up there with the most effective in phase. It has a rumbly diesel clatter on start-up and idle, though it’s nonetheless not too unhealthy general.

In regular driving round city, this SUV feels very like most ladder-frame 4x4s at this time. The controls are heavy, the diesel is lazy, and it lopes round like the massive, heavy wagon it’s.

That stated, the eight-speed auto is fairly good at protecting the turbo-diesel in its torque band, and shifts very easily and reliably. That makes it nicely suited round city, and also you not often really feel the necessity to pull on one of many shift paddles in regular driving.

I spent most of my time commuting to and from the CarExpert Melbourne workplace in the course of the week, and whereas it felt like a step again in time, the Pajero Sport is likely one of the extra agreeable off-road SUVs in day-to-day situations.

For instance, the previous MU-X was a shocker to drive each day, and the earlier Everest was a bit clumsy, even when supplied properly damped experience high quality.

There’s a little bit of noise from the diesel engine beneath acceleration whatever the depth, particularly if you happen to’re evaluating the Pajero Sport to a car-based SUV like a Kia Sorento. Might be higher, however may very well be worse.

At the least efficiency is fairly responsive and linear, as famous earlier. When stopped, there’s no idle cease/begin tech to save lots of gasoline and emissions in site visitors, so that you’re simply left with the drone of the diesel clatter in metropolis gridlock – dugdugdug.

However the Pajero Sport begins to indicate off its strengths on the freeway, the place the engine and transmission can settle right into a quiet cruise. The chassis delivers a extra wafty really feel moderately than the wobbly and at instances jittery behaviour it may give you on the town, the place the long-travel suspension and large wheels crash over tram tracks and potholes.

It’s not a match for the superb locally-developed Everest, which seems like a luxurious SUV at instances, however given its age and worth level the Pajero Sport does a stable job of touring, and you may see why it has confirmed widespread with adventurous Australian households.

WATCH: 4WD SUV Off-Highway Mega Check

We didn’t take the up to date Pajero Sport off the overwhelmed monitor this time, however we noticed spectacular outcomes throughout our 4WD SUV Mega Check.

There it carried out fairly nicely on the hillclimb, rolling again barely in 2H earlier than the traction management labored issues out. However it was very spectacular in 4H, transferring ahead with barely any slip.

Its age confirmed within the flex take a look at, the place the door caught barely on the physique. It wasn’t the worst performer in that take a look at, nonetheless. Mitsubishi’s traction management system walked the automotive out of the moguls with a minimal of fuss, even within the road-oriented 4A four-wheel drive setting. With 4H and Mud Mode engaged, it was much more easy.

It scaled Mogul Mountain with out an excessive amount of wheel slip, and the hill-descent management saved the automotive good and managed. You may make the automotive descend sooner utilizing the throttle, not by way of the cruise management buttons as in some rivals.

Rev flaring was noticeable within the Pajero Sport going up Gravel Mountain, but it surely managed to scale the hill on the second try with its rear differential locked.

Driver help isn’t a selected energy for the massive Mitsubishi, which lags behind key rivals by way of inclusions.

The usual adaptive cruise management system works fairly nicely, however cancels itself at low speeds. It doesn’t characteristic any type of stop-and-go or site visitors jam help capabilities like we’re seeing extra of in rivals lately.

Likewise, there’s no energetic lane protecting assistant – or departure warning, for that matter. The Exceed and GSR are the one variants within the vary to attain blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert techniques, the previous of which may detect a automobile inside 3.5 metres of the Pajero Sport’s aspect or 70m from the rear bumper.

You additionally choose up a Multi Round View Monitor within the Exceed and GSR, which is useful for visibility given the scale of the automobile however not the final phrase in decision or readability.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What do you get?

The GSR sits on the prime of the Pajero Sport lineup in Australia.

Pajero Sport GLX highlights:

• 5 seats
• Revised 18-inch alloy wheels
• Automated LED headlights (NEW)
• LED fog lights and daytime working lights
• Rain-sensing wipers (NEW)
• Energy-folding exterior mirrors
• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – wired
• DAB digital radio
• Paddle shifters
• Digital parking brake
• Adjustable velocity limiter
• Keyless entry and begin
• Three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel (NEW)
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
• Local weather management air-conditioning
• Black fabric upholstery
• 4-speaker sound system

Pajero Sport GLS provides:

• 7 seats
• 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels
• Twin-zone local weather management
• 6-speaker sound system
• Tyre strain monitoring
• Automated headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Rear flooring storage field
• Privateness glass
• Energy tailgate

Pajero Sport Exceed provides:

• Leather-based upholstery
• Energy-adjustable entrance seats
• Heated entrance seats
• Energy entrance seats
• Distant app connectivity
• 8-speaker premium audio
• 8.0-inch LCD instrument cluster
  • incl. up to date graphics (NEW)

Pajero Sport GSR provides:

• 18-inch black alloy wheels
• Black exterior accents
  • Roof
  • Bumper garnishes
  • Headlight garnish
  • Rear spoiler
  • Grille
• Artificial leather-based upholstery (NEW)
• Darkish Titanium inside accents

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

Choices

Deluxe Package deal: $2500 (GLS)

• Encompass-view digital camera
• Leather-based upholstery
• Energy entrance seats

Colors

There are 10 color mixtures out there throughout the 2024 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport lineup, together with the brand new Blade Silver Metallic and a Graphite Gray hue with black roof.

Is the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport secure?

The Pajero Sport obtained a five-star ANCAP security ranking again in 2015, although the ranking is now expired. It’s price noting the ranking was additionally based mostly on checks of the previous-generation Triton ute.

It included a frontal offset crash take a look at rating of 15.22 out of 16 and a aspect impression rating of 16 out of 16. Whiplash and pedestrian safety had been rated Good and Acceptable, respectively.

Commonplace security options embody:

• 7 airbags incl. driver’s knee
• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Adaptive cruise management
• Rear parking sensors
• Reversing digital camera

Pajero Sport Exceed provides:

• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Encompass-view cameras

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

How a lot does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport price to run?

Mitsubishi’s normal guarantee covers 5 years or 100,000km of driving, however you possibly can prolong this to 10 years or 200,000km if you happen to service with an authorised Mitsubishi seller.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

CarExpert’s Tackle the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Regardless of some beauty adjustments, the flagship Pajero Sport isn’t all that completely different – however is costlier and arguably much less aggressive than it was even six to 12 months in the past.

Whereas usually competent and agreeable to drive in day by day situations, the Pajero Sport is absolutely beginning to fall behind the pack of newer and extra refined rivals that supply higher tech and refinement for comparable and even much less cash.

This Mitsubishi has been feeling dated for some time, and the most recent Everest continues to dominate this phase for good purpose. And with an Isuzu MU-X replace looming – and the new-gen Triton exhibiting off its personal developments – the Pajero Sport is feeling nearly historical as we strategy 2025.

All that apart, at its core Mitsubishi’s greatest SUV is a rugged, no-nonsense seven-seat journey machine that has constructed a legion of loyal followers, even when it might probably’t tow the hallowed 3500kg. The ten-year conditional guarantee additionally sweetens the deal as some extent of distinction.

For the longest time the Pajero Sport has traded on worth and off-road capacity. You possibly can nonetheless get each, by avoiding higher-spec variants. Save your self $10,000 and get a GLX, which in my view is the candy spot of the vary.

Concerned with shopping for a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport? Get in contact with considered one of CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here

Click on the pictures for the total gallery

MORE: Every little thing Mitsubishi Pajero Sport