Mitsubishi fans have been asking when – if ever – they are likely to see a new generation of the legendary and still widely-liked Pajero off-roader. The answer is, not anytime soon, according to Mitsubishi Australia.
“We cant speculate on whether we are developing a new Pajero,” Mitsubishi Motors Australia Head of Product Planning James Tol explained to CarAdvice at the launch of the 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. “We will continue to upgrade and tweak the current one for the foreseeable future.”
Part of that process of updating the current Pajero includes tighter emissions regulations that have seen it meet strict Euro 5 guidelines.
“That’s part of it, we’ve invested to keep it compliant with Euro 5 regulations,” Tol said. “We didn’t invest all that money not to sell the car, put it that way. Outside of that, we really can’t speculate.”
What, then, of the comment made recently by Trevor Mann that hinted at a Nissan/Mitsubishi shared platform for what would be the new Pajero?
“We don’t know what the alliance will decide to do, honestly,” Mitsubishi Motors Australia Executive Director of Marketing Tony Principe told CarAdvice.
“Trevor Mann did mention that the Pajero and Patrol was a good mix, or it fits or something like that, but with the current car, we are spending a lot of money keeping it current and there’s no reason to stop that. It’s still quite competitive, specification-wise and price-wise.”
The most obvious benefit of the alliance comes in the form of the volume that both manufacturers would be able to tap into. “Combined, the whole business case is obviously a lot more healthy and you need that volume to be viable,” Tol said.
“Remember, though, that the bones of the current Pajero, the independent suspension, the monocoque, are still very contemporary and in touch of its time. We might be lacking some of the advanced driver assist technology and infotainment of newer vehicles, but the Pajero is still very competitive.”
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