After a five-year absence, Mitsubishi has revived the Pajero and confirmed it will become a family, with a compact SUV and an even smaller model joining the full-size flagship.The new flagship rides on a ladder-frame platform derived from the Triton pickup, measuring 4,920 mm long with a 2,870 mm wheelbase and room for three rows.Production begins in Thailand ahead of a rollout to more than 100 countries and regions, sold as the Montero in some markets, though North America is not on the list. Some nameplates are too good to leave in a drawer. The Pajero is one of them, a badge built on Paris-Dakar victories and a reputation for going absolutely anywhere without complaint. Mitsubishi retired it five years ago, which felt at the time like retiring a champion boxer to sell insurance. Now it is back, and rather than treating the revival as a single nostalgic gesture, Mitsubishi is turning the Pajero into an entire family. One Flagship, Two Smaller Siblings and a Ladder Frame The first member has now been fully revealed, and it is a proper off-roader, riding on a ladder-frame platform derived from the Triton pickup. At the world premiere this week, two additional models sat quietly in the background under covers, a compact SUV and something smaller still. Mitsubishi has offered no details because neither is arriving imminently, but both were visibly, considerably tinier than the flagship. The big one is exactly as substantial as the badge demands. It measures 4,920 millimeters, or 193.7 inches, long, 1,925 mm, or 75.8 inches, wide, and 1,910 mm, or 75.2 inches, tall, with a 2,870 mm, or 113.0-inch, wheelbase that liberates space for three rows of seats. The body-on-frame construction gives it the underpinnings serious off-road work demands, rather than the suggestion of it that so many soft-roaders offer. The open question concerns the smaller two. Mitsubishi has not confirmed whether they will stick with body-on-frame construction or move to conventional unibody architectures, and the smart money is on the latter, particularly for the entry-level model. Developing a bespoke small ladder-frame platform would be enormously expensive for a company that has had a difficult few years, and Mitsubishi already knows how to build crossovers. The Triton-derived setup makes perfect sense for a large, genuine off-roader. It makes considerably less sense for something you can park in a city center. Either way, expect boxy styling and at least credible off-road ability from both, because a Pajero that cannot cope with a muddy field is simply a hatchback wearing a costume. The flagship launches first from Thailand, where it is built, before spreading to more than 100 countries and regions, wearing the Montero name in certain markets. North America, sadly, is not among them, though a recent teaser suggests that gap may be filled before the decade is out. For everyone else, the champion is out of retirement and bringing family.
