2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport review

The Mitsubishi Triton dual-cab ute lately obtained an in depth generational overhaul, however it appears the intently associated Pajero Sport giant off-road SUV received’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 yr 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 modifications on the surface, in addition to a brand new steering wheel nicked from the brand new Triton on the within.

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

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

WATCH: Paul’s video evaluate 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 expertise (to not point out larger refinement) for comparable cash, and different rivals within the phase provide bigger, extra highly effective turbo-diesel engines with larger towing capacities.

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

How does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport examine?

View an in depth breakdown of the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport towards equally sized autos.

Mitsubishi

Pajero Sport

How a lot does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport value?

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, take a look at our comparison tool

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

As with the surface, the modifications 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most recent Triton, and a revised digital instrument cluster for the upper grades, which I really like lower than the outdated one.

It retains its 8.0-inch dimension, although the graphics are extra squared off and there’s no digital tacho dial like there was within the outdated 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 rejoice when a producer gives an inside choice that isn’t black, however Mitsubishi’s selection of trim right here is kind of polarising. It’d look higher inside a black automobile, however towards the intense 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 arduous sporting plastic, and lashings of fingerprint-attracting and scratch-prone piano black trim.

The show tech is, let’s face it, outdated 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 transportable models from a while in the past, however you may counter that with (wired) Apple CarPlay or Android Auto cellphone mirroring.

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

It’s an identical 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 purposeful, however the house underneath the centre stack clearly wasn’t designed for a future with bigger phablet smartphones – the location of the USB ports can also be a contact awkward when the car 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 underneath 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 very good quantity of house for adults, and youngsters 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 peak makes head room a bit tight for taller people like a few of my colleagues – although 6’1″ me suits simply high-quality.

Facilities embrace 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 greatest suited to children. The ‘sporty’ exterior design additionally means the rearmost home windows are fairly small, which means that smaller passengers might discover them arduous 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 affect boot house. 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 car.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparison tool

What’s underneath 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 computerized.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparison tool

How does the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport drive?

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

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

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

That mentioned, the eight-speed auto is fairly good at preserving the turbo-diesel in its torque band, and shifts very easily and reliably. That makes it effectively 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 throughout 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 outdated MU-X was a shocker to drive each day, and the earlier Everest was a bit clumsy, even when provided properly damped experience high quality.

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

No less than efficiency is fairly responsive and linear, as famous earlier. When stopped, there’s no idle cease/begin tech to avoid wasting gas 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 fairly than the wobbly and at occasions jittery behaviour it may give you on the town, the place the long-travel suspension and massive wheels crash over tram tracks and potholes.

It’s not a match for the superb locally-developed Everest, which appears like a luxurious SUV at occasions, however given its age and value level the Pajero Sport does a stable job of touring, and you’ll see why it has confirmed in style with adventurous Australian households.

WATCH: 4WD SUV Off-Street Mega Take a look at

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

There it carried out fairly effectively 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 check, the place the door caught barely on the physique. It wasn’t the worst performer in that check, nonetheless. Mitsubishi’s traction management system walked the automobile 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 stored the automobile good and managed. You can also make the automobile descend sooner utilizing the throttle, not through the cruise management buttons as in some rivals.

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

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

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

Likewise, there’s no lively lane preserving 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 methods, the previous of which may detect a car inside 3.5 metres of the Pajero Sport’s aspect or 70m from the rear bumper.

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

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparison tool

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
• Computerized 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 pace 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
• Computerized 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, take a look at our comparison tool

Choices

Deluxe Package deal: $2500 (GLS)

• Encompass-view digicam
• Leather-based upholstery
• Energy entrance seats

Colors

Is the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport protected?

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

It included a frontal offset crash check rating of 15.22 out of 16 and a aspect affect rating of 16 out of 16. Whiplash and pedestrian safety have been rated Good and Acceptable, respectively.

Commonplace security options embrace:

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

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, take a look at our comparison tool

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

Mitsubishi’s normal guarantee covers 5 years or 100,000km of driving, however you may prolong this to 10 years or 200,000km in the event you service with an authorised Mitsubishi supplier.

To see how the Pajero Sport strains up towards the competitors, take a look at our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Tackle the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Regardless of some beauty modifications, 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 typically competent and agreeable to drive in each day situations, the Pajero Sport is admittedly beginning to fall behind the pack of newer and extra refined rivals that provide 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 cause. 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 largest SUV is a rugged, no-nonsense seven-seat journey machine that has constructed a legion of loyal followers, even when it may well’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 skill. You may 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.

All for shopping for a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport? Get in contact with one among CarExpert’s trusted sellers here

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