The Pajero is back for real: body-on-frame, diesel, and low-range gearing. No hybrid disguise.

The ladder frame is there. Super Select 4WD-II is there. Low range and center diff lock are there. The 2.4 diesel is the only engine option, no electrified versions. If you've been waiting for the moment marketers finally stopped lying to engineers, this is it.

This is not a facelift of the old Pajero, nor a Pajero Sport under a different badge, although the family connection is obvious: the platform grew out of the Triton, and assembly is in Thailand. But the frame for the flagship has been seriously reworked. The front section and floor are still shared with the pickup; the rest is a separate structure designed for the three-row body. At the rear, there are no leaf springs, but a solid axle on five links. For those who understand the difference between a "crossover with an engine guard" and a vehicle that can handle fords and ruts, this matters more than any slogan.

The geometry numbers are not decorative either. Ground clearance is 230 mm. Approach angle is 30.4°. Ramp angle is 22.6°. Departure angle is 25.8°. This is no longer "drove off a curb and feeling proud." Super Select 4WD-II works as before in principle: 2H on asphalt, 4H on slippery surfaces without lock, 4HLc with the center locked, and 4LLc with low range. On top of that, they've added S-AWC and seven modes: Eco, Normal, Gravel, Snow, Mud, Sand, Rock. In other words, they didn't throw out the classic mechanical all-wheel drive for the sake of pretty pictures on a screen — the screens were simply added on top.

For now, there's only one engine, and that's the right call. A 2.4-liter turbo diesel with a single wide VGT, 150 kW, and up to 480 N·m (470 on some versions). The gearbox is a new 8-speed automatic with a sport mode. That's enough for the lineup's launch: there's low-end torque, no hybrid confusion, and towing capacity is rated up to 3.5 tons. The power is no longer a "mystery" — the secret only lasted until the premiere. Now the secret is something else: will this be enough for people nostalgic for the old inline-sixes and the 3.2 DI-D? An honest expert answer: for a ladder frame and an eight-speed, the torque is enough. The charisma of the old big diesel is a matter of taste, not capability.

The interior, meanwhile, explains exactly why Mitsubishi revived the name at all. This is no longer a Spartan box built to "just get you there." Three rows, seven seats, the second row slides 150 mm, three-zone climate control, ventilation, sound insulation, and even a 12-speaker Yamaha audio system. The grab handles are in place — a small detail that immediately shows the vehicle was designed by people who've held on at least once while crossing a ford. The virtual instrument cluster with altimeter, compass, and pitch and roll angles is a direct nod to the old-school Pajero. Sure, the dials are now drawn on a screen, but the meaning is the same: the driver is shown not just speed, but also where they are relative to the horizon.

And this is where the vehicle becomes dangerous for its competitors. With this, you can genuinely head into the taiga in the morning and pull up at a restaurant in the evening without feeling like a tractor driver. Land Cruiser Prado / 250, Fortuner, Everest, MU-X — they all now have to respond not with a slogan, but with hardware. Pajero is playing on their turf again, not on ASX's turf.

Where and when. Launch is in Thailand, then Japan and Australia by the end of March 2027, which falls within Japan's 2026 fiscal year. After that, a rollout to roughly 100 markets: Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East. Europe and Russia were not named in the first wave. That's also part of the truth: the vehicle is global, but not "for everyone all at once."

A short verdict without rose-tinted hype. The new Pajero is the best thing Mitsubishi could have done with this name after the 2021 pause. It's not a museum-piece remake of the fourth generation, nor a crossover with a fake beard. It's a body-on-frame seven-seater with an honest diesel and proper all-wheel drive. If this is exactly the vehicle you need, you don't have to read the headline twice: it's already said everything.