Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

The 2022 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport presents a pretty competitive on-paper argument, but how does it fare in the real world?

This hulking seven-seater can be a little rough and ready in its execution, but there’s an undeniable charm there.

Is the Mitsubishi Pajero the best value 7 seater?

Can the Pajero go from family to off-road seamlessly?

A new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport four-wheel-drive is expected to follow about 12 months after the next Mitsubishi Triton ute.

Five-star safety scores for some of Australia’s most popular new cars expire today, but the vehicles are not banned from sale.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has received a minor equipment upgrade and new optional colours alongside price increases across the line-up.

The five-star safety scores for some of Australia’s most popular new cars are due to expire at the end of this year. Now tradies and fleets are scrambling to secure vehicles before January 1 2023, to avoid being banned from worksites.

The 2022 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport gives your family plenty of space, comfort and tech, along with the ability to anywhere and everywhere. Explore it in more detail by taking a Virtual Test Drive!

Pauline wants a city-friendly SUV that can handle a horse float.

We’ve extensively tested the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport over the few years it has been on sale in Australia.

Jacques is looking at a new family SUV to replace his ageing Volvo XC90, which has developed a few problems in recent times.

So with the sudden onset of Christmas and being advised by our Victorian families that it was our turn to host and the matriarch was "not up to the travel to Queensland" - we opted to drive so that our children (ok, Schnauzers) could be with us. Rather than put 3700 km on one of our cars (Tiguan Diesel or 440i) we opted to rent a car. At $440 for 9 days and unlimited K's why wouldn't you! And that was when the Pajero Sport GLS 7 Seat came into our lives. For 9 days. We were initially supposed to get a Forrester, but due to issues with supply, we got a 2 x upgrade for the same money. Score!! So, on to the car. We drove the following route Brisbane - Goondiwindi - Narrabri - Coonabarrabran - Dubbo (for the night) - Parkes - Narrandera - Shepparton - Mount Martha Mount Martha - Daylesford - Albury (for the night) - Gunadgi - Cowra - Wellington - Spring Ridge - Tamworth (another night) - Uralla - Wallangarra - Brisbane. So we got to experience lots of B and C roads, especially the Albury - Tamworth leg. As a sized vehicle, it is big, which is great in that you can fit so much stuff in it. We were loaded up with clothes and presents for 18 and could still see out the back windows, with the back seats left for the fur people. The front cabin is roomy, the "leather" seats are comfortable, though the husband thought that they needed a tad more lumbar support. The controls are all logical (though both coming from Euro cars there was a need for adjustment) the bonus of Radar Cruise control made the cruising very easy, and it was quick to "beep" as obstacles came up. The Air Con (climate control) was perfect and all it required was a subtle adjustment of the temperature to keep the car nice. The added bonus of roof mounted vents in the rear meant we all had good air. No Sat Nav but Android Auto and Apple Car Play were at our disposal (and after using both on this trip, Android just edges out Apple for ease of use and nice interface). Apple Car Play was a little "buggy" Storage up front was also ample, room for 2 keep cups in the center console, and water bottles in the door, as well as the rear doors. I go back to "Its Big" - which means it does handle like a tank. Whilst easy enough to drive, the turning circle is fairly large, and to park it requires lots of space, deft skills, or a lot of back and fill. The aide of sensors and a reverse camera were invaluable, particularity in shopping centers. The diesel engine is willing, after a few hours with it, we became use to its torque and except in the rare occasion a hill was involved, passing maneuvers on single lane roads were easily executed. Again, back to "Its Big" - the height gave is a distinct advantage when passing rows of traffic. The engine was remarkably quiet, we hardly heard it at cruising speed (the whole cabin was fairly quiet, bar Spotify) though idling in traffic that familiar agricultural diesel clatter was apparent (albeit at a low volume). Ride ... hmmm. Comfortable, yes, we never got out of the car with any sort of issue. However, the ride is very "floaty" and any significant bump in the road and you'd know about it, also a little too floaty in passing maneuvers. I think given it is a 4WD it is set up for all types of terrain, if you were only using it for highway running, then you might want to invest in the suspension being tuned. Fuel economy. The car had just over 4,000km when we picked it up. We averaged 8.9l/100km over 3,700km. Not awful Kluger territory, but not as good as we thought it may be (and nowhere near the ADR number of 7 for highway). As it was diesel was cheap and plentiful everywhere we went. As for the design of the car. Its a freaking big box on wheels. Stylish, no, but practical, yes. So whats my impression after 9 days and that many kilometers. For a highway runner for long distance driving it is really great, comfortable, spacious, and enough power to feel safe. Would I buy one? For my inner city driving, no, but If I had a large family, or I lived "out west" (you know, past Jindalee) then yes, it would certainly be top of the shopping list, given what we drove was worth just over $50k. A lot of car for the money. I'd also like to recommend to you all to get out of the urban areas and do a similar holiday. Not only does it refresh / sharpen your driving skills, but you get to see some great parts of the country (which as I write this, is very very very dry) Would I do it again? Yes (but maybe not in 9 days) and I would certainly be putting the Pajero at the top of the list for rentals.

When the last of the kids left home the wife and I looked around and decided to take contract positions in far western Qld. We quickly realised we need something more than our Eco-hatch, we needed a large roo-bar and spotlights. I found a demo Pajero Sport with both and west we went. The cargo capacity is very handy when moving house and the air conditioning a life saver when it's 45+. On the highway it was quiet and comfortable and we both found the seats excellent even on long 12 hour+ days. Once west of Roma trying to overtake triples and fast moving b-doubles left me wishing for more power/torque even on the long straights. The fuel economy was startling bad and at around 400ks we had to look/plan to refuel, luckily after the first service it improved considerably. However clearly Japanese engineers have never driven out west as the tank needs to be substantially larger. Another irritating item is that the "entertainment" system relies on mobile coverage. This means for the many hours of driving between towns there is no maps, no music, no nothing. This may not be an issue in downtown Tokyo but west of the Great Divide playing I spy for hours when there is nothing to the horizon is no fun. This is really annoying when we have 100's of CD's we couldn't use as there is no CD player. What made even more frustrating is that the sound system is excellent. However items I did appreciate was the tight (for a 4x4) turning circle, the reversing camera (a life saver for children and small cars) good visiblity (front & side) the clearance and 4x4 ability (even with HT tyres). We drove out to visit friends on a cattle station on several occasions and the "bronze beast" handled the hours of corrigations, washouts and loose sand with aplomb. In our first 12 months we did over 40000k's driving between nowhere and the great Australian FA. The Sport was wonderfully reliable cool comfortable transport which is exactly what we wanted way out west. However on the wish list is more power/torque (for the road trains of which there are many) a much larger fuel tank (a range of 1200-1400ks would very useful) and a CD player is a must. For the rest it was reliable practical and we could shove lots of stuff in the back including all the pets and the coffee machine so it handled all the essentials. Would I recommend it, I certainly would.

After publishing my owner review of my family's 2016 Mazda CX-9 and seeing all the positive feedback it sparked, I decided to write another owner review. If you didn't get around to reading that review, my name is Jordan and I'm 14 years old. I have a massive interest in cars, and my dream job is to become a motoring journalist. But, for now I'm stuck with reviews of my parents cars, and thankfully CarAdvice - Australia’s best motoring website - offer the amazing owner reviews where I can write to my heart's content. So, here we go… Our old 2013 Nissan Navara ST has been killed off and now, a new life has been born in our car family. Opening the garage door, we now see the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport sitting alongside our family hauler - the Mazda CX-9. We also have our beautiful Aussie classics, two LJ Torana’s; both of which are in restoration, and a Ford XT Falcon GT. Now, I can hear you saying: “Wait, hold on a minute you bought an SUV to replace your completely fine ute?” Well, read on to find out why. See, when I began researching what ute to buy next, I was immediately thinking we needed a ute that can tow our boat, fit our family and two large Rottweilers in the back, while being technologically advanced and most importantly, be safe. All 4X4 dual-cab utes sold in this country fit this criteria, except for the latter two which are harder to come across. That meant that the recently launched Great Wall Steed was crossed off the list, same goes for the Foton Tunland. Now, I was left with Nissan Navara ST-X, Mitsubishi Triton Exceed, Holden Colorado LTZ, Ford Ranger XLT, and the new Volkswagen Amarok V6 Highline. My pick was the Holden Colorado, as it was a great package and alternative to the dearer rivals. But, of course we never looked at the Colorado, and that's my fault. One day, I was watching YouTube videos about the Colorado when I came across the CarAdvice video comparing the Pajero Sport and Holden Trailblazer. After not thinking much about it, I continued to look at the Colorado. Then, I was interested - how can these cars can do everything a ute can do, yet be as versatile and comfortable as a passenger car. After that, my random discussion about the Holden Colorado whilst my parents were talking about something completely unrelated to cars changed to the Pajero Sport. Needless to say, they were intrigued - and the Pajero Sport earned itself a place in our garage. However, before the buying process, anyone researching a car should look at the other cars in the segment and I did just that. But, the Pajero Sport still come out on top; well, the Ford Everest actually did, but we would need an extra $25k and for that money, we could buy a brand new small car. Now, before SUV haters insult us for buying one, consider these facts: 1) We never used a ute for utility purposes, and often couldn’t fit things in the back (it had a canopy); 2) Whilst I tried to find a wagon, unfortunately none could fit the criteria and finally Skoda don’t make a ute, or 4x4 SUV derivative. So far, it has been a month since the day we took our baby home and the Paj’ Sport has already acclaimed over 1500 kms. The car has had a few minor issues, but has been reliable. If something went wrong, it's great that Mitsubishi offers a class-leading 5 year/100,000km warranty, which is a great assurance as you know that they believe their product will last. The engine is quiet, at least from the perspective of having a Navara previously, and being largely based on the Triton ute engine and chassis. The average fuel economy usually sits around 8.5-9.0L which is close to the claimed figure of 8.0. In terms of driving. The suspension irons out most bumps and the steering is agile (for the size and type of the vehicle). However, it is a bit jumpy over some humps and bumps on the road, but not enough to spill your coffee. Styling the Pajero Sport is the new Mitsubishi ‘Dynamic Shield’ front fascia. It is a nice design, if not a tad bit chrome heavy, but in our particular vehicle, it has been covered with the tough-looking ARB Summit bull-bar. Our car is painted in the most popular Titanium grey finish. We chose this colour because it looks similar to our CX-9 in Machine Grey. The Pajero Sport sits very high and the usually decorative side steps still make it difficult to get in and out. It certainly isn’t afraid to say “I’m an off-roader”. Whilst I hated the rear design, I have become used to it, and it actually doesn’t look that bad. Still not a great design though. In my opinion, the rear on the Fortuner would match the Paj Sport perfectly as it has various similarities to the Outlander and even ASX. Same goes for Eclipse Cross, but that's a different story. Also, the tow bar is strangely positioned and is a separate component to the car, it looks like Mitsubishi have gone “Oh no, we forgot about the tow bar; quick just get this and put it under the car”. The cabin is simple, but in a good way. Sure, it may not have a large touchscreen or soft-touch plastics, but it makes sense. It has the ‘Mitsubishi’ feel where minimal corners have been cut to save as much $$ as possible, such as no hand grip for the rear seats and blank buttons, which is annoying. What's best about the interior is the material used for the leather seats. They are the most comfortable seats that I have ever sat on in a car, it almost feels like we have taken what should be the actual seats out and put couches in. If anybody thinks these seats are uncomfortable, the car needs to go back to the dealer ASAP. One annoying niggle that we have found is the automatic door lock system, I understand why this system exists: to reduce carjacking and ultimately protect you and your car, and I welcome that wholeheartedly, but they don't unlock when the car is in park and the engine is off. Passengers have to flick the lock before opening, yet the driver doesn't! And, when opening the driver's door it doesn't unlock the others. Also, if the cars on accessory mode, the boot won't open unless you turn the car off, lock it and unlock it again. Within two weeks, the car was brought back to the dealer and they changed the setting so that the doors unlock when the car goes into Park. Some technological features the Pajero Sport has include a 7” infotainment system with the ever-so-popular Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as DAB+ digital radio along with the standard FM/AM radio, no CD player though - which is becoming the standard, and is fine for me, but may be annoying for people a bit older. The display is bright, easy to read and simple to use, albeit with amateur looking graphics and no embedded sat-nav, which is quite strange for a near $50,000. The ‘Warning, ensure you read the safety manual’’ message on start-up is annoying when you have to press Accept. It should be like other systems where it disappears after 5/10 seconds. As previously mentioned, the car comes with no sat-nav, but has GPS sensors? Apparently it's to boost the maps connection on your phones CarPlay/Android Auto, but, still annoying. Overall, it's a great system and hopefully Mitsubishi improve some minor issues in revisions to the Pajero Sport, Pajero, Triton, Outlander and upcoming ASX update, all of which share the same system. Also, the Pajero Sport gets a nifty off-road ‘Super Select II system”. It works good and efficiently on the fly, and the car can be driven in 4x4 full time without it being in high/low range or without any differential lock. The Jeep Grand Cherokee like Terrain Select system seems handy, but we haven’t had a chance to test it out yet. It’s great the Pajero Sport comes with 7 seats standard on the GLS and Exceed, and at no price increase from the 2016 model which did not have the extra row of seats, it’s great value. But, for buyers like my family who already have a 7 seater, that being the Mazda CX-9 and retirees who want to take it around the country with the ‘van for example, it should really be a no-cost option, considering that it eats into the boot space and has an overly large load-lip. We were contemplating buying the 5-seat GLX but couldn't justify taking away the nice extra features available on the GLS model. In conclusion, we are enjoying having the Pajero Sport in our garage and it is a great option for someone looking at a ute-based 4X4 SUV. Stay tuned for more reviews of other cars from me in the future and feel free to leave a comment below. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!