2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

The base GLX comes with the following standard features:

• Five seats
• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Electronic parking brake
• Adaptive cruise control
• Keyless entry and start
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter
• LED headlights, fog lights and daytime running lights
• Climate control air-conditioning
• Power-folding exterior mirrors
• Four-speaker sound system
• DAB digital radio

4WD models also include paddle shifters.

The GLS gains the following standard features:

• Seven seats
• Automatic headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Privacy glass
• Power tailgate
• Dual-zone climate control
• Six-speaker sound system

The Exceed gains:

• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Surround-view camera
• Front parking sensors
• Heated front seats
• Power front seats
• Smartphone app connectivity
• Eight-speaker sound system
• 8.0-inch instrument cluster display

The GSR also includes:

• Black-finish 18-inch alloy wheels
• Black roof, bumper and headlight garnishes, rear spoiler and grille

White is the standard colour, with all other shades costing $740 with the exception of White Diamond, a $940 option.

The optional shades are:

• Sterling Silver metallic
• Graphite Grey metallic
• Black Mica pearlescent
• Dark Blue pearlescent
• Terra Rossa pearlescent
• White Diamond prestige

The GSR is available only in White Diamond or Black Mica, while the base GLX isn’t available in White Diamond, Black Mica or Dark Blue.

Mitsubishi hasn’t announced any changes to service pricing for 2023. The following prices currently apply to MY20, MY21 and MY22 Pajero Sports.

• Service 1: $399
• Service 2: $399
• Service 3: $499
• Service 4: $699
• Service 5: $499
• Service 6: $699
• Service 7: $499
• Service 8: $999
• Service 9: $599
• Service 10: $699

All 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport models use a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 133kW of power and 430Nm of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Mitsubishi’s Super-Select II four-wheel drive system features a full-time four-wheel drive mode as well as selectable low- and high-range gearing and a locking rear differential.

The GLX and GLS are offered with a choice of rear- or four-wheel drive.

Though it shares its underpinnings with the Triton, the Pajero Sport does a credible job in concealing its ute origins.

Take, for example, the ride quality. It’s vastly superior to the Triton, banishing the jiggly, unsettled feeling of the Triton.

Much of the credit goes to the three-link, coil-spring rear suspension, replacing the leaf springs of the Triton.

There’s still some impact harshness over sharp ruts but it’s fairly compliant for an SUV with a live rear axle.

Noise suppression is also far superior to the Triton, particularly on the highway. Where the Triton’s engine clatters, the Pajero Sport’s is hushed.

There’s the typical turbo-diesel soundtrack as you punch it from a stop but it never crosses the line into becoming raucous. 

It doesn’t cross the line into becoming particularly fast, either, but there’s adequate power to motivate this large SUV. The eight-speed automatic transmission also feels well-matched to the turbo-diesel four. 

To drive the Pajero Sport, however, is to understand there are still compromises being made.

While it feels dramatically improved over a Triton, it’s no match for a Hyundai Santa Fe dynamically. 

The car-based crossover will run rings around the big Mitsubishi.

While the Pajero Sport isn’t a match for crossovers on the road, it can go farther off road.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the Pajero Sport is the Super-Select II 4×4 system in four-wheel drive models.

The default 2H is rear-wheel drive, and there’s the usual 4-High mode with locked centre diff to fix front-to-rear torque flow, and 4-Low that activates the transfer case. But there’s also a 4H permanent AWD setting with open diff that can be used on normal roads, particularly when wet, snowy or gravelly, without you having to fret over transmission wind-up like older-school part-time setups.

There’s an additional rear diff lock to apportion rear-axle torque effectively to stave-off free-wheeling when the surfaces are super uneven, and various surface-specific switchable modes that adjust the throttle take-up and stability control lassitude.

Mitsubishi cites a maximum braked-trailer tow rating of 3.1 tonnes (for 4x4 models), but we’d err on the side of caution with that figure. For a caravan, boat, or 2.2-tonne horse float it’ll do the trick.

There’s a trailer stability assist function built into the stability control, which does a good job stabilising you in crosswinds or over uneven surfaces. You’d be doing well to get turned inside-out or jackknife. Grab a brake controller and tow kit and you’re set for the family getaways.

The $2250 Deluxe Package available on the GLS adds:

• Surround-view camera
• Leather upholstery
• Power front seats

The 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport requires servicing every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Mitsubishi’s standard warranty covers five years or 100,000km, but so long as you return to one of its dealerships at each service this extends to 10 years or 200,000km.

Servicing at dealerships also lets you take advantage of Mitsubishi’s 10 years of capped-price servicing.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport should be available either in stock or within 1-2 months of order. Unlike some other cars in market, the Pajero Sport is not under extreme pressure of chip shortages or other market conditions.

In 2021, Mitsubishi sold a total of 6804 Pajero Sport models.

Over the same time period it was outsold by the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser Prado (21,299 sales), Isuzu MU-X (10,618 sales) and the Ford Everest (8359 sales). It did outsell the Toyota Fortuner (3822 sales).

Given the vehicle has been around now for a number of years, CarExpert cannot find any known, systematic reliability concerns for the Pajero Sport range. Most issues we are aware of are minor and localised to a particular car and most often fixed under its 5-year warranty (often extended to 7-years via promotion).

The Pajero Sport may be based on the Triton ute but this isn’t simply a ute with a shell on the back.

Mitsubishi has comprehensively refined the Pajero Sport’s on-road behaviour.

You will, however, feel a difference between this and a car-based crossover SUV like a Santa Fe. Quite simply, you need to evaluate whether you actually need the superior towing and off-road capability the Pajero Sport provides.

If you’re never going to bother taking your SUV off the road, the Pajero Sport isn’t the ideal SUV for you due to its rather cumbersome handling.

It’s also let down by a third row that simply isn’t as comfortable as one might expect from an SUV this size.

The handsome interior could also do with some upgraded materials to truly differentiate it from the Triton.

Nevertheless, if you plan on doing a healthy mix of both on-road and off-road driving, the Pajero Sport represents terrific value.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is known as the Shogun Sport in the UK market and it's available as a commercial vehicle with the second and third rows of seating removed.