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Mitsubishi Pajero
The king of the Paris-Dakar race is now sporting its latest version. Hang on tight
The most glaring advertisement for the Mitsubishi Pajero has been its outstanding performance in the Dakar Rally, one of the toughest in the world, through some of the most dangerous terrain known to man. In 2007, it won the Dakar for the 12th time, in its seventh consecutive win.
Now, Pajero have unveiled their latest version, and the results of decades of experience, and development, will amaze you. Realistically, you will never need a rally-winning car for your travels through Oman, but we promise that you will love the thought in every inch of the details.
Winning streaks
Far away from the expanses of the north African deserts where it has grown up, the interiors of a 3.8 litre top end Pajero will convince you of its ability. All you have to do is sit in. While off-road capability is a difficult strength to prove over that of others, driving position and experience is easily tested. And the Pajero excels at it. Firstly, you seem to be sitting leaning into the windshield, the entire view ahead completely open from side to side. The steering and gear – even if it is an automatic – is perfectly placed. For ever-ballooning modern day SUVs, the Pajero is of quite contained proportions, far away from the large metal bulks that rush down our roads. Reverse parking is a breeze, and the actual driving on the top end 3.8 litre bottle-green beauty we drove was absolutely fantastic, easily one of the best in its class. Road feedback is present, steering taut.
Things we would change
The Pajero can easily beat anything else around, but technology and drive being constant, we would actually prefer the previous styling for two basic reasons: Firstly, there is no version with a jerrycan attached to the back. While immaterial to most, we thought it was the little details like these that set a Pajero out from the crowd: you’d have to get one custom built for any other car. The new model has its spare tire bang in the centre at the back, with no room for a fuel can. Secondly, and rather superficially, the last model had more of a flair at the front sides, above the wheel, a metal bulge reminiscent of muscles. The new model is flatter and straighter, and has less of that characteristic look. Too bad.
Still, with a formidable record off road, a fantastic drive and superior handling, there’s no reason why you should not buy one, and lots of points that will win you over. Our recommendation is that you go for it – it is more car than you need, a race-bred winner that has been made extremely comfortable for the road.
Long wheel base
The 3-litre long wheel base model has a V6 24-valve SOHC ECI Multi engine with 188hp@5,250rpm and 27.9kg-m@4,000rpm torque. The brakes on this, and the 3.8-litre short wheel base model, are 16” ventilated discs on the front and 16” ventilated drum in discs on the rear and it features 4-speed automatic transmission with a super select 4WD system. Power windows and mirrors and a fully automatic air-conditioning system are present, as they should be. Cruise control means that driving on highways is the easiest and safest it’s ever been.
Luxury features, which come as standard, include a keyless entry system and a leather strapped steering wheel and transmission shift knob. The 3.0L model features a monocoque body with built-in frame, which proved itself by receiving J-NCAP 6-star rating, with chrome-plated radiator grille, outer door mirrors and handles and 16” alloy wheels.
Short wheel base
In addition to all the characteristics of the 3-litre long wheel base model, the 3.8-litre short wheel base Pajero features a V6 24-valve SOHC ECI multi engine with 269hp@6,000rpm and 35kg-m @2,750rpm torque. The vehicle has three doors and a power tilt sliding sunroof, as well as side and curtain airbags, leather seats and side armrests. The 17” alloy wheels take care of rough roads and it features discharge type headlamps for efficient night driving.
The 3.8-litre long wheel base has all the features of the 3-litre vehicle but the interior has extra appointments that come as standard on this model. It’s 17” ventilated disc front and 17” ventilated drum in discs rear brakes keep occupants safe while the 269hp@ 6,000rpm engine with 35kg-m@2,750rpm torque goes through its impressive paces. Its luxurious features include leather seats and a centre armrest with cup holders, and a Rockford 12-speaker system for easy listening while driving. The 3.8-litre Gold Emblem Package also includes and entertainment system with a 9” screen and two headphones. This model has 18” alloy wheels. We personally would prefer ours without the gold, though. It looks a bit startling, although the entertainment system wouldn’t be too bad.
Diesel
The Pajero 3.2-litre diesel’s 3.2-litre KOHC IC/TC DID engine with 174hp@3,500 rpm and 39.5kg-m@2,000rpm torque is impressive and rugged, and the 17” ventilated disc front and 17” ventilated drum in discs rear brakes offer efficient braking capability. The activity stability control system offers comfort in driving and the transmission is five-gear manual. A urethane-strapped steering wheel and transmission shift knob come as standard. The exterior of the car is smart and modern with a black radiator grille, black outer door mirrors and handles, and 17” alloy wheels.
Buy one
The Mitsubishi Pajero is available through Zubair Automotive, 24 500230
Pajero wins the Dakar
2007, Stéphane Peterhansel, Jean-Paul Cottret
Stéphane Peterhansel (b 6 August 1965) is a rally racing driver from France. He won the Paris Dakar Rally riding Yamaha motorcycles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1998 and then again driving Mitsubishi Pajeros in 2004, 2005 and 2007, making him one of the most successful drivers in the history of that race. He competed in the Race of Champions in 2005 and 2006 and is also a two-time World Enduro Champion.
2006, Luc Alphand, Gilles Picard
Luc won the 2006 Dakar Rally, in which he had finished runner-up a year earlier. With this victory, he was the first ex-ski driver who won the Paris-Dakar.
2005, Stéphane Peterhansel, Jean-Paul Cottret
“I was very nervous this morning,” said Dakar victor Peterhansel. “It was only a small stage, but it is never easy and anything can and sometimes does happen. This is a big victory for me. It was harder than last year. The race was difficult and the difference between myself and Luc was much smaller than my winning margin last year. That shows it was a great race right to the end.”
2004, Stéphane Peterhansel, Jean-Paul Cottret
“For the first win with the bike I had to wait four years. For the first win with the car it took me six,” said Peterhansel. “It is a completely different feeling. Hiroshi drove a perfect race as well, but it was my turn this time!”
2003, Hiroshi Masuoka, Andrea Schulz
After the opening one-kilometre stage in Marseilles on New Year’s Day – for which the times do not count in the overall classification – Mitsubishi Motors drivers led from start to finish, underlining the Japanese manufacturer’s outright superiority in the Dakar Rally and the world of off-road competition. Stéphane Peterhansel reigned supreme for 13 of the remaining 16 legs, while teammate Hiroshi Masuoka led the crews for the other three. Mitsubishi Motors’ drivers also held the top five overall positions for four legs
2002, Hiroshi Masuoka, Pascal Maimon
Hiroshi Masuoka is a Japanese rally driver. His most notable achievement was his back-to-back success in the Dakar Rally in 2002 and 2003, only the fourth driver in the event’s history to win in consecutive years.
2001, Jutta Kleinschmidt, Andrea Schulz
Jutta Kleinschmidt said after achieving her goal at the glorious Lac Rose, “I cannot believe it. It’s like a dream. I couldn’t sleep well last night. My stomach was aching and I wanted to go away from everything.”
1998, Jean-Pierre Fontenay, Gilles Picard
Landing on the African continent, the Mitsubishi cars formed a 1-2-3-4 position, even on the challenging stages. Not being prone to mechanical problems, they continued at this pace and held their positions to the finish. The Pajero/Montero won for the second consecutive year. This marked the manufacturer’s fifth overall win, making Mitsubishi the manufacturer with the largest number of victories in the history of the Paris-Dakar.
1997, Kenjiro Shinozuka, Henri Magne
For the first time in its 19 year history, the 1997 event took place entirely in Africa, the 1997 Dakar-Agades-Dakar Rally made its start from Dakar in Senegal and made its way east to Agades in Niger and returned to Dakar, an exhausting 8,000km rally through some of the roughest terrain the African continent could offer.
1993, Bruno Saby, Dominique Seriyes
152 competitors entered on this occasion for an event which covered nearly 9,000km and was hailed as one of the fastest ever.
1992, Hubert Auriol, Philippe Monnet
It was the longest, most ambitious and definitely the biggest challenge ever – the Paris-Sirte-Cape Town took the brave entrants into the unknown through 11 African countries in the first ever transcontinental raid. In addition to the now familiar desert, bush and savannah sections, the crews and cars were faced with jungle, mud and river crossings and narrow tracks.
1985, Patrick Zaniroli, Jean Da Silva
Running from January 1-22, the 7th Paris-Algiers-Dakar was planned as the toughest yet, this time with a route of over 14,000 km which would be contested by a massive entry of 503 competitors, 360 of which were in the car/truck section. This time the Mitsubishi Pajero proved even more popular with three such machines entered by Sonauto Mitsubishi and no less than 37 private entries with Pajeros.
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