The Mitsubishi Pajero, or Montero as it was known in the US, is back for 2027, but the Japanese brand already has plans to expand from one Pajero SUV to an entire fleet. The rugged midsize, ladder-frame SUV will soon gain two much smaller brothers, including a compact crossover aimed squarely at the Toyota RAV4 and a pint-sized kei SUV that should revive the Pajero Mini name.
Mitsubishi already confirmed in May that it wants to turn Pajero into a family of off road-focused models, but the latest reports flesh out that strategy. The flagship ladder-frame SUV due later this year is expected to be followed by a compact unibody crossover around 2028 or 2029, before a kei class model joins the range around 2030.
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The RAV4-sized model is easily the more important of the pair. Rather than simply recycling an existing Nissan or Renault product, Mitsubishi is reportedly developing a dedicated platform while borrowing selected components from the Outlander to keep development costs in check. That should allow it to carve out its own identity while still benefiting from Mitsubishi‘s existing hybrid expertise.
Nikkei Asia reports that Mitsubishi will differentiate its compact Pajero from rivals like the RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 by pushing the four-wheel drive tech harder. It also says the spiritual successor to the 1999-2007 Pajero iO, or Pajero Pinin, as it was called in Europe, will offer hybrid engine tech.
Watch Out, Jimny
Back when the Pinin was a new car, Mitsubishi dealers in Japan could also sell you a Pajero Mini, a kei-car alternative to the Suzuki Jimny, and it too is getting a reboot for circa-2030, the report says. The smallest Pajero will be a unibody SUV with increased ground clearance, available all-wheel drive and hybrid power borrowed from the Xforce crossover.
Japanese renders suggest styling influenced by the butch-looking Delica Mini kei-class minivan (below), complete with upright proportions, chunky cladding, and plenty of faux off-road attitude. There’s no chance of the Mini appearing on US roads, but considering Toyota and Honda together sell almost 900,000 RAV4s and CR-Vs, the compact Pajero could be a great fit for America as a tougher-looking Outlander alternative.