No Three-Door Pajero: Mitsubishi Keeps New Model Five-Door

Mitsubishi has returned the Pajero name as a full SUV family, but the new fifth-generation model is being offered strictly as a five-door. The 2027 Pajero, unveiled in September 2026 after a five-year absence, rides on a ladder-frame chassis shared with the Triton pickup and arrives with conventional bodywork rather than a shortened three-door variant.

The company has confirmed plans to expand the Pajero line. An official teaser dropped after the new-generation premiere revealed a compact unibody crossover aimed at rivals such as the Toyota RAV4, expected to surface in 2028 or 2029. Mitsubishi is also said to be developing a kei-sized Pajero, a spiritual successor to the Pajero Mini, that may appear around the turn of the decade and likely remain a Japan-only model.

Unlike the 2027 ladder-frame Pajero, the compact high-rider will be a unibody crossover and is expected to include electrified powertrains, meaning it will share only the name with the Land Cruiser rival. The kei-sized concept is reported to use a kei car chassis with a possible 660 cc turbo engine and optional all-wheel drive for extra traction, though details remain limited.

Mitsubishi has shown no sign it will produce a three-door version of the new-generation Pajero.

Imagined as a three-door

Despite that, digital artists have already pictured a shortened three-door Pajero. Renderings by Kolesa illustrator Nikita Chuyko portray a model identical to the production Pajero up to the A-pillars, then reworked behind the front doors with stretched doors and windows, revised rear three-quarter panels and a shorter wheelbase. The digital concept keeps the same front fascia and largely identical rear detailing, runs on slightly larger wheels and sits closer to the ground for a sportier look.

The illustrations take the production cabin largely unchanged: twin 14.3-inch displays on higher grades or a single 12.3-inch screen on lower grades, acoustic glass, a virtual under-floor camera and Mitsubishi's Mi-Pilot driver assistance suite. The imagined three-door would swap the production model's three-row layout for two rows, reducing rear legroom.

Underpinning would remain similar to the five-door Pajero: independent double-wishbone front suspension, a five-link rigid rear axle and comparable approach, breakover and departure angles. Power in the photos and the production model is the same 2.4-liter diesel with a single variable-geometry turbocharger; Mitsubishi lists outputs of 201 hp (204 ps/150 kW) and 354 lb-ft (480 Nm), with some specifications cited at 347 lb-ft (470 Nm). Four-wheel drive is standard and an eight-speed automatic is fitted. The manufacturer has not announced electrified versions for the ladder-frame Pajero, though electrified powertrains are expected elsewhere in the range.

Production of the new-generation Pajero will take place in Thailand alongside the Triton workhorse. The model is scheduled to launch in Japan, Thailand and Australia in the first quarter of 2027, followed by around 100 global markets including additional territories in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.