Relaunched Mitsubishi Pajero Is Already Stealing Land Cruiser Customers

It's been less than two months since the Mitsubishi Pajero officially re-entered the off-road-focused SUV scene, and it's already making waves. Long-beleaguered Mitsubishi says that a whopping 80% of the Pajero's customers in Japan are coming from competitors as it looks to move upmarket with a $39,000 base price — primed to challenge the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser. Of course, a great deal of that 80% number makes sense, considering Mitsubishi doesn't really make anything all that compelling right now, and hasn't for some time. Honestly, I'd assume the other 20% of non-conquest buyers are just folks coming from old Pajeros.

In any case, Mitsu' unveiled domestic pricing and specs for its new flagship this week, adding that it had already received 5,500 orders in Japan for the Japan-built body-on-frame SUV — 1,500 more than what was expected, according to Automotive News. It puts the seven-seater well on its way to hitting Mitsubishi's goal of 10,000 sales through March of 2027. Sales are officially slated to begin in Japan on December 17, with the Australian market getting theirs the following month. It's already on sale in Thailand, with 1,500 orders so far.

Mitsubishi clearly had its sights set on the Toyota Land Cruiser lineup when designing, engineering and pricing the new Pajero. In Japan, it's priced at the equivalent of $39,212, which places it slightly above the entry point of the Land Cruiser 250 ($36,596) and directly in line with the base-level utilitarian version of the twin-turbo Land Cruiser 300 ($39,890). Volume versions of the LC300 start at a far higher $55,406, according to Automotive News, and they go all the way up to $64,586 for the top-end GR Sport hybrid. Stateside, the only Land Cruiser we get is the smaller 250, and it starts at $59,775, including destination. If the Pajero/Montero were to come here, I wouldn't be shocked if it were to cost somewhere in that neighborhood.

In any case, Mitsubishi has to be feeling good about what the Pajero is already bringing to the table. That 80% conquest number is nothing to sneeze at, and the company says many former Pajero owners who left the brand when the company dropped the nameplate globally in 2020 are returning, Automotive News reports. Those buyers are also going for big options — ignoring the bargain-basement attitude Mitsubishi has cultivated in the past years. About 70% of Japanese orders are for vehicles equipped with premium packages, which has to be amazing news for a company looking to switch up its image in a major way.

Despite all of this, there's still no word on whether we're going to get our Montero stateside, but by all that's holy, I want it. Mitsubishi says it's evaluating other markets and plans other power trains beyond the current diesel, but I won't hold my breath.