pejaro sport

The first Pajero prototype was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in November 1973. The Pajero II prototype followed in 1978, five years later. Mitsubishi’s aim was to create more of a recreational vehicle, not just an SUV.

In January 1983, the first Pajero made its debut at the Paris Dakar Rally, taking first place in 1985 at only the third attempt. To date, the Pajero is the most successful vehicle in the Dakar Rally (winning its class 7 out of the last 10 races, and 15 of the full 32 races). This not only gave the Pajero an offroad reputation, but also helped in the sales department.

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Media Test Drive

Recently, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia organized a special test drive session of the all-new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for members of the local media. A total of 21 journalists from various publications were invited to attend the event. Spread into five cars, each took turns to drive thePajero Sport from KL all the way up to Penang and back the following day with a few backroad detours thrown in to fully test its ride, handling and off-road capabilities.

The media pack gathered in the morning at MMM’s HQ in Shah Alam, where they were introduced to Mitsu’s veteran Dakar Rally driver Hiroshi Masuoka, who played a key role in the development of the Pajero Sport. At 9:30am, after a quick group photo, everybody got into their assigned cars and fired up the Pajero’s (let’s use the Sport moniker sparingly from this point forward) two and a half litre turbo-diesel powerplant. Collectively, the five diesel engines idling together produced an audible clatter, which became markedly reduced when the cars are on their own.