The refreshed 2020 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has been revealed with drive-away prices starting at $45,990 and clever app connectivity for the top-spec Exceed variant.
The current Mitsubishi Pajero Sport was released here in 2015 with this refreshed model on-sale in Australia from today (08 January 2020). The major changes relate to the looks and, according to Mitsubishi, tweaks to the vehicle’s practicality.
According to the Pajero Sport’s product boss, Yoshiki Masuda, “We gave in-depth thought to how we should best evolve Pajero Sport. We decided that in addition to refreshing the overall design we would give particular attention to uprating its advanced equipment specification and its convenience/utility performance. We wanted to deliver the kind of useful and comfort functions that would meet the diverse needs of as many customers as possible. To that end, after gathering and collating the opinions of our customers, the wisdom of our partners around the world and the project team’s know-how, we conducted multiple studies into how to best strengthen the product.
“To give an example, one of the new items of equipment is the power tailgate. In addition to the usual power operation, we have added a number of functions, including, hands-free operation using a kick-motion sensor; specific operations using a smartphone; and a smartphone-activated preset that opens the tailgate when the owner approaches the vehicle. Note: driver must also carry the key on their person for security purposes,” Masuda said.
The refreshed Pajero Sport gets the latest version of the brand’s Dynamic Shield grille design and the bonnet is a little higher than before giving the front-end a wider, more substantial look. Mitsubishi said the front end is more refined looking than before and we’d have to agree but it’s still not the nicest looking off-roader on the market.
To improve the appearance and feel of the interior, Mitsubishi has redesigned some of the grab handles and added softer pads to the door cards. A tray has been added to the tunnel-style floor console and an AC power outlet (150W) added to the trailing edge of the floor console. Adding to the interior tweaks is a new 8.0-inch infotainment screen with Apple and Android connectivity. If you stump for the Exceed variant, you’ll also get native sat-nav and owners can download an app and control certain vehicle functions, like the powered tailgate which can be set to open with the driver approaches and close when the driver walks away.
All Pajero Sport variants now get Super Select 4WD-II which offers terrain-based adjustments and lane change assist and rear cross traffic alert has been added to the active safety suite. The blind spot monitor has been changed to a radar in the rear bumper which replaces the previous versions ultrasonic sensor. The updated Pajero Sport retains the old vehicle’s five-star ANCAP rating.
There are no changes to the engine or transmission, so it’s a 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel making 133kW at 3500rpm and 430Nm at 2500rpm. This is mated to an eight-speed automatic.
2020 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Pricing
| Vehicle | Drivetrain | Transmission | Seats | RRP | Drive Away (private) |
| GLX/ AT | 4WD | 8 speed AT | 5 | $46,990 | $45,990 |
| GLS/ AT | 4WD | 8 speed AT | 5 | $51,490 | $52,490 |
| GLS/ AT | 4WD | 8 speed AT | 7 | $52,490 | $53,990 |
| Exceed | 4WD | 8 speed AT | 7 | $57,190 | $59,990 |
