Mitsubishi released pricing for the new Pajero in Australia this week and the numbers are worth noting for anyone waiting on a new Mitsubishi Montero in America. The Pajero — which Americans know as the Montero — starts at the equivalent of under $50,000 US in Australia. The Toyota Land Cruiser starts at roughly $52,700 in Australia and above $58,000 in America. The Pajero starts below both.
A body-on-frame SUV with seven seats, a locking rear differential and a price under $50,000 doesn’t exist in America. The 4Runner starts around $40,000 but its platform dates to 2009. The Land Cruiser starts above $58,000. The Pajero fills the gap between them — if Mitsubishi can solve the engine problem first.
The Engine Is the Problem
The new Pajero runs a 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel engine across every trim level — making 201 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. In Australia that works fine. Diesel passenger vehicles sell reasonably well there and the regulatory environment accommodates them.
America is a different story. Diesel engines in passenger SUVs essentially don’t sell in the US market outside of heavy-duty pickup trucks. The last mainstream diesel SUV attempt — the Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel — was discontinued after slow sales. Federal emissions standards for diesel passenger vehicles add significant cost and complexity. The Land Cruiser sold in America uses a gasoline-electric hybrid. The Wrangler offers a plug-in hybrid. The Bronco has a hybrid coming. The new Pajero has none of those options and that makes bringing it to America in its current form extremely unlikely.
What the Pajero Can Actually Do
The powertrain problem aside the new Pajero is a genuinely capable vehicle. It rides on a body-on-frame platform — meaning a separate steel frame sits underneath the body, the same construction used in pickup trucks — which makes it far more capable off-road than the car-based crossovers that dominate the SUV market today.
Every trim gets a locking rear differential as standard equipment — not an optional extra but included regardless of which version a buyer chooses. A two-speed transfer case handles serious off-road terrain. The tow rating sits just over 7,700 pounds. Mitsubishi won the Paris-Dakar Rally multiple times with older Pajero models and built a two-door competition version called the EVO specifically for racing. The new model carries that off-road DNA into 2027.
At under $50,000 in Australia that capability undercuts the Land Cruiser by thousands. The 4Runner — America’s most popular body-on-frame SUV — starts around $40,000 but rides on a platform Toyota hasn’t updated since 2009. A new Mitsubishi Montero priced between those two with modern underpinnings would fill a gap that currently exists in the American market.
Why the US Version Will Probably Look Different
Mitsubishi isn’t planning to bring the diesel Pajero to America. The more likely path to a new Mitsubishi Montero in US showrooms runs through a partnership with Nissan — specifically using the same platform that underpins the Nissan Frontier pickup truck.
Nissan is reviving the Xterra for 2029 on a Frontier-based body-on-frame architecture. A new Mitsubishi Montero built on those same underpinnings would use a gasoline engine that meets American emissions standards, could be manufactured in the US to avoid import tariffs and would share development costs with a platform Nissan is already spending money to build. For a brand selling under 95,000 vehicles a year in America that cost sharing matters enormously.
A Frontier-based new Mitsubishi Montero goes up against the Toyota 4Runner — not the Land Cruiser. The 4Runner outsells the Land Cruiser roughly ten to one in America every year. Toyota moved around 95,000 4Runners in 2025 against fewer than 10,000 Land Cruisers. That’s the market Mitsubishi needs — buyers already spending $40,000 to $55,000 on a rugged body-on-frame SUV who want something other than a Toyota. Mitsubishi won the Paris-Dakar Rally four consecutive times in the 1990s with older Pajero models. The 4Runner has never won Paris-Dakar. The Montero has.
New Mitsubishi Montero — Key Numbers
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Australian Pajero five-seat start | AU$68,490 — under $50,000 USD |
| Australian Pajero seven-seat GLS | AU$69,990 |
| Australian Land Cruiser Prado start | Roughly $52,700 USD equivalent |
| US Land Cruiser hybrid start | Above $58,000 |
| Pajero engine | 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel |
| Power output | 201 horsepower |
| Torque | 354 lb-ft |
| Transmission | Eight-speed automatic |
| Tow rating | Just over 7,700 pounds |
| Rear differential | Locking — standard on all trims |
| US Montero likely platform | Nissan Frontier-based |
| Nissan Xterra expected return | 2029 model year |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new Mitsubishi Montero?
Americans knew it as the Montero. The rest of the world calls it the Pajero. Same vehicle — Mitsubishi uses different names in different markets. It seats seven people on a body-on-frame platform built for serious off-road use and disappeared from US showrooms in 2006. The new fifth-generation version just went on sale in Australia with no confirmed US launch date yet.
How much will the new Mitsubishi Montero cost in the US?
No official US price exists. Australian Pajero pricing under $50,000 USD is the best available reference point. A US version would likely use different underpinnings — probably Nissan Frontier-based rather than the current Pajero platform — so the final price could differ from the Australian figure.
Why isn’t the new Pajero coming to America directly?
The Pajero only offers a turbocharged diesel engine with no gasoline or hybrid alternative. Americans don’t buy diesel passenger SUVs — the market outside heavy-duty pickup trucks is essentially nonexistent. US emissions standards for diesel passenger vehicles add significant cost and complexity on top of that. Without a gasoline or hybrid powertrain the Pajero as currently built doesn’t work for the American market.
What is a body-on-frame SUV?
Most SUVs are built like cars — one single structure forms both the body and the floor. Body-on-frame is different. A separate steel frame sits underneath and the body bolts on top — the same way pickup trucks are built. That steel frame absorbs punishment that would crack a car-based structure — rock crawling, heavy towing, rough dirt roads driven fast. The Land Cruiser uses it. The 4Runner uses it. The Wrangler and Bronco use it. The Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V don’t — they were designed for pavement and that’s where they work best.
When does a new Mitsubishi Montero come to America?
No confirmed date. Mitsubishi has suggested a body-on-frame SUV for the US market could arrive before 2030. The Nissan Xterra’s expected 2029 return on a Frontier platform provides a rough timeframe for when Frontier underpinnings become available for a potential Montero application.
Would the new Mitsubishi Montero compete with the Land Cruiser or 4Runner in America?
Almost certainly the 4Runner. A Frontier-based platform puts the new Mitsubishi Montero in the midsize body-on-frame segment alongside the 4Runner, Bronco and returning Xterra — a far larger market than the Land Cruiser’s premium tier. The 4Runner outsells the Land Cruiser significantly every year in America and that’s where Mitsubishi has a realistic chance of finding buyers.
Australian Pajero pricing gives American Montero watchers the clearest cost signal yet — under $50,000 for a seven-seat body-on-frame SUV with a locking rear differential and 7,700-pound tow rating. Getting that value to American buyers requires solving the diesel powertrain problem and finding the right platform. The Nissan Frontier partnership points toward how Mitsubishi solves both. The Australian price points toward what the answer might cost when it finally arrives.
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