- Known as the Pajero in markets except for North America, the reborn SUV debuts this fall.
- Mitsubishi discontinued the Montero in the U.S. in 2006, and the global Pajero in 2019.
- The Multi Meter displays three off-road gauges, including an altimeter and pitch and roll meters.
Mitsubishi teased another image of the reborn Pajero SUV planned for its global return this fall. Known as the Montero in North America, the Pajero will have an off-road gauge cluster showing an altimeter as well as meters for pitch and roll. Mitsubishi teased the Multi Meter earlier this week.
Mitsubishi says the Multi Meter is meant “to enhance the enjoyment of off-road driving,” and that the three digital gauges can show the altitude, compass heading, ambient temperature, vehicle pitch and roll angles, and lateral torque distribution. A website dedicated to all things Pajero shows the evolution of the gauges, as well as other nostalgia-stewed elements.
The Multi Meter shouts back to past analog iterations of the Pajero, which was launched in 1982 then discontinued in 2019. In the U.S., Mitsubishi stopped selling the Montero in 2006. Over the course of its three generations, the Montero evolved from a 2-door to 4-door SUV built on a truck platform with a solid rear axle as a rival to the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner. The third and last generation in the U.S. was launched in 2001, larger than past models, with more creature comforts and better on-road manners thanks to is unibody design. It has been said that the Pajero name was not used here due to the word’s likeness to a less-than-flattering bit of Mexican slang.
Not much is known about the timing of the Montero’s return for the North American market.
What’s Old Is New Again
The Montero’s return comes at a time when everything that’s old is new again, with retro-styled SUVs proliferating. It may have started with the return of the reborn Ford Bronco in 2021, but the Land Rover Defender, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and the latest iteration of the Toyota Land Cruiser all have a seat at the retro SUV table. There’s also the ballyhooed return of Scout and its first two models, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup.
Nissan, which is part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, plans the return of the Xterra SUV in 2028. It could be related to the Montero, though some sources and spy shots suggest the Montero will be sized more like the Nissan Armada full-size SUV, which is built on a truck platform.
The popularity of reimagined SUV nameplates from the past suggests there’s enough room for Traveler, Xterra, and Montero. The questions are when and for how long.
