Mitsubishi's tough new 4WD takes shape: Mitsubishi Pajero Sport likely to return with petrol-electric plug-in hybrid power to batter the Ford Everest and Toyota Prado

Mitsubishi’s rugged Pajero Sport four-wheel drive is no more, but help is on the way.

Changes to Australian Design Rules (ADR) from March 1 this year meant the vehicle needed expensive upgrades to its auto emergency braking (AEB) technology. 

Mitsubishi Australia boss, Shaun Westcott, said the investment in re-engineering the vehicles to comply with the new ADR was not viable considering the advanced age of the vehicles.

Westcott said the company would eventually fill the void left by the Pajero Sport as shown in its 'Momentum 2030' plan.

“We have a lot of good product coming, there are a number of significant new models and products in that plan. So we are actually quite excited about the next couple of years.”

This was echoed by Mitsubishi Australia's GM of product strategy and PR, Bruce Hampel.

"These nameplates will be replaced by equivalent — if you want to call it that — vehicles in the coming years," said Hampel.

Digital artists have applied their works to showcase what the next-generation Pajero Sport could look like.

Kelsonik shared some digital mock-ups on Instagram of the potential new Pajero Sport, with the vehicle taking much of its styling from the new Triton.

The outgoing Pajero Sport shared its underpinnings with the old Triton, so it makes sense for the next-generation version to be based on the upgraded dual-cab ute.

Mitsubishi’s heralded Momentum 2030 plans calls for electrification of all its vehicles. That doesn't mean everything will go full electric (BEV) but could include plug-in hybrid (PHEV), hybrid or mild hybrid power.

So there is a strong chance the next-generation Pajero Sport will be electrified, but what form of petrol-electric power is unconfirmed.

When asked if full electric or plug-in hybrid would work best for utes and four-wheel drives, Hampel’s answer was clear.

“I think in the body on frame space, like commercial vehicles and large SUVs, the PHEV technology is a good stepping stone to full BEVs,” said Hampel.

“It is going to be very challenging to have full BEV vehicles of that size deliver what the customers are looking for.

“I think that’s the challenge we've all got in the industry at this point in time, especially in a market like Australia, where once you’re outside the cities and into the regional areas.

“The charging infrastructure is really not in place to give you that reassurance that you can continue your journey uninterrupted going forward.

“So I definitely think PHEV is going to be the bridging technology in those large vehicle classes,” he said.

Mitsubishi has not confirmed if the Triton would feature plug-in hybrid power in the future, but the signs are there if you join the dots.

Nissan has confirmed its next-generation Navara, due in 2026, will be based on the Triton and will be fitted with Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid set-up in the future.

It would be extremely rare for a company to cast away the jewel in its technology crown without using it first themselves, so it should be assumed a plug-in hybrid Triton and future Pajero Sport will feature in the company’s short term future.

The bad news is progress doesn’t come cheap.

PHEVs come at a substantial cost and there would need to be big penalties applied to diesel vehicles via the federal government's new Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) for the two to have price parity.

Hampel said making the PHEV technology — namely the battery — cheaper was the holy grail for electrification.

“The holy grail, what I mean, is I want it smaller and cheaper,” he said. 

“The issue at the moment is the batteries to deliver meaningful range for customers are very heavy and very package intensive on the vehicles.”

The packaging constraints caused by the batteries can effect interior cabin space, the height of the second row seats, impact the load space in 4WDs or the tray areas of utes.