New Mitsubishi models coming: Triton, Pajero Sport, and more

An all-new Mitsubishi Triton ute will arrive in February 2024 priced from $43,690, but what else does the Japanese brand have up its showroom sleeve for the future?

While it's safe to say a next-generation Lancer sedan or Mirage city car are out of the running, along with a replacement for the short-lived Express van, Mitsubishi's Australian arm is busy looking at various options for this market.

Those options may even break out of the three body styles - SUV, 4WD, ute - that currently dominate the company's local line-up.

Let's take a look at the new Mitsubishi models we could potentially see - either as additions to the range or as replacements for existing models.

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JUMP AHEAD

• ASX
• Eclipse Cross
• Mirage
• Triton
• Pajero
• Pajero Sport
• Outlander
• Electric vehicles

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ASX

So many plans, so few answers… The long and short of it is that Mitsubishi is not always being helped by its long-held alliance with Renault and Nissan.

It’s a partnership that, on paper, promised so much but has yet to truly fulfil its potential.

The ASX is a perfect case in point - a model that will mark 14 years on sale in 2024. At one point, a replacement for the former best-selling small SUV was to arrive down under via Renault’s Captur, thanks to a plan that would see Renault look after SUV platforms for all three groups.

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The French brand even recently launched a straight facsimile of the Captur as a Europe-only ASX late last year.

But what of a new Mitsubishi ASX for Australia? In short… we still don't know?

Mitsubishi recently launched a new small SUV in Asia called the XForce, but it’s seemingly not a play for more developed markets. A wheezy 77kW four-potter and no discernible safety tech means it’s a non-starter for Australia, at least in the short-term.

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A fresh rival to take on the segment currently dominated in sales terms by the MG ZS, or perhaps our favourite Volkswagen T-Roc, would no doubt be welcome locally.

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Eclipse Cross

The next step up in the Mitsubishi food chain shares a similar story; the Eclipse Cross will be sold for as long as it’s available.

A slightly larger, more updated version of the ASX, the Eclipse Cross received a substantial overhaul in 2020, and its size, affordability, availability of a hybrid option and five-star ANCAP score ensures it’s a steady if not spectacular seller.

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However, the Eclipse Cross’s five-star rating was awarded in 2017 and will expire at the end of 2023, marking its expiration date as a fleet offering to businesses.

As with the ASX, there’s no clear successor on the horizon from anywhere in the wider Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance.

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Mirage LS

Mirage

Unless Mitsubishi slaps the Mirage moniker onto something new – a tiny kei-car, perhaps? – it’s highly unlikely that Mitsubishi will return to a segment that’s expensive to build for and not guaranteed to produce meaningful sales volumes.

It could, however, be a handy marketing tool to use on the back of a smaller, affordable electric crossover down the track.

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Triton

Hang onto your Akubras, the latest Mitsubishi Triton ute is nearly here.

Due in February 2024, it’s 15mm longer, 50mm wider and has a 130mm longer wheelbase, thanks to the Triton’s new ladder-frame platform which will be shared with the 2025 Nissan Navara.

It’s powered by an overhauled version of the company’s 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine which will sport twin turbochargers as standard and make 150kW and 470Nm out of the box, and which will be matched to updated chassis electronics.

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The new Triton will also score vastly improved safety tech, including range-wide front and rear AEB, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-trace assist and a front-centre airbag.

It’s unclear at this early stage that the new Triton will range up to a Ford Ranger Raptor-esque performance ute, but given that the sector is quite strong and the cachet of the Ralliart brand Is high, never say never.

Update 24 November: The new Mitsubishi Triton has been priced for Australia. Running from $43,690-$63,840 before on-road costs, prices have increased between $3250 and $7600 for the dual-cab heavy range.

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Pajero

Now this is an interesting one. The Pajero 4WD was axed by Mitsubishi in 2021 after several decades of service.

And, on the surface, a large 4x4 should be the last thing on a carmaker’s radar given the holus-bolus race to lower emissions motoring.

And yet the sales success of the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol suggest otherwise. Indeed, a large monocoque SUV features in Mitsubishi’s mid-term plan, which might herald the return of the Pajero nameplate.

“If we can [re]introduce Pajero, that is a wonderful dream for us!”, Takao Kato, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, told 4X4 Australia recently.

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However, Mitsubishi executives also warned that the planned SUV might not pass Australian regulations without major modifications.

As the wraps come off the next version of the larger, more powerful Triton, at least one certainty is a next-generation Pajero Sport...

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2024 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport rendered by Theottle | © Wheels Media

Pajero Sport

With its new ladder frame, lighter body and safety features developed with the Australian market and its strict safety requirements in mind, it's only logical that Mitsubishi would use the Triton as a base for a new Pajero Sport SUV.

Although confirmed to be known as Pajero Sport, Mitsubishi's mid-term plan outlines a 'PPV' (pick-up based passenger vehicle) which is what the segment, that also features the Toyota Fortuner and Isuzu MU-X, is called in the ASEAN region.

Just like the current Pajero Sport expect it to lift the engine and front cabin aesthetic from the new Triton ute.

We also anticipate the new Pajero Sport will use a coil-sprung rear end. As for the existing difference between six-speed automatic Triton to eight-speed Pajero Sport, it's unclear whether that will carry over into the next-gen model expected for a 2024 reveal.

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Outlander

The latest iteration of the Outlander is one of the few shared success stories of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance, as it shares its platform with the latest Nissan X-Trail.

Locally, Mitsubishi continues to push the benefits of the Outlander’s hybrid versions, but the one we’re all hoping to see is the range-topping Ralliart ‘Almighty’ version, which is set offer three electric motors and air-sprung suspension in a first-up effort to re-establish the Ralliart performance brand.

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How much will the Outlander Ralliart or Outlander Evolution cost?

That’s anyone’s guess, given we don’t expect it to break cover until the middle of this decade.

However, with the top-spec Outlander PHEV Exceed Tourer retailing for $68,490 right now, the more technology-laden performance flagship would surely push the $80K region - and perhaps nudge closer to $90K.

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Electric vehicles

Despite Mitsubishi being a pioneer in the EV space with the i-Miev city car early in the 00s, current thinking looks quite different.

Take, for example, the notion of an electric Mitsubishi Triton ute, which has been soundly rebuffed by Mitsubishi Australia CEO, Shawn Westacott.

“There are people that develop show ponies and there's a place for show ponies. That's fine. But we understand who our core target market is, and that's middle-income Australia, working Australia," he told WhichCar.

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"And we need to produce a product that is of value to the mass market – for farmers, tradies, people that deliver that work, who drive the economy of Australia.

"There are some companies, particularly out in the US, that have grabbed headlines by saying 'we've developed an electric ute'. But the reality of a ute is that our customers buy them because they are workhorses."

There is also talk that the ASX could morph into a small hybrid-electric SUV with co-operation across the alliance to get it done, with a two-row SUV-shaped HEV shown as part of Mitsubishi’s 2025 future plans.

The only other EV that’s vaguely on the Mitsubishi radar is the diminutive eK X EV commuter car, which could also potentially be used to stress-test the Australian public’s acceptance of ANCAP ratings.

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