The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport follows in the tradition of its discontinued stablemate, the much-admired Pajero, in that it’s a solid well-liked vehicle that will never get near the popularity or sales heights of the likes of Toyota LandCruiser, Nissan Patrol or Land Rover Discovery.

And that's a real shame because those factors aren't true indicators of the Pajero Sport’s worth or its value-for-money appeal.

We tested one of these market quiet achievers in top-spec GSR guise to see how it’d perform as a daily driver and as a serious off-touring vehicle.

Price and features of the 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR* has a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $62,440 (excluding on-road costs) but the vehicle we tested was fitted with a bunch of accessories including Redarc Electric brake controller with harness ($689), a towbar kit with 12-pin plug ($1555), carpet mat set ($236), a 50mm chrome towball ($41), so if it were a 23MY vehicle its total MSRP would be $64,961. (* The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR provided to us for this test was a 22MY (model year) vehicle; the prices (listed here, including accessories) are applicable to a 23MY vehicle.)

Standard features include an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), paddle shifters on the steering wheel, leather-appointed seats, power-adjustable and heated front seats, LED daytime running lights, 'Multi Around Monitor', dual zone climate control, 18-inch black alloy wheels and a power tailgate.

Exterior paint jobs for the GSR include 'Black Mica' (pearlescent, on our test vehicle), 'Terra Rosa' (pearlescent) and 'White Diamond' (prestige).

The Pajero Sport has a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine, which produces 133kW at 3500rpm and 430Nm at 2500rpm, and it has an eight-speed automatic transmission.

This is a well-proven and respectable combination; far from dynamic, but it does the job. 

The GSR has Mitsubishi’s 'Super Select II' 4WD system and a rear diff lock. There’s a Super Select II 4WD dial to the rear of the shifter, which enables the driver to switch from 2H (two-wheel drive), 4H (4WD high range), 4HLc (4WD High Range with locked centre diff) and 4LLC (4WD Low Range with locked centre diff).

The driver is able to safely switch between 2WD (2H) and 4WD (4H, 4HLc) at speeds up to 100km/h.

The GSR has a button-operated off-road mode system – with Gravel, Mud/Snow, Sand or Rock settings, each of which tweaks engine output, transmission settings and traction control to best suit the terrain – and hill descent control. 

Driving the 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR

The Pajero Sport is a very manoeuvrable 4WD on an ageing platform, but it carries its age well.

Official dimensions are listed as 4825mm long (with a 2800mm wheelbase), 1815mm wide, and 1835mm high. It has a 11m turning circle. 

The Pajero Sport is a very nimble and very capable off-roader, largely because you're able to tap into a few different ways engineered to help you to dominate difficult low-range challenges.

It has selectable off-road modes, including Gravel, Sand, Mud/Snow (when in high-range 4WD) and Rock (when in low-range 4WD).

All of those adjust engine output, transmission settings and braking, the aim being to produce superior traction to suit those specific conditions and terrains.

It has decent high- and low-range gearing and a very effective Super Select II 4WD system.

You can switch, via a dial near the shifter, from 2H into 4H (four-wheel drive high-range), if you're not already driving with 4H engaged, and that gives you the best traction possible in low-grip conditions, which you may face on back-country roads and dirt tracks.

There's no risk of transmission wind-up because the centre diff is open when 4H is engaged in the Pajero Sport – adding an extra element of safety and sure-footedness to your driving experience.    

Then turn the dial to 4HLc (four-wheel drive high-range locked centre diff) and you're ready to take on more difficult terrain but at lower speeds, because the centre diff is no longer open.

If you're keen to tackle even harder stuff than high-range territory, turn the dial to 4LLc (four-wheel drive low-range locked centre diff) and the Pajero Sport has a real opportunity to excel in low-speed, low-range four-wheel driving.

Finally, as well as its centre diff-lock – which is activated when 4HLc (4WD high-range, locked centre diff) or 4LLc (4WD low-range, locked centre diff) is selected – the Pajero Sport has a rear diff lock, which is engaged/disengaged via a button in front of the shifter and this further helps you to easily maintain a safe forward momentum.

Hill descent control works well, sustaining a controlled low speed of 2-3km/h all the way down every hill.

The Pajero Sport is riding on Toyo Open Country A32 all-terrain tyres (265/60R18 110H) and while they’re preferable in off-road terms to the 20-inch wheel-and-tyre packages of some of its rivals, it would perform even better with more aggressive rubber.

Wheel travel is good, ground clearance (218mm) is good, although you still have to mind your driving line through rough terrain and be mindful of approach, departure and ramp-over angles.

Official fuel consumption for the Pajero Sport GSR is 8.0L/100km on a combined cycle.

Its real-world fuel figure on this test, from pump to pump, was 9.4L/100km. 

The Pajero Sport has a 68-litre tank, so, with that real-world fuel-consumption figure, you can reasonably expect a driving range of approximately 690km from a full tank, but that’s after having already factored in a safe-distance buffer of 30km.

The MY22 Pajero Sport (driven in this test) has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2015. The MY23 Pajero Sport has not yet been ANCAP tested or rated.

Safety gear includes seven airbags (driver’s knee, driver and passenger front, driver and passenger front sides, and curtains) and this Pajero Sport’s suite of active safety and driver-assist tech includes AEB, adaptive cruise control, trailer stability assist, rear-view camera and rear parking sensors, blind-spot warning with lane change assist, and rear cross-traffic alert.

The Pajero Sport’s AEB has a ‘AEB City’ classification, which denotes that it is a system that only “operates at lower speeds (usually between 10-50km/h)”, according to ANCAP.

It does not operate at higher speeds (“50-250km/h”), and it does not detect vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists, when it is travelling at speeds of more than 50km/h.

The second-row seat has three child-seat anchorage points and an ISOFIX point on each outboard seat.

The Pajero Sport is covered by a 10-year/200,000-kilometre new car warranty, (whichever occurs first and when all scheduled services are completed at a Mitsubishi Dealership), 10 years of capped price servicing, and four years of roadside assistance.

Service intervals are set for 12 months or 15,000km, and capped price servicing covers the first 10 regular services at those scheduled 15,000km/12 month intervals.

The average cost per service (over 10 years) is $599.

What we think of the 2023 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR

The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is a very capable off-road vehicle and it also functions well as a daily driver.

And in GSR guise, it has plenty of standard features onboard. 

This wagon is rarely stressed when tackling even the most serious of 4WD challenges and, even though it’s all packaged on an ageing platform, the Pajero Sport still represents good value for money in an increasingly high-priced car market.