CarGene

Mitsubishi · Pajero

Mitsubishi Pajero 2nd generation

Years
1991–1999
Drivetrain
4WD
Mitsubishi Pajero 2nd generation

Image: Ethan Llamas / CC0

Story

It went on sale with its first full model change in nine years, offering four body types including a metal top and a J top. It adopted Super Select 4WD, a world first. It was succeeded by the third generation.

Stories

01

A Technology That Broadened the Appeal of 4WD

Yoshiki Nishioka joined Pajero development with the improved version of the second generation and from then on was involved in its development continuously through the fourth generation. The second-generation Pajero adopted the world's first "Super Select 4WD." In town it drove like a rear-wheel-drive passenger car; on expressways and slippery surfaces it used the stability of four-wheel drive; and on harsh rough terrain it delivered the capability of a genuine four-wheel-drive vehicle. Nishioka looks back on this system as "a technology that broadened the appeal of four-wheel-drive vehicles." Not keeping the power to get through rough terrain for a select few, but making it something more people can use with confidence: the second generation advanced that thinking greatly.
Yoshiki Nishioka

Chassis

Front

Double wishbone

Rear

Rigid axle

Length 3,985-4,650 mmWB 2,420-2,725 mm1,800-1,870 mmHeightWidth 1,695-1,785 mm
Curb weight
1,550-2,170kg

Production plants

US import eligibility

Earliest cars
Eligible since January 201625 years after sales began in January 1991
Last cars
Eligible since 202425 years after sales ended in 1999 (month not recorded)

Eligibility depends on each car's month of manufacture on its build plate, not on the sale dates shown here (NHTSA).

Japanese cars by US import year →

Engineers

Yoshiki Nishioka

Yoshiki Nishioka

An engineer who was involved in Pajero development at Mitsubishi Motors for many years. He worked on Pajero development continuously from the improved version of the second generation through the fourth generation. He was also responsible for developing drivetrains for rally cars, launching the first-generation Pajero Sport, and switching the Delica D:5 to diesel.