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The Frame Was Killing the Independent Suspension
The third-generation Pajero changed dramatically, from a ladder frame to a monocoque with a built-in frame, and to four-wheel independent suspension. The turning point was the Pajero Evolution built for the Dakar Rally ahead of the third generation. The prototype that kept the frame while adopting four-wheel independent suspension drew the comment from the person in charge of handling, "With this frame, the independent suspension doesn't work at all." The development team, including Nishioka, thoroughly reinforced the frame, but dozens of kilograms of reinforcement worsened weight and fuel economy. To make it rigid and also light, the only way was to integrate the frame and body. That rollover accidents involving SUVs had become a social problem in America, making a lower center of gravity an issue, and that a monocoque makes deformation in a collision easier to control, both pointed to the same answer. Nishioka puts the thinking this way: "What matters isn't what you adopt. It's what you achieve."
