Mitsubishi Pajero VS Ford Everest
Mitsubishi Pajero
Likes
Dislikes
Ford Everest
Likes
- Off-road suspension upgrade
- Nice on-road manners
- Spacious boot
Dislikes
- No 2.0-litre option
- Tight third row
- Out-dated safety rating
Summary
Mitsubishi Pajero
Mitsubishi’s Pajero is a genuine seven-seater 4WD wagon with a lot of substance and little in the way of pretence.
It’s functional without being at all flashy and that suits plenty of people – real people – but the Pajero’s traditional styling and paucity of driver-assist tech, compared to some of its rivals, are factors enough when combined to keep its fanbase, only medium-sized but still very loyal.
Read on.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 3.2L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 9.1L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Ford Everest
Ford knows it’s in for a tough fight in 2025. The Blue Oval brand is facing the twin challenges of new ute rivals to compete against its best-selling Ranger, and the arrival of the all-new Toyota LandCruiser Prado to give the Everest a hard time.
But Ford isn’t backing down. In fact, it has launched this all-new Everest Tremor to take the fight directly to the new Prado.
Designed to sit above the Sport, and effectively alongside the Platinum as the ‘off-road hero model’ of the range, the Tremor is a full-time member of the Everest line-up; as opposed to the limited edition Ranger Tremor.
Read more about
- Trak is back! Wildtrak grade returns to 2025 Ford Everest range, but the Isuzu MU-X, Toyota Prado 4x4 rival is only in Australia for a limited time
- Has Ford ditched electric cars to build the cars we really want? Is a Ford rival to the Toyota LandCruiser coming, or a new Ford Thunderbird or a V8 Raptor? Ford's doing what BYD and Tesla can't! | Opinion
- How will Ford react to new Toyota LandCruiser Prado? 2026 Ford Everest takes shape in new renders, with updates expected for Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner rival
So, does this new member of the Everest line-up offer something different? Or is it just a case of a few minor mods to attract attention away from Toyota? Read on to find out…
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 3.0L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 8.5L/100km |
| Seating | 7 seats |
Verdict
Mitsubishi Pajero7/10
The Pajero is an old-style 4WD with plenty of heart but sorely lacking safety tech, including stuff like AEB, that’s offered in much cheaper vehicles. Its engine is a bit gruff, its ride is a bit firm and its price-tag seems steep for something so out of step with the current 4WD wagon market.
It is, however, a solid all-rounder: it’s a good daily driver, a decent off-road tourer and it makes a solid towing platform. The Pajero is not flashy or overly stylised – and that’s part of its simple charm. Plus there are heaps of accessories for it including alloy nudge bar, Thule luggage pod, roof-rack cross bars, Thule bike carrier and more.
If it was cheaper, and had more safety tech, it would be a more appealing buying proposition.
Ford Everest7.7/10
To answer the question we posed at the beginning, the Everest Tremor is very much a worthy addition to the range, but it succeeds in being an attention-grabber too. While the new Prado will certainly garner plenty of would-be buyers, and Ford will do well to keep its #1 spot in the large SUV sales race in 2025, the Everest Tremor keeps the Blue Oval in contention.
It succeeds by expanding the breadth of the Everest line-up, its more serious off-road elements - new suspension, bash plates, etc - elevate it beyond what the Sport and Trend can offer buyers. So it creates an opportunity to find new buyers to attract to the Ford showroom and draw at least some attention away from the Prado.
Design
Mitsubishi Pajero
It’s still a chunky-looking vehicle, with hard edges and a straight-up-and-down appearance, which is fine, I reckon. It manages to narrowly avoid a generic SUV-look.
The interior is a family-friendly space with plenty of room, simple clean lines, and durable surfaces.
Ford Everest
Ford wanted to make sure the Tremor stood out from the Platinum, Sport and Trend models, with a tougher, more purposeful look. So they made a number of small but significant design changes.
For starters, the new suspension, wheel and tyre combination adds 29mm of ride height, so it sits taller. The Tremor also gets a unique front end, with what Ford calls an ‘off-road grille’, that includes integrated auxiliary lights into each side.
The 17-inch alloys are unique to the Tremor, too, which further differentiates the looks. There’s also unique ‘Tremor’ badging in orange and black Ford badging at the rear.
But it isn’t just about style, there’s genuine functionality to the design, with the steel bash plate underneath and recovery hooks to get you out of trouble if you need it (or help someone else out).
The Tremor is only available in four colours, and notably only 'Arctic White' is included in the price, with 'Shadow Black', 'Meteor Grey' and the unique-to-Tremor 'Command Grey' adding $700 to the price.
Inside there’s unique Tremor seats, with 'Medium Dark Grey Urban' stitching and 'Precision Grey' inserts, plus all-weather floor mats. They’re subtle elements, but they do really make the Tremor feel unique in the Everest line-up.
Practicality
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero is easy to get in and out of. Even climbing into the third row, if you’ve been banished there, doesn’t require the dislocation of your own limbs, or the need to adopt a posture not unlike something a yoga master might do in a tight space in order to drink his or her mug of piping-hot dirty chai.
Front-row seats are generally supportive but are on the firm rather than plush side of things. Durable plastic surfaces abound and the seats are covered in “sports cloth with leather-look bolster” (fabric seat trim with synthetic leather bolster in real words), which is all nice-looking enough and able to cope with life’s messiness – yes, I’m talking about everyone’s kids.
The multimedia system is a workable unit with a clear 7.0-inch screen.
The dashboard and controls are still a bit old-school but it’s all easy enough to locate and operate.
The second row, a 60/40 split-fold arrangement, offers enough comfort and is easy to fold and push forward, or lock into place and slide forwards or backwards.
The third row isn’t terrible but it is quite firm.
Second- and third-row passengers get air vents.
As for storage options, driver and front passenger get cupholders between their seats, second-row passengers have a drop-down arm-rest incorporating two cupholders and third-row passengers get a cupholder each.
In terms of cargo room in general there is: 170 litres (with all seats in use); 846-litres (with third-row seats folded away); 1429-litres (with second- and thirds-row seats folded away). There is a listed maximum capacity of 1789-litres (but that’s if the second- and third-row seats are folded away and you pack to the ceiling.)
There are four tie-downs on the floor at each corner of the rear cargo area.
Ford Everest
Obviously there’s no change to the space inside the Tremor compared to the rest of the Everest range, so it is still a spacious seven-seat SUV. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a major development when it comes to the space offered by Ford in its large SUV.
Namely, the launch of the new Prado and the revelation that the new hybrid system compromises the packaging in the rear of the seven-seat models, meaning the third-row seats can’t fold down into the floor and a raised riser drawer has been added.
While Toyota claims the Prado has 906L of space with the third row folded down, that’s a statistical advantage only due to the nature of the packaging.
By contrast, the Everest doesn’t have a draw and instead it’s a flat, deep floor with the third row folded down flush with the floor.
So while the Everest boot measures 898L, in practical, real-world terms the Ford is better and more usable.
As a kicker, with the third-row seats up, the Everest claims 259L compared to the Prado’s 182L, so all around the Everest is a more practical choice for those who need to carry a lot.
As for the rest of the interior, the new seats look good and offer nice space and support up front, while the second row is good for a couple of adults or three smaller kids and the third row is what you’d expect in an SUV - tight but usable for shorter trips.
The multimedia system is unchanged, too, so it’s the same easy to use 'Ford SYNC' set-up with a tablet-style touchscreen.
One notable new feature for the Tremor is a 400W inverter with a household outlet in the second row, which is handy for road trips or camping.
Price and features
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Exceed has gone and the GLS is now the top-tier buy of a two-variant range which includes the cheaper GLX.
The current drive-away offer for 2020 Mitsubishi Pajero GLS is $56,990. Beyond all of the standard GLS gear – including heated and powered front leather seats, leather-topped steering wheel, 7.0-inch colour touchscreen media unit (with Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Bluetooth), rear parking sensors, automatic wipers and headlights, 18-inch wheels, and cargo blind – the GLS gets a Rockford Acoustic Design premium sound system with 12 surround-sound speakers and an integrated 10-inch subwoofer. The system has HDMI, two USB inputs and AM/FM/DAB radio.
Of course, in terms of off-road gear, you also get Mitsubishi's Super Select II 4WD system, as well as centre and rear diff-locks.
Ford Everest
The Everest Tremor is priced from $76,590 (plus on-road costs), making it just over $4500 cheaper than the Platinum but almost $2000 more expensive than the equivalent Sport.
That lines it up to compete against the Toyota Prado GXL ($79,990 + ORCs), GWM Tank 500 Hybrid Ultra ($73,990 drive-away) and the Isuzu MU-X ($74,400 + ORCs).
For that price, Ford has made some notable upgrades to enhance the Everest’s off-road ability, to give the Tremor more appeal to those who really enjoy off-road driving rather than just family buyers who want a seven-seater for the school run.
It starts with the standard 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine (unlike the 2.0-litre Ranger Tremor), along with a revised suspension package that includes Bilstein dampers and new springs, a steel bash plate as well as new General Grabber all-terrain tyres on 17-inch alloy wheels.
There are other design changes, too, but we’ll detail them in a moment in the section below.
Worth noting there are four option packs to choose from. The 'Rough Terrain Pack' costs $3500 and adds a Rough Terrain bar as well as extended underbody protection and an auxiliary switch bank.
The 'Premium Tremor Seat Pack' adds $1100 and brings a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat, eight-way power adjustable front passenger seat as well as heated and ventilated front seats.
The $1900 'Towing Pack' adds a tow bar, integrated trailer brake controller and blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage.
Finally, the 'Touring Pack' costs $2500 and adds a 360-degree camera view, tow car, integrated trailer brake control and 'Pro Trailer Backup Assist'.
Under the bonnet
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero has a 3.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine (141kW at 3800rpm and 441Nm at 2000rpm), teamed with a five-speed automatic transmission. The engine is gruff when pushed hard, but it’s very gutsy.
The Super Select II 4WD system, of which I’m a fan, is retained.
Ford Everest
The Everest Tremor is only offered with the 184kW/600Nm 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel, a complete reversal from the Ranger Tremor, which was only available with Ford’s 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel.
The V6 is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission and comes standard with Ford’s permanent 4WD system, which features a rear diff lock for more challenging off-road adventures.
Ford said it made this decision to provide Everest Tremor buyers with more grunt, befitting its place at the top of the range, and provide the full 3500kg towing capacity. Although, in this day-and-age, the extra choice would have been nice, as the 2.0-litre engine is an impressive unit for its size.
Efficiency
Mitsubishi Pajero
Fuel consumption is listed as 9.1L/100km (combined). We recorded 10.35L/100km after 640km of general driving, including about 30km of 4WDing (in high range) and about 10km of low-range 4WDing thrown into the mix. The Pajero has an 88-litre fuel tank.
Ford Everest
Ford claims the Everest Tremor uses 9.5L/100km of diesel, but thanks to our largely off-road first drive we couldn’t give that a real-world evaluation.
The Everest is fitted with an 80-litre fuel tank, which means a theoretical driving range of more than 840km, which is what you need for a serious off-road adventure.
Driving
Mitsubishi Pajero
For a blocky seven-seater 4WD with a listed kerb weight of 2319kg, and at 4900mm long (with a 2780mm-long wheelbase), 1875mm wide and 1900mm high, the Pajero manages to get around rather nicely. It’s quick off the mark and agile and, with an 11.4m turning circle, the Pajero is easy enough to manoeuvre with precision on city streets.
Because the cabin is straight up and down and its glass areas are so prevalent, all-round visibility for the driver is tremendous, making it easy to position – and that translates into a direct advantage for off-road efficacy as well, which we’ll get to in a bit.
As mentioned, the engine is gutsy, with plenty of low-down urge and, matched with the five-speed auto (really, who needs more than five?), and if driven energetically this Mitsu is a lively drive on bitumen for such a substantial 4WD.
Speaking of 4WD, how’d it go off-road? I’m glad you asked – see below.
Ford Everest
Given its off-road focus, Ford prioritised unsealed roads for our first experience with the Everest Tremor and we tackled some genuinely rugged terrain outside of Melbourne.
In addition to the new Bilstein suspension, new springs and new tyres, the Everest Tremor adds the 'Rock Crawl' mode to its array of seven drive modes.
It must be noted, though, that all the examples we drove on the launch were fitted with the Rough Terrain Pack, so had the extended underbody protection, which certainly helped at various times.
Having said that, the Everest Tremor acquitted itself with ease across a variety of terrain. In '4 Low' the Tremor was capable of navigating across rocks, through mud and water, and then through some extremely deep ruts.
In fact, the non-Tremor Everests Ford had on the launch were directed to avoid some of the obstacles as they would likely have struggled to conquer them. However, it must be said, that despite the extra ride height, the extended underbody protection was heavily relied on as we often found the belly of the Tremor scraping on the deeper ruts.
While Ford was keen to focus on its off-road capability, CarsGuide was able to spend an extended period driving the Tremor around Melbourne city and suburbs. Despite its size and off-road prowess, it has very nice on-road manners and felt comfortable and easy to live with in the urban environment.
Safety
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero has a five-star ANCAP rating as a result of testing in 2011. It has six airbags (driver and front passenger SRS airbags, driver and front passenger side SRS airbags, curtain SRS airbags), two ISOFIX points on the left and right second-row seats, three child restraint top tether points as well as emergency brake assist and a reversing camera, but it’s missing stuff like auto emergency braking and lane-departure warning.
Ford Everest
In terms of safety equipment the Everest Tremor comes fitted with all the usual active elements you should expect, including 'Forward Collision Alert', 'Pre-collision Assist', lane keeping assist, cross-traffic alert and 'Reverse Brake Assist'.
Importantly, in case you can’t avoid an accident, the Everest is equipped with nine airbags, including full-length curtain airbags that extend to the third row.
As for its safety rating, ANCAP awarded the Everest a maximum five stars but did so based on the physical crash testing of the Ranger ute.
ANCAP accepted Ford technical information that demonstrates both models should, theoretically, provide the same crash performance despite the obvious differences.
However, it should also be noted that this five-star rating was awarded in 2022, prior to the latest crash testing protocols being introduced by ANCAP in 2023, so there is no clarity over how the Everest would perform to these more stringent standards; although that’s an ANCAP issue, not a Ford one.
But, just for the record, the new Prado has achieved five stars with the latest ANCAP ratings, but unless ANCAP re-tests the Everest, we can’t say with certainty how the two models compare, beyond saying they have the same ratings.
Ownership
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Pajero is covered by Mitsubishi’s five-year/100,000km warranty with five-year perforation corrosion cover.
Capped-price servicing is available for the vehicle's first three years (at $479 a pop, for a total cost of $1437). Service intervals are scheduled at 15,000km/12 months.
Ford Everest
Ford is offering a ‘Pre-Paid Service Plan’ to cover the first five years or 75,000km worth of servicing across the Everest line-up (as well as Ranger).
This costs $1516, which averages out to just over $300 per year, but it’s worth noting that pre-paying locks in that price. Which is important, because Ford has been increasing the prices since it introduced this deal in 2022.