Developed from a 1979 Tokyo Motor Show concept and launched in May 1982 as a replacement for the Mitsubishi Jeep Delivery Wagon, the first Pajero combined unusual-for-the-class features (a turbocharged diesel option, front double-wishbone suspension with torsion bar springs, and power steering) with body-on-frame simplicity.[1] It started as a short-wheelbase three-door with a choice of metal or canvas tops; a five-door long-wheelbase model followed in 1983 with seating for seven. Entering rallying within a year of launch, the Pajero went on to found a Dakar-winning reputation the nameplate never lost. Hyundai licensed the platform as the Galloper from 1991 to 2003, and Dodge briefly rebadged it as the Raider in North America.
Three trims are recorded here, from the range’s later years once the lineup had matured: the 2.6-litre four, the range-topping 3.0-litre V6, and the intercooled 2.5-litre turbodiesel (the first intercooler fitted to a production 4x4, according to the source). All three power figures are published directly in kW, so no PS conversion applies. An earlier, differently tuned European-market 2.6-litre engine is quoted elsewhere in the article at a lower output; the two are not reconciled, and the later figure is the one recorded here.