I went to South Australia to drive the updated 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport at Adelaide Hills 4WD Park and learn some off-road driving skills!
Before we get into the driving: NEWS FLASH!!! The 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport now a much-improved top tether anchorage situation with all THREE top anchorages permanently fully installed from purchase. Mitsubishi previously only supplied one top tether anchorage installed and another in the glovebox (with a third available for purchase from the Mitsubishi dealer). You can read about this here.
The 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is available as a five- or seven-seater. In both options, the three top tether anchorages are in the ceiling in the boot, above the third-row passengers' heads. The two outer top tether anchorages are behind plastic flaps and set back into the roof, but the central one is still mounted on the ceiling. Previously, the outer ones you had to install yourself had the same surface-mounted design that was easy to hit your head on (and said to in the user manual), so now you just have to watch your head on one of them. As the saying goes, two out of three ain't bad. I'm glad Mitsubishi finally listened!
In the second-row seats there are ISOFix anchors for the two outer seats (what do you think of the new upholstery?)
They are clearly labelled, not within plastic guides, but nice and easy to connect to.
It’s often a consideration when buying your family car whether you want to have something that can take you and your family off-road, camping weekends, down the beach occasionally and tow a caravan or camper trailer.
But we might not have all the skills required to actually drive off-road confidently.
I have done a fair bit of off-roading with my family but, apart from a sand driving trip with Mahindra, none with a serious level of professional instruction so I’m really looking forward to getting some advice and skills I can take home to use next time I’m four-wheel driving.
The 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has had a few updates to the exterior. A new bumper design at the front and rear…
… and a new alloy wheel design.
On the interior, there is a new three-spoke steering wheel…
… and digital driver display.
The top-spec 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR model has faux leather seat upholstery…
… and dark trim added to the interior styling.
We’re here really to test out the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport's off-road ability, driving on dirt and sand.
We learn about the importance of your seating position from the very start and maintaining three points of contact with your left foot on the footwell, both your shoulders on your backrest and both your hands at three and nine positions on the steering wheel.
At the Adelaide Hills 4WD Park, we have two instructors, Cameron and Guy, who explain the difference between traction and grip.
They explain the importance of keeping the bonnet as level and flat as possible and how to level it out when you end up at an angle. A good description they give is imagining driving with a bowl of punch on your lap and trying not to spill any.
We learn the importance of setting the car up for the situation you’re taking the vehicle into and selecting the correct 4WD mode using the rotary selector down in the central console to choose 2H (two-wheel drive for regular on-road driving), 4H (all-wheel drive), 4HLc (four-wheel drive) or 4LLc (low range four-wheel drive for challenging off-road conditions).
Then, whether you want the rear diff-lock on or off…
… and how to use the button to turn the diff lock on or off and whether the car needs to be stationary or moving when changing between the various settings.
Depending on whether you are driving on gravel, mud/snow, sand or rock you also select the correct mode for that. When you change mode you can feel the throttle change under your foot to need more or less pressure to move.
I'm also shown the importance of letting down tyres to create a greater surface area for them to grip. On rocks, for example, it allows the tyre to mould over the rock surface.
We played with the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport's hill descent control system on some slopes and how to speed it up with a tap on the accelerator and slow it down with a tap of the brakes. Although using hill descent control didn’t come naturally (I found it very hard to relinquish control and trust the mechanics of the system) it worked wonderfully and I would perhaps give it another go on occasions in the future.
The other option we tried downhill is using the gears: Selecting first gear and allowing engine braking to do the work. This felt much more natural and achieved a steady speed down the slope.
Adelaide Hills 4WD Park is STUNNING! I am shocked to see so many beautiful areas for camping and playgrounds set up around the course.
The owner has made a fabulous location for families to camp for weekends or longer, enjoy the scenery and facilities and to do a bit of off-roading at varying levels. You can also learn how to do it while you’re here.
Apart from all the great skills I learnt from Cameron, Guy and the team, I learnt the importance of knowing how your vehicle works and what technology it has onboard and how to use it before you even get onto any off-road track.
If the vehicle is set up right, you are less likely to encounter any difficulties. Also, if you drive slowly, looking for a flat bonnet, grip, and stability, you’re going to reduce the chance of problems.
In order to keep the bonnet flat we straddled ruts and holes and rolled slowly over anything non-avoidable while always trying to avoid damaging the sidewalls of the tyres on any rocks etc.
The interior of the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport feels cosy and comfortable. It doesn’t have a modern, minimal feel but I like that in an off-road vehicle that I’m going to settle into for a lot of kilometres.
A towing capacity of 3.1 tonnes means the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sportwill tow a decent size of caravan or camper trailer.
I really enjoyed driving the 2025 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport at Adelaide Hills 4WD Park and learning more about making the most of it off-road, and I cannot wait to take it on some of our family adventures in the future!
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