MITSUBISHI seems to have the SUV market cornered with the return of the Challenger. Like the previous version, the “all-new” PB model is based on the Triton pick-up truck, and so features a ladder-frame chassis and dual-range gearbox among many other serious off-road items. But the Japanese engineers have fashioned a more car-like rear suspension system, and added a host of comfort and convenience features to make the this one look and feel civilised. Has Mitsubishi succeeded? Should the Toyota Prado and Nissan Pathfinder people be worried? Read on ...

Mitsubishi PA Challenger
Released: March 1998
Ended: March 2007
Family Tree: ChallengerLAUNCHED in five-seat, five-door wagon-only configuration, the first Challenger utilised a 136kW/265Nm 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox. Slotting between the tiny Pajero iO and the proper full-sized Pajero, it shared the ladder-frame light truck chassis with the Triton one-tonne truck. Even the rear suspension consisted of the Triton’s leaf spring arrangement until 2000, when coils were introduced as part of a facelift that also included a revised front-end treatment. Some 14,000 PA Challengers were sold over its nine-year run in Australia.
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