Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin is a small Italian-designed off-road vehicle that you may not know exists

In America, we often lament that Mitsubishi doesn’t really make anything interesting or unique for us anymore. Present Foreigner and its PHEV version is quite good and illusion cheap. But most of the lineup was forgettable. Mitsubishi always makes pretty cool cars, we just don’t have most of them. Take the small and cool Pajero Pinin.

In America, we know the Pajero as the Montero. When this model arrived on our shores in 1982, it could be had in a three-door body style. In the end, it was dropped and we were left with the five-door version and its slightly smaller and unique styling. Montero Sports. Elsewhere in the world, the name has been used for an entire line of mini SUVs, the most unique of which is the Pajero Pinin/Pajero iO.

The Pajero Pinin is Mitsubishi’s answer to compact, off-road-focused rivals like the Toyota Land Cruiser SWB and Suzuki Jimny. It all started in 1996, when Mitsubishi and Pininfarina met to discuss cooperation in developing a new vehicle. These negotiations culminated in 1997 when the two companies reached an agreement. The companies have agreed to a seven-year deal worth $187.4 million for Pininfarina to design and build a compact SUV for Mitsubishi. Two years later, the finished product was launched at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show.

While Pininfarina’s designers are famous for creating some of the most beautiful car designs ever created, they are limited with the Pajero Pinin. The design is clearly Mitsubishi/Pajero. It essentially looks like a stripped-down version of the regular Pajero. And it’s small. It had a wheelbase of just 89 inches, and it was initially only available in three-door body styles.

Pininfarina also designed the interior, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. It’s a rough and ready Mitsubishi and its typically 1990s interior is as plasticky, dull and boring as you’d expect.

It’s not fast either, but that’s not a big deal because this isn’t a sports car to begin with. Power comes from a 120-horsepower 1.8-liter I4, and buyers can pair that engine with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. But it can handle the terrain on its own. Pajero Pinin is equipped with a version of Mitsubishi’s Super Select four-wheel drive system called SS4-i. It’s a pretty complicated system. A viscous coupling setup, it includes a locking center differential and a Torsen limited-slip rear differential.

You’d think a car like this would be ideal, especially from an enthusiast’s perspective, but it’s not without its faults. Firstly, its compact size became a drawback when it went on sale. It had coupe-like cargo capacity and rear-seat seating, leading Mitsubishi to introduce a five-door version.

It’s capable off-road, but its four-wheel-drive system – while sophisticated – has a 4Low ratio that owners complain is too high at 1.54:1. It also has too little suspension travel. The unique design of the front suspension also proved to be a problem for owners wanting to fit their Pinin with larger tires. The Pinin is equipped with factory 215/70R16 tires. These tires just 0.7 inches below McPherson strut bottom plate. It’s so close that some owners even say you can’t even install snow chains on the tires if needed.

In the end, Pinin sold but according to market expectations. Just over 64,000 were sold in Italy before it was discontinued in 2005. It sold much better in Japan, where 177,132 were sold between 1998-2007. It was eventually replaced by the Outlander and its variants. The Pinin is certainly a unique off-roader that was let down by things that should have been addressed before it went into production. If you are interested, these can be found because the price is cheap Currently. But we’ll probably never see anything as unique as this in Mitsubishi’s lineup anywhere in the world again.