First look: Challenger lives again

MITSUBISHI Motors Corporation (MMC) has revealed images of the new-age Challenger that GoAuto last week reported will join the local line up next year.

Based on the Triton workhorse platform and due to make its global premiere at the Moscow motor show on August 26, the new off-road wagon will slot into the Mitsubishi range between the mid-sized Pajero and compact Outlander four-wheel-drives.

While GoAuto reported the new model would be unlikely to wear the name of the previous Challenger based on indications that the new model would be more of a rival for Toyota's Kluger and Ford's Territory than the last basic model, Mitsubishi has confirmed the new car will carry the Challenger title in Australia.

The new-generation Challenger will be powered by 2.5-litre and 3.2-litre common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesels and a 3.5-litre petrol V6, although it is not yet clear which engines will be available in Australia.

Thanks to its Triton-based separate chassis, long-suspension travel and tough four-wheel-drive system, the new Challenger is expected to offer serious off-road capability - but it's unlikely to have the on-road manners of many monocoque-chassis SUVs, including the Pajero.

It will be available in both five and seven-seat configurations, featuring water-repellent seats and a waterproof luggage compartment floor.

To be known as the Pajero Sport in regions excluding Latin America (where it will be called the Nativa) and South America (where it will be known as the Montero Sport), the latest Challenger will be sold from later this year in Russia (where MMC sold 100,000 vehicles last year), ASEAN nations, the Middle East, Latin America and Oceania - but not the US or central or western Europe.

Mitsubishi's last Challenger was finally discontinued in Australia in March 2007, when the 3.0-litre petrol V6-only MY06 range was last sold from $39,990.