1998 Mitsubishi Pajero, Sorrento Pininfarina

filters replaced The truck was driven and verified by our team before listing. Everything works. The Pajero iO Sorrento is what happens when Mitsubishi calls Pininfarina and asks them to design a compact SUV from scratch. The Italian styling bureau responsible for some of Ferrari’s most recognized bodies shaped the iO’s proportions, flared arches, and body lines. The result does not look like a standard Japanese SUV from 1998 because it was not designed like one. Pininfarina’s involvement was genuine and visible in every panel. This is the Sorrento trim, the special edition named after the Italian coastal town on the Gulf of Naples, with the Cold Zone winter package. Bigger batteries for reliable cold-weather starting, we have fitted a higher-capacity replacement unit. A heavy-duty heater was installed at the factory. Both sets of OEM floor mats, summer and winter, are included. This truck was specced for serious cold weather and everything needed to handle it is present. The head unit is a Carrozeria AVIC-V7MD. Carrozeria is Pioneer’s premium JDM brand, and the AVIC-V7MD was their flagship unit when this truck was new, combining a CD changer, MiniDisc player, and HDD navigation in a single integrated system. It is an interesting period detail in a truck this well-specified. The exterior is two-tone: brownish-grey on the upper body with warm silver on the lower section. The OEM fabric interior runs decorative lines across the entire cabin. Seat airbags in addition to driver and passenger airbags. Super Select 4WD allows full-time 4WD use on paved roads. The 1.8L GDI engine produces 128 HP and 133 lb-ft of torque through a 4-speed automatic. Mileage: 49,010 miles (78,873 km). Fuel economy: approximately 28 32 MPG in mixed driving based on real-world 1.8L GDI data. Interesting Facts The Pajero iO was the only compact SUV in history designed by Pininfarina for a Japanese manufacturer. Pininfarina’s portfolio includes Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Cadillac. Finding their design work on a Japanese domestic SUV from 1998 is genuinely unusual, and the exterior design reflects that background in the way the body surfaces are handled. The Sorrento special edition took its name from the Italian coastal town at the tip of the Sorrento Peninsula near Naples. The naming convention connected the vehicle’s Pininfarina design heritage to Italian geography, giving Japanese buyers a more specific cultural reference than a generic trim designation would have offered. The 1.8L GDI engine in this truck was Mitsubishi’s Gasoline Direct Injection unit, one of the earlier implementations of direct injection technology in a mass-market compact SUV. The system improved fuel efficiency compared to conventional port injection but is known to require clean fuel system maintenance to perform correctly over time. Super Select 4WD, as fitted to this truck, allows driving in full-time 4WD on paved roads without drivetrain binding. Most 4WD systems of this era required switching to 2WD on pavement to prevent damage. Super Select eliminated that limitation, giving the driver genuine flexibility in all conditions. The Mitsubishi Pajero iO was sold in Europe as the Pajero Pinin and in the UK as the Shogun Pinin. The North American market never received this vehicle. This example qualifies for legal import under the federal 25-year exemption rule. Key Features 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero iO Sorrento Pininfarina design 1.8L GDI inline-four 128 HP / 133 lb-ft Automatic transmission Super Select 4WD 5-door long wheelbase 49,010 miles (78,873 km) Two-tone brownish-grey and warm silver exterior OEM fabric interior with decorative lines Cold Zone winter package Heavy-duty factory heater Dual floor mats summer and winter sets Seat airbags Driver and passenger airbags Carrozeria AVIC-V7MD head unit CD changer MiniDisc player HDD navigation All fluids, filters, spark plugs replaced New tires About Us We’ve been working with Japanese vehicles for over 25 years. Long before opening our location in the United States, our team was importing and servicing these vehicles in Europe when many of them were still new. Because of that experience, we know these platforms extremely well. Every model has its own weak points, and we inspect and address them before the vehicle is offered for sale. All vehicles are serviced at our facility in Japan before shipping. Fluids, belts, filters, batteries, and common failure points are inspected and replaced when necessary. Unlike many dealerships, we actually drive our vehicles. They don’t sit in a parking lot. Our trucks and cars are used regularly so we can verify reliability before they reach their new owner. When you buy from us, you’re getting a vehicle that is fully prepared and ready to drive from day one. JP-TRADE is our first location in the United States, supported by a team of more than 40 people across Europe, Japan, Korea, China, and the U.S. If you made it this far, here is a little bonus for you. Why did Mitsubishi hire Pininfarina to design a compact SUV? By the late 1990s, Mitsubishi had built their reputation on off-road capability. The full-size Pajero had won the Dakar Rally multiple times. But the growing compact SUV market required something different, a vehicle that could appeal to urban and suburban buyers who wanted the image of off-road capability without necessarily needing it. Mitsubishi understood that their own design language, built around ruggedness and utility, was not going to connect with that buyer in Europe or in the upmarket segments of Japan. So they called Pininfarina. The result was a vehicle that looked like it belonged in a European car magazine rather than a Japanese auction lot. It was a calculated decision and it produced a genuinely distinctive car. Whether it sold in the numbers Mitsubishi hoped for is a separate question. As a piece of design, it succeeded.