(first posted 9/1/2016) Dodge Raider; now that’s a name that doesn’t typically pop into ones head, unless there’s a red one sitting out in front of your house. Then it’s rather hard to ignore, as these tall, boxy, old-school SUVs have considerable charms. Apparently to its owner too, as this one is obviously a well-cared for example. It’s the kind of car you just really want to be able to say you own, if someone asks you. Dodge Raider; Hmmm…
Of course it’s not a real Dodge, but one imported for Dodge, by Mitsubishi. And otherwise known as a Mitsubishi Pajero, Mitsubishi Montero, or Colt Shogun. I’d take the Shogun, myself, which makes a great combination with Colt. As in Colt Show Gun. Or not.
The Raider was only sold from 1987 through 1989, if Wikipedia is to be believed.
Most of these were sold here with Mitsu’s Silent-Shaft 2.6 L four, but beginning in 1988, the SOHC 3.0 V6 was also available. But I’m pretty sure there would be a V6 badge on this one if it had it.
These had a great driving position; one sat up high like on a throne, with the world all so visible at one’s feet.
Of course, with that short wheelbase, the ride could be a bit choppy. The long wheelbase version mostly cured that, and was a roomy family hauler, but it’s these shortys that are now in demand. easy to see why.
These first arrived in 1982, the same year as the somewhat similar Isuzu Trooper II and the Chevy Blazer S10. The compact SUV field was about to experience explosive growth, with the further addition of the Bronco II (March 1983) and the Jeep Cherokee (fall 1983). The domestics were the big volume sellers, but the Japanese had a loyal following too, due in large measure to their excellent quality and solid construction. Over the long haul, these and the Trooper II have proven that. And for what it’s worth, this isn’t the only Raider still on the streets in Eugene, but it was the one that showed up in front of the house, wanting to be shot. Bang!
If Plymouth only had this, they might call theirs’ the Plymouth Trailduster.
Nice fund. I’d forgotten all about these nifty little beasties.
Nice catch. Back then (around 1990) this was a very popular choice in its segment. Its main competitor was the (inline-6) Nissan Patrol. All diesels, of course. Then there were the Isuzus and the Opels (rebadged Isuzus). The Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series was a rather rare car, a specialty.
But things have changed drastically. The Nissan Patrol is not available here anymore. Isuzu only offers a pickup-model. The marketshare and model line-up of Mitsubishi -and the number of dealerships- have collapsed in the past years. And that means that Toyota almost completely owns the segment of Japanese SUVs / off-roaders now with their current Land Cruiser 150-series.
At least the Pajero is still being offered, and now and then you see a recent or new model. Below the current model with a 200 hp 3.2 liter DOHC 16v 4-cylinder turbodiesel. That’s the biggest 4-cylinder engine on the market right now, as far as I know. Even more impressive is its max. torque: 441 Nm (325 ft-lbs) @ 2,000 rpm. Now that’s the kind of engines I like.
My sister and BIL towed a 24ft caravan 50,000kms around Aussie for two years constant travel with a 3.2 diesel pajero other than a airflow sensor it required nothing but servicing bought used and sold at a profit it seemed a good car to me.
Some impressive travelling there ! Since the 1999 3rd generation the Pajero is a unibody-construction and there used to be a SWB version too, but I don’t see it on Mitsubishi’s Dutch website anymore. Likely still available in other parts of the world.
I’ve always been a fan of this breed of “honest” vehicles, regardless who made them. But meanwhile they have become very luxurious too, loaded up with all kinds of electronic gadgets.
Theirs was white but thats the model, their original plan was to buy a used Landcruiser but prices are just ridiculous for them in Aussie especially considering the rapid depreciation kiwi buyers experience but other than that airfow issue and replacing the poorly designed after market Reese hitch towbar with a Mitsubishi item they got a good run from it. Yeah it was a loaded example.
Yes, Land Cruisers hold their value quite well. For the simple fact that these are desirable and popular workhorses, worldwide, regardless age.
The owner of the Toyota dealership nearby drives this 1992 Land Cruiser 70-series 2.4 TD. Just 3 years younger than the Dodge / Mitsubishi that Paul shot, and one of its direct competitors back then. Special about this one, apart from its splendid condition, is that it didn’t get a panel van-conversion.
It is interesting that Dodge only got the SWB model. These days I see many more Raiders than Monteros. Probably because the two door makes a better pleasure vehicle, while the four door Monteros were used up as family vehicles
These. Were. Cool.
Yes, 1988 is when they made their debut and as a Chrysler customer in those days I checked one out at our Dodge dealer on the corner and was impressed.
I never drove one but was tempted to. Unfortunately, they seemed to disappear really fast. I wonder if they all just melted away, rusted instantly, suddenly mysteriously migrated to Eugene, or turned into an instant scrap pile?
Let’s not forget that 1988 was the year that Chrysler also went convertible-crazy! Dodge Dakota convertible(!), Shadow convertible, LeBaron convertible, etc.
Good times for Chrysler back then until they almost imploded (again) in the early 1990s.
Concerns about small SUV rollovers commenced in 1988.
There might be an inclinometer in the center of the dash, that was one big draw for me along with the seats in the Mitsu version.
Many of them were likely shipped to Central America in the early ’90’s. I traded in a 1987 Suzuki Samurai to a mid-sized used car dealer back in ’93 or so, as I needed something a bit more practical for daily commuting. The dealer gave me a decent dollar for the Suzuki and explained to me that there was a huge demand for capable small 4 cylinder 4X4 SUVs in Central and South America, and apparently at the time there was a thriving industry in exporting them.
The small Dodge dealer (long gone) in my neighborhood had one of these on the lot as late as 1990 or ’91. i don’t think I ever saw one on the streets.
Of course from 2005-2009 Mitsubishi offered a Raider pickup. It was a rebadge Dodge Dakota. I have seen only 2 of them . One at a CarMax and the other on the road.
It is sad that they were not big sellers since they were an attractive pickup truck
I still see one or two of these occasionally. My mother’s retired neighbor still owns one.
I have no idea why, but from the time I first saw one of these Mitsu-badged Dakotas, I saw the 1946-47 Hudson pickup instead.
Never heard of that one, but it looks good. FCA -more specifically Fiat- now offers a pickup called the Fullback. A rebadged and slightly restyled Mitsubishi L200.
I was always struck by the very close resemblance between the Mitsubishi Montero’s of this era and Izusu Troopers of the same era. Both had very similar slab-sided styling and proportions and I always wondered who copied who. It seems to me, now, that the Izusu pre-dated the Mitsu and so it was likely that Mitsu was the copier.
Mitsubishi love mixing their badges, a Shogun here is a twin turbo V8 diesel cabover truck usually configured as a bogie drive tractor unit or eight wheel rigid, but back to the puddle jumper at hand,
Called a Pajero here they are getting thin on the ground now but I still se a few in regular use 2.6 and 3.0 gas and also with a 2.5? turbo diesel these actually drive quite well for an SUV, I got one when handing a truck over for servicing usually you were issued a diesel Corolla wagon to get back to you depot but for some reason I got a SWB Pajero diesel and was quite impressed.
YMMV but I reckoned it was ok reasonable amount of grunt easy shifting five speed manual and it sat on the road ok and the ride(on smooth tar) acceptable.
Ram. Raider. Can’t say that badge combo appeals. Mind you, Pajero translates badly I’m led to believe. My employer uses the current Shogun for motorway patrols, and a fine job they do, too.
A Latin American slang word for self abuse I have read…. Badges had to be swooped for Shogan in Central America it’s said. But I don’t believe it. But then Rolls was going to name it’s new Shadow model Silver Mist until some one pointed out it reads Silver Shit in German and the infamous Austin Allegro was renamed in Italy as it means a crazy person in Italian.
A Latin American slang word for self abuse I have read
“self abuse”? More like self pleasuring. Or are you still under the influence of a strict Catholic upbringing?
A friend in high school had one of these as his first car in the mid 90’s. He rather liked it, though he found sporty cars to be more his style and traded it for a Honda CRX after a couple years. I haven’t seen many since. Then again, I never saw all that many of the first-gen Monteros–for whatever reason it just seems they didn’t sell well in my area.
Interesting to note then the 1st-gen Montero/Pajero soldiered a couple of additionnal years as the Hyundai Galloper in some markets.
pretty sure these were manufactured by hyundai for the domestic market. korea’s strategy when they got into the automotive game was to restrict imports and then build licensed versions of foreign cars in korea. after a decade or two they started designing their own models for export.
For those non-spanish speakers, just remember that this car with the Mitsubishi badge had the most unfortunate name ever… Pajero – As you may know, this means “man who likes to masturbate often”.
Wanker, in other words?
So like the Buick LaCrosse in Canada. Supposedly LaCrosse is slang for self-pleasuring in parts of Canada (I’m guessing Montreal, where most everyone speaks French).
Well, having owned one I can vouch for it being a sturdy Li’l 4X4. Driving by our Dodge dealer one in day in 1988 A Red Raider with silver accent stripes caught our eye. Of course the Dealer had it out on the front row all decked out with all the options including aftermarket alloy wheels and off road kit.. My wife loved the wheels which made it an easy sell. We traded in our Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo and off we went. We loved that Raider, it looked like a Jeep to our youngest and we knew it was a mitsubishi so she called it the Mitsubishi Jeep. It served us well in the Florida Gulf coast and it was great for maneuvering through the flooded streets during the big storms that sometimes rolled through. Then it 1991 we moved to California. I rented a Uhaul Box truck and a tow bar. We loaded up all our stuff into the uhaul and hooked up the towbar to the Raider headed west. The Raider served us well in California but it struggled going up the hill when fully loaded so in 1996 we stopped in our Mitsubishi dealer on New Year’s day looking for a Montero with a V6 (Dodge had stopped selling Raiders). They were no longer importing 2 doors so we went for the 4 door and traded in the Raider. We bought a brand new 1995 Montero at a big discount since the 1996 models were out.(not that they looked any different.) The Montero also served us well for over 20 years and 186,000 miles. We sold it to a relative of our son in law and that car is still going strong. We missed our Raider and I have been looking for a used one that is in good shape but they have a cult like following and rarely show up for sale. Interesting enough we moved back to Florida and there is one almost identical to ours that I see parked on the main Drag a few blocks from our house. It doesn’t have the alloy wheels but it has the same color and stripes and is in like new condition. I hope to catch the owner one day and see if he will part with it. I have attached a photo of a Pajero and not the Slang Version but the Wildcat
Nice story! My Mitsubishi obsessed bachelor uncle bought a brand new Raider in ’87 or ’88 and being a 10 yr old boy I thought it was really cool. We took some road trips with it and rocked out to the Phil Collins “No Jacket Required” cassette that he also was obsessed with.
I had ’91 4 door with the petrol 6. Great truck, but suffered from the Mitsu valve guide seal dry out accompanied by a fair amount of blue smoke. Ran like a top, just had to keep it topped up and add a bit of Stop Smoke. Gave it to friend when I decided to move to something a little newer and quicker (instead of paying for a valve job)..he ran it for a few more years a camp truck until it started developing some gremlins he didn’t feel like sussing out. He punted it on, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I run into it now after ten years.
a close friend had the mitsubishi two door version for years. i believe he never had a problem with it and i remember him telling me that he got over 100k miles out of the original yokihama tires!
I really liked my Montero… A friend of my parents had a Raider (2.6/auto) and a neighbor had a 2-door Montero (don’t remember what drive train) when I was growing up. My dad had a Toyota pickup at the same time, and all 3 were seriously rusted within a couple years… Asian cars were known as early rusters here (Wisconsin) but the Raider/Monty twins seemed to rust faster than other Japanese stuff. My Monty (3.0/auto) was brought over from California, so it was really clean when I got it, but was pretty rusty after one winter. It rode/drove great, kept up just fine with the Cherokee my dad had, in getting to the hunting cabin out in the woods, was great in the winter, had a ridiculous amount of room inside (I actually moved twice while I had it, and didn’t feel the need for a U-haul- it could swallow large cabinets or a couch no problem) Mine had the worn valve guide seal issues, so it smoked. After a year, it burned a couple of valves. It ran …OK but was nearing 200K, and my wife wanted something newer, so I reluctantly sold it. I miss it, and if I could find another clean one, I’d grab it. They did have an inclinometer, and seats with suspension built into them, like a big-rig would have- very, very comfortable on long drives. I read about doing an engine swap where you put a Chevy 4.3 V6 in, and was seriously contemplating it (since my father-in-law had just wrecked his S-10 and I could get the motor/trans and ECU for nothing) but with 2 jobs and 2 little kids I couldn’t justify tearing our only vehicle apart for probably all winter. Can you tell I miss my Monty?
I have a 1989 Dodge Raider and was only owned by myself and one other. I would like to sell it but I know there are many people out there that would love to have it. I’m just not sure how to get it into the right hands.
Have you had any luck finding a buyer?
My friends, Sue & Jerry drove their Raider from Florida to Guatemala; camped a year in the Tikal Natl. Park studying Coati’s; then drove it back.
Much better than my ’95 Wrangler could ever have done.
I remember another red one at St Vinnie’s in Eugene back in 2003 or 2004. Like seeing these trucks around in both 2 and 4 doors.
My Trooper II proved that you don’t buy an ’86 with the 2.3L engine because it’s an underpowered, unreliable, one-year-only combination, and you’d better hope it doesn’t have transmission issues as mine did (nope, not a GM automatic, either), because the cross-member that supports it is welded to the frame. It proved that being a documented low-mileage one-owner example meant nothing. It also proved that weak electronics and cheap interior plastics are just that, no matter what country they came from, same with overrated 4 cylinder engines.
It tied my Chrysler Concorde for lowest mileage while having both engine and transmission failure (the engine had already been replaced before the transmission failed).
But at least most of them rusted out to the point of no return before their owners were faced with such issues, however mine was never exposed to salt.