Mitsubishi Pajero Sport towing capacity

Start with the Pajero Sport you actually have

This guide covers the Australian 2025 Pajero Sport. If you own one or are shopping used, its equipment and current weight matter more to your towing plans than the original advertised price. Identify the trim, optional equipment and accessories before matching a caravan.

The 3,100 kg braked rating is a maximum trailer figure. The 5,565 kg GCM limits the whole loaded combination, while the vehicle’s own GVM must include the load transferred through the towball. Both checks matter when the wagon has to carry your touring gear too.

Where the 310 kg goes: the GCM maths

For the standard GLS, Mitsubishi's 25MY brochure lists 2,130 kg kerb weight and a 2,775 kg GVM. Using a 3,100 kg loaded trailer and a measured 310 kg ball, the GVM allowance for other loads is 2,775 minus 2,130 minus 310, or 335 kg. The GCM check is 5,565 minus 3,100 minus 2,130, also 335 kg. Do not add the ball again to the combined total.

With those 335 kg of added vehicle loads aboard, the unhitched wagon weighs 2,465 kg. Hitching transfers 310 kg from the caravan to the wagon, making the vehicle 2,775 kg and leaving 2,790 kg on the trailer axles. Their sum is 5,565 kg, exactly the GCM. The same combination therefore reaches both GVM and GCM without a 310 kg combined-mass excess. This illustration assumes weight distribution is inactive; axle and equipment limits still need separate checks.

The standard GLS and a GLS with the Deluxe option have different starting weights. Mitsubishi lists 2,204 kg kerb and 571 kg payload for the Deluxe, reducing the allowance in this same caravan example to 261 kg. Include the equipment on the particular wagon before deciding how much room remains for the people and bags coming along.

How the 645 kg payload is used

Before the GCM even comes into play, the car has its own ceiling. Payload is GVM minus kerb: 2,775 minus 2,130, or 645 kg. That has to cover passengers, luggage, a towbar, the tow-ball download and any accessories you have bolted on.

For a family trip, add the actual passenger and luggage weights to the bullbar, second battery or roof platform fitted to your wagon. Then include the measured towball load in the GVM check. At the full 310 kg ball limit, that load uses nearly half the standard GLS payload before the people and equipment are counted. A family label or caravan weight band cannot establish what your own combination weighs.

The rear axle and the renowned sag

The Pajero Sport's tow-ball rating is 310 kg, which is high for a wagon this size, and that load lands behind the rear axle. With a 2,800 mm wheelbase and a 1,125 mm rear overhang, the hitch sits about 1,275 mm behind the axle line, so a 310 kg ball lands roughly 450 kg on the rear axle and lifts about 140 kg off the front. The rear axle is rated to 1,600 kg, and a heavy ball plus a loaded boot is what brings it close.

Rear-end sag under load is the car's best-known towing trait, and owner forums are full of the fix: airbags, a weight-distribution hitch, or stiffer springs. Pedders cone springs and a Mr Hitches WDH come up by name. Owners who fit them report the rig finally sits level and tows happily. The catch they pass on is the important part: the springs cured how the car looked, but the GCM and rear-axle ratings did not move a kilogram. Suspension fixes the attitude, not the legal limit.

Does a WDH let you tow a heavier van?

A towball load behind the rear axle can reduce load on the front axle and increase it at the rear. A suitable weight-distribution hitch can transfer some of that load towards the front axle and caravan axles. Check the vehicle, trailer and hitch instructions before fitting or adjusting one; a caravan weight band alone does not establish that a hitch is required or suitable.

Fitting a hitch or airbags alone does not raise GVM, GCM, towball or axle ratings. A compatible WDH redistributes load; airbags change suspension support and ride height. Neither removes weight from an over-GCM combination. Check the ratings and measured loads separately from whether the wagon appears level.

What earlier tow tests tell you about hills and handling

The 25MY brochure lists a 2.4-litre diesel producing 133 kW and 430 Nm, paired with an eight-speed automatic. Earlier road tests give useful context for that engine, but their results belong to the vehicles, caravans and conditions tested. They do not establish how your own 2025 wagon will handle a different load.

In Caravan World's July 2016 Exceed tow test, the engine worked hard on hills with a 2,110 kg caravan, while the reviewer described comfortable cruising and little disturbance from passing trucks. A Practical Motoring comparison from July 2017 used a 2,850 kg caravan and reported more steering correction as trucks passed, plus frequent gear changes in hilly terrain. The different results are a reason to consider the actual combination rather than treat a trailer-weight band as a handling guarantee.

Assess the wagon on sale against your caravan

Keep this 2025 Pajero Sport separate from any replacement announced under another model name. A successor’s engine, towing rating or payload cannot be applied to the wagon you own. The Mitsubishi Triton guide covers a different vehicle and should be compared on its own specifications.

A discount does not tell you how the caravan fits. Compare the particular trim, optional equipment, permanent accessories and condition at the price offered. The standard GLS and Deluxe example above shows why a shared 3,100 kg tow rating does not mean identical room for the rest of your trip load.

For a used vehicle, check its service history and any claimed remaining warranty against the terms that apply to that vehicle. Arrange an inspection that accounts for its previous use and the towing you intend to do. If you are cross-shopping older wagons, the Mitsubishi Pajero has a different conditional towball rating to check.

A worked example, and the weighbridge routine that proves it

Here is an illustrative GLS packing example. Two adults at 160 kg combined, a teenager and dog at 90 kg, 80 kg of camping gear and a 30 kg towbar total 360 kg above standard kerb. That leaves 285 kg of its 645 kg payload for towball load and anything else added. Use your actual weights; do not add a full standard fuel tank or permanent accessories again if your starting mass already includes them.

Weigh the wagon fully packed but unhitched, recording the front axle, rear axle and total. Then weigh the connected vehicle axles and trailer axle group in the configuration you will tow. Compare the hitched wagon with 2,775 kg GVM, its rear axle with 1,600 kg and all connected axle weights with 5,565 kg GCM. The combined total alone cannot show which axle is tight. The 360 kg packing example leaves 25 kg less than the 310 kg maximum ball allowance, so it needs an actual loaded ball measurement before the match can be assessed. Reducing an excessive combined weight means removing weight from the combination, not shifting it between the wagon and caravan.

Check the cabin equipment on the actual vehicle

Mitsubishi's 25MY brochure lists an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for the GLS and Exceed. Try your phone, navigation and the controls during an inspection, particularly if the vehicle has an aftermarket head unit. A different screen in a used listing is a reason to identify the fitted equipment, not evidence that the listing is necessarily wrong.

Match the caravan to the wagon you will pack

The standard GLS example shows 335 kg for other vehicle loads at a loaded 3,100 kg caravan and measured 310 kg ball load. Your trim, fit-out and caravan may reach a different limit first. Work from the caravan's loaded measurements and the wagon's actual starting weight, then check GVM, GCM, axles and towing equipment together.

A bullbar, roof rack and drawers reduce what is left for passengers before the caravan takes its share. Get the loadmate app to see how those recorded loads fit against GVM, GCM and the rear axle together. Build from measured weights, then check what changes when you add the family, fill the tanks or pack for a longer trip. The towing-capacity hub covers the wider field if you are still cross-shopping. Confirm the loaded rig with suitable scales before the trip.