MITSUBISHI'S decision to take on the larger Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol 4WDs with a medium priced wagon really paid off, establishing the Japanese marque as a mid-sized SUV (sport utility vehicle) 4WD leader. The first NA-series Pajeros arrived as two-door wagons in 1983, quickly followed a year later by the four-door wagon versions. The 2.6-litre Astron four-cylinder engine that saw a decade of service in the super-successful Sigma from 1979 was the Pajero's mechanical mainstay, although popular too was a 2.3 turbodiesel four-cylinder engine (enlarged to a 2.5 from 1986). Over its rivals, the Mitsubishi offered very urban-friendly interiors and controls, despite also sporting a separate ladder-chassis construction to give it better offroad ability. The Mitsubishi's sheer usability helped it, and others too, pave the way for the inexorable rise of the 4WD both here and around the world. The Pajero featured here is a late Mk1 model in NG guise, seeing the generation out until the all-new, bigger and far-more refined NH model arrived.