First generation Mitsubishi Monteros seem to have mostly gone the way of the wooly bully mammoth here in the States. Today’s JDM Pajero is here to take their place, and is kitted out in fine fashion. You’ll still need to decide if its price is pejorative however.

A couple of weeks back I went to a fete at the Paramount Studios backlot celebrating Volvo’s 60th anniversary in the U.S.. There was food, a cash bar (cheapskates), a car show, and as expected, Jay Leno. The thing that most struck my wife and me however, was how both Leno and Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo’s Senior VP Americas, pronounced the brand’s name - Vahl-vo. We still snicker and whisper Vahl-vo to each other because we’re both immature.

It really doesn’t matter how you say it, as yesterday’s proved it was a Swede with staying power and came away with a solid 73% Nice Price win to back that up. That more than makes up for last week’s string of Crack Pipe losses in my book. Vahl-vo...

Hey, who wants an SUV? Hello? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

Okay, who wants a cool old intercooled turbo diesel SUV with right-hand drive that nobody else has? Uh huh. I see a few raised eyebrows in the crowd. Let us begin.

What we have here is a which we Americans might better remember as the Montero, or, if you’re really into automotive obscurity the Dodge Raider. This one is a JDM personal import, however the seller claims it now comes with a legal Mississippi title. That may or may not mean anything. I don’t actually know anything about Mississippi, other than that it’s hard to miss.

The wagon is more than just a Montero with its steering wheel on the wrong side, this one comes with Mitsubishi’s 2.5-litre diesel four, with both a turbocharger and intercooler - dig that crazy hood scoop - to do the fluffing duties. That’s somewhere around 115- 135-bhp depending on which iteration it is. A four-speed automatic gearbox and 4WD drivetrain with independent suspension up front completes the mechanical catalog.

This is the long (106-inch) wheelbase five-door edition of the Pajero, which we did get here so things like glass and door handles and whatnot should be reasonably available if needed.

That’s not to say that this Pajero needs anything. The ad says that it rocks “immaculate” paint and the body looks mar-free in the pics. The chrome is bright and it has an extra set of Cibes up front protected by a roo bar.

The interior comes with a fancy double din stereo - that gives you nav in Japanese - an honest to dog Nardi wheel. It also rocks suspension seats that will make your butt think it’s died and gone to butt heaven. There’s a triple gauge set atop the center stack that includes an incline-o-meter so you can measure the angle of your dangle, while in back there’s a third row that folds into the sides when you need space instead of seats.

There’s no doubt that this is a rare beast here in the States, not only as it’s a RHD JDM truck but also because most all the Monteros - and probably all the Raiders - are long since gone here. They weren’t the world’s most reliable trucks when they were here and hence people tended not to maintain them.

This one’s an exception to that rule - there’s always one, isn’t there? - and hence it might be an excellent opportunity for someone who missed out on these the first time they came around.

That opportunity will cost however, to the tune in this case of $14,500. That’s a lot of moolah for an old Mitsubishi wagon, but it’s not so much for a classic - and rare - truck that’s got a little extra going for it to make things interesting.

What do you think about $14,500 for this JDM Mitsu? Is that deal to drive on the right? Or, does that price have you keeping to the left?

You decide!

Jackson MS , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Adam for the hookup!

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