Many Japanese SUVs (Stout Utility Vehicles) in the Netherlands are converted into a panel van for a registration as a commercial vehicle. Diesel power comes with the package. An example of such a stayer is this Mitsubishi, most likely owned by an excavator operator, as there was no one else to see in the whole area.
The first generation of the Pajero Sport was offered from 1996 to 2008. The same SUV was also marketed as the Challenger, Montero Sport, Nativa, Shogun Sport and Strada G-Wagon.
It was fully based on the third generation of the Mitsubishi Whatchamacallit pickup, as introduced in 1996. Depending on where you live, that could be the Strada, Colt, L200, Storm, Magnum, Strakar or Triton. I’d say hooray for globally used alphanumeric brand names.
Back to business: body-on-frame, a live rear axle with coil springs (leaf springs prior to late 2000) and independent front suspension with torsion bars.
Straightforward yet not spartan. Everything you need is there, a five-speed manual included.
Hardly ever.
This is how a well-used Pajero Sport van may look like on the inside. Note the full divider, with a window in this case, between the cab and the cargo compartment.
The 2.5 liter inline-four turbodiesel (8v OHC) with an intercooler on top of things, so that hood scoop is functional. Maximum power output 115 DIN-hp.
The GVM of this SUV panel van is rated at 2,510 kg (5,534 lbs), its curb weight is 1,880 kg (4,145 lbs). Another important number in this segment is the towing capacity: 2,800 kg (6,173 lbs).
I assume the owner can dig it!
The L200 Triton is called Strakar here in Portugal. Not sure if this is true but it is said it was Mitsubishi rally-raid driver (at the time) Carlos Sousa who suggested the name.
It used to be called Strada, but the name was supposedly owned by Fiat, so Carlos suggested Strakar, as it was a portmanteau of Strada and Dakar.
Excavator operator eh? Around here (West Coast of Canada) they would be driving a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup with a dry (tool) box and a 450l fuel tank. 4×4 of course.
Fascinating to see how others work, thanks for these.
Commercial conversions of SUVs ( usually Discos) have been common in Ireland too, but I am not sure if the rules have been tightened up in recent years to stop abuse. Certainly a former work colleague used to run one, as a private car – sometimes to tow his horse-box.
If you’re self-employed, or run any kind of business (like a farm or a shop), you’ve got a VAT-number. That’s the current link to a commercial vehicle registration / status here.
Commercial vehicles have other plates too. In this case, it’s the letter B on the plate. If it were a regular SUV, it wouldn’t have that. See the Pajero Sport at the beach in the article.
No government in the world is exempt from creating silly laws with loopholes big enough to drive an SUV through.
In the US, anything above 6000lbs GVW is a “truck” for tax deduction purposes. It’s part of the reason for the luxury SUV replacing the luxury car.
It’s all about the dimensions of the cargo compartment or the bed, in relation to some other measurements I won’t bother you with. No connection whatsoever though to weight.
An example, the lil’ Fiat below is compliant with the rules for a commercial vehicle registration.
Pretty much any vehicle can be registered as a commercial vehicle. What Evan is talking about is a section 179 tax deduction which means you can expense the entire purchase in a single tax year instead of depreciating it over time.
In Germany we have the similar laws for that matter, but unlike in the Netherlands converted SUVs are not so common. Like trainmen said, fascinating to see how others work. I had no idea that suv converted panel vans are popular at our neighbours
Actually, the Benz M and GLE (W163-164-166, V167) can’t escape from our van-treatments either…
However in California the annual “commercial” license fee is higher for a truck even if used only for personal use. If it has a “permanently” attached camper it can be inspected by the DMV and re-registered as a passenger car at a lower tax rate.
…like in the US, where Ford Transit Connect vans were imported with rear seats so they could be classified as passenger vehicles and thus not subject to the imported truck tariff. Once at the port, the seats were removed and destroyed, thus creating a commercial vehicle.
At least the folks who convert these Japanese SUVs to cargo-van duty end up with a good looking product, and the world’s plushest van cargo hold!
I never realized there was a hard divider behind the front seats. How rigid is it? Will it stop a heavy load from shifting forward (never mind the glass window area)? This is an interesting format compared to a pickup with a camper shell or a van. I mean, I knew these existed but just kind of figured the seats were gone and the windows were blacked out, the divider aspect changes things…
I think that divider is required, at least in some countries, for it to get the tax benefits.
You can have it as rigid as you want, basically, with our without window. But everybody will settle for what the converter builds, which is more than rigid enough for the end user.
Such SUVs are never used as real cargo vans, filled up to the roof. Some tools and equipment needed for the job, that’s it. You can imagine that veterinarians love these SUV-vans.
Turbodiesel-powered panel van conversions of the Nissan Patrol, Mitsubishi Pajero and the Toyota Land Cruiser (Prado) are bougth for their durability and towing capacity, not for cargo capacity.
As an aside, a client of mine (a horticulturist) bought a used Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD van conversion last year, really neat. His mid-nineties Nissan Patrol was finally worn out…
My aunt and uncle had one of these they put many miles on, I believe they ended up donating it to some charity.
Not many conversions like that here the same or similar powertrain can be had in a ute or van version from the factory or exJDM or buy a Troop carrier from Toyota,
you can get a ‘sporty’ stripe kit model of nearly any brand of ute here and its only a visual kit no mechanical enhancements take place
That also came as a slightly upmarket Challenger model and the example shown seems to blurr between the Pajero and Challenger with exterior elements of both, of course it depends where you are on what Mitsubishi chose to call it, somebody in Japan is either very confused or laughing all day when parts orders come in.
I have the 1996 Challenger with the turbo diesel engine and automatic box. which I’ve owned for around four years and I must say that I’m very happy with my purchase. The reason I bought the Challenger is to tow a 3000 lb boat which it does effortlessly.
For we Americans the Challenger talk is confusing due to the RWD muscle car sold as the Dodge Challenger here.
This had me daydreaming about a “Challenger Business Coupe” with no back seat and expanded trunk. Of course given that there are very few travelling salesmen anymore…
We have those Dodge Challengers too they are a popular used import, it seems Mitsubishi didnt bother to trademark iut when the badge fell into disuse and Chrysler began using it again, though it would be hard to confuse the two vehicles visually.
I’d bet there are way more “traveling salesmen” than there ever were back in the day. It is just that they are now called Sales Representatives. Back in the day when I was an Area Sales Representative one of the old timers shared that when he started in the 70’s he had a Plymouth Business Sedan. I doubt it came from the factory that way be he described the typical platform in place of the rear seat cushion. By the time I was in the business we had moved on to Full size Vans, and a few Mini Vans.
Not many businesses where sales reps carry a large enough volume of samples to need a van, the most common car is probably a Prius which has plenty of room for samples and maximizes profit on a flat-rate mileage reimbursement.
I’d always thought Chrysler should’ve answered the complaints about the Charger being a four-door by building a two-door…with no other changes, just a gaping hole on either side of the rear seat where the back doors would normally be. It’d have been a great April Fools’ prank.