It’s not often, as someone deeply immersed in the world of automobiles, that a vehicle rolls by and throws me for a loop. While I wouldn’t boast about my car recognition skills, it’s safe to say I can identify the vast majority. So, when a peculiar SUV parked outside my local vet clinic stumped me, it was a genuine surprise. This particular example was in remarkably pristine condition, arguably cleaner than it ever was fresh off the factory line. The one I encountered was, more typically, showing its age. Despite faded badges and the kind of paint quality one might expect from a Dodge of that era, it wasn’t unattractive. The missing badges made front-end identification nearly impossible beyond a subtle ‘Dodge’ emblem, and the sides merely displayed ‘Ram’ in small lettering. It wasn’t until it drove away and I caught sight of the ‘Raider’ badging that a glimmer of recognition sparked, providing me with the necessary clue for a Google search.
Driven by modern search habits, my initial search was ‘Ram Raider’, which, as expected, yielded results entirely unrelated to vehicles. Refining my query to ‘Dodge Ram Raider’ finally unlocked some relevant information. The Raider, I discovered, was a short-lived model, produced for only three years, born from the unusual Mitsubishi-Dodge partnership of the 1980s. While this automotive alliance brought forth some commendable vehicles like the turbocharged Starrion (rebadged as the Dodge Conquest), the Raider’s lineage was less illustrious. Originating as the Mitsubishi Pajero (known in some markets as the Montero), the Raider arrived stateside after the Pajero had already enjoyed five years of development and success in other markets before being rebranded as a Dodge for the US market.
However, these five years of prior development didn’t translate into significant advantages for the 1987 Dodge Raider in the eyes of the American consumer. In its nascent years in Japan, the Pajero was initially considered a commercial vehicle. To broaden its appeal as a passenger SUV, Mitsubishi incorporated features like heated front seats and ‘Genuine Leather Headrests’. By 1987, these somewhat incongruous luxury touches found their way into the Dodge Raider, achieving minimal impact on its market perception. At its core, the 1987 Dodge Raider remained a three-door, leaf-sprung 4×4. While other vehicles adhering to a similar formula, such as the Chevrolet Blazer and Ford Bronco, are now celebrated classics, the Dodge Raider has largely faded into obscurity, and arguably for justifiable reasons: its engine options. The 1987 Dodge Raider offered two engine choices, each available with either a manual or automatic gearbox: a 2.6L 4-cylinder and a 3.0L V6.
The 2.6L four-cylinder engine was a naturally aspirated variant of the turbocharged unit found in the Dodge Conquest. In the 1987 Dodge Raider, it produced a rather underwhelming 109 horsepower and 142 lb-ft of torque. The 3.0L V6 wasn’t a substantial upgrade, delivering only 143 horsepower and 168 lb-ft of torque. Acceleration across all engine and gearbox combinations was, to put it mildly, leisurely, with 0-60 mph times exceeding a glacial 12 seconds. The only redeeming quality for such underpowered engines in the eyes of automotive enthusiasts is exceptional reliability. Unfortunately, neither of the Raider’s engine options earned such a reputation. Online forums and owner communities dedicated to the Raider, Montero, and Pajero consistently suggest that the reliability of a 1987 Dodge Raider is, generously speaking, questionable. This pervasive reputation for unreliability perhaps explains why encountering a Dodge Raider in the wild is such a rare event, making the sighting I had all the more noteworthy.
The ‘Raider by Mitsubishi for Dodge’ – a marketing phrase actually used in period advertisements – had a brief three-year production run and is by no means a fondly remembered vehicle. In fact, online searches for ‘Raider’ are more likely to lead to articles about criminal activity than automotive history. Prior to my recent encounter, I had virtually no awareness of its existence. Now that I am aware, I’m keen to spot the local example again for a closer inspection. Interestingly, the ‘Raider’ name does persist in the Mitsubishi lineup, albeit on a different vehicle – a mid-size pickup truck sold in the US market as the Mitsubishi Raider, produced in the mid-2000s.
