If you want to experience Japanese car culture, you don’t need to break the bank on an ultra-rare Nissan Skyline GT-R Edition. There’s a lot of stuff in the JDM scene, and most of the best stuff is now available to import under the 25-year rule. You’ll be hard-pressed to find something more Japanese than this 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Snoopy Edition. bring a trailerBut it probably won’t wipe out your savings, and someone else has already done the job of importing it to the US.
Snoopy, as they are called, is big in Japan, rivaling domestic animated characters in popularity. It is so popular that Japanese drivers want to show their love for their favorite car. The Snoopy version uses special graphics, including plenty of illustrations of its namesake, cute paw print mud flaps and what looks like Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz’s signature over soft white and silver metallic two-tone paint. Snoopy also appears on the center caps of the 15-inch wheels fitted with 175/80 Yokohama Geolander tires.
Inside, Snoopy appears on the seat covers, in a collage on the door panels, and on the speedometer. Woodstock keeps him company on the tach. Other than those details, the interior is fairly basic, but that’s typical of a kei car.
The Pajero Mini brought the styling of the Dakar-winning SUV to kei-car scale, creating what we know as the American Montero. This is the second generation version, which was launched in 1998 with some relaxation of size restrictions in kei-car regulations and lasted until 2012. Interestingly, this generation of Pajero Mini was also sold as the Nissan Kicks (not to be confused with the Kicks), foreshadowing an alliance between the two automakers.
Under the small hood is a small engine. The 659-cc turbocharged inline-three produces a full 51 horsepower, but keep in mind that both displacement and output are restricted under kei-car rules. The engine is paired with a four-speed automatic transmission, as well as a four-wheel drive system with a two-speed transfer case that justifies the Pajero nomenclature. The suspension is independent at the front, live axle at the rear.
The car was acquired by its seller in Japan in 2025 and had some maintenance done before being imported. Its odometer shows approximately 35,000 miles, but there is some wear consistent with the car’s age, including a badly faded Snoopy decal on the hood. The seller claims to have a clean Tennessee title in his name, but the ability to register KE cars for road use varies by state.
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