2004 Mitsubishi Lancer VRX 2.0L petrol

Summary:

Great reliable car with good performance

Faults:

Minor leak from the rear main seal on the manual gearbox at around 40,000km.

General Comments:

After my previous car experience, this one is a joy to drive and own. The price was quite good and ongoing running costs are low. It's burning 7.9L/100km in real world driving (stats kept for every refill since purchase). Runs very well on E10 (10% ethanol) fuel with a drop in economy of 2% on average.

The engine performance is pleasing, and strong enough to comfortably drive the car on a hot day without the air conditioning affecting performance too much. Air conditioner is strong enough to cope with 40C Australian weather. Cornering capability is very good with limited body roll. Traction on the VRX model is excellent due to the wide tires and lower, stiffer suspension.

Interior plastic quality is pretty good with no rattles or squeaks. The seats could have more lateral support. Everyone who is a passenger in my car comments about how much room is available in this medium size car. Boot space is very good. Mitsubishi provide a full tire with alloy for the spare, which is refreshing to see.

The only mechanical issue to go wrong is a seal leaking on the manual gearbox. This was noticed by the dealer just outside of warranty, but Mitsubishi offered to pick up the parts costs and half the labour. Cost me AU$230 to replace the seal which I think is quite reasonable.

The car was involved in a relatively minor accident where it was sandwiched between two other cars. Crash repairs appear to be quite expensive. AU$10,000 in my case (covered by insurance). Car was restored to as-new condition by the Mitsubishi repairer.

I think the car looks great in bright yellow and I would definitely buy another.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th January, 2008

10th Mar 2010, 05:17

Really fantastic review, my driving instructor had one of these cars and I can't agree with you more on all of this review.

13th Oct 2010, 21:50

Original poster here. Slight engine oil leak at 60,000km, caused by dealer overfilling engine with oil. Dealer has now overfilled by more than 0.5L of oil twice.

Converted the Lancer to run on LPG at 60,000km (vapour injection). Very few Lancers being converted here in Australia. Currently at 80,000km with no signs of valve seat recession. I'm using a Flashlube drip kit to protect the exhaust valves, as Mitsubishi do not recommend the 4G94 engine for LPG conversion. Also using a high end dedicated LPG specific engine oil.

Car burns about 9.2L/100km of LPG. 63L LPG tank sits in the boot, and still leaves plenty of room for luggage.

Fitting high quality silica compound tyres (Hankook) to the car has significantly reduced road noise when compared to the standard Yokohama tyres.

2004 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 2.0L

Summary:

Recommended first car or if you need a run about. not comfy on a long trip though

Faults:

Hit a wombat and damaged the front right strut easily replaced at Mitsubishi dealer.

Seat interior poor quality.

General Comments:

This car handles well, but is rather noisy inside the cabin.

Not enough leg space in back seat for passengers.

Not enough leg room in front passenger seat due to low glove box.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd July, 2005

2004 Mitsubishi Lancer ES 2.0 Litre 4 cylinder

Summary:

Cheaply Made

Faults:

Gearbox blew at 3,750 k's! Mitsubishi then decided they would void my warranty! As they believed the car was being treated too harshly! $2000 repair at my cost.

Sump cracked, again Mitsubishi would not fix it under warranty.

Clutch blew last week (9,985 k's) once again Mitsubishi did not come to the party. $750 fix.

General Comments:

I bought this car as I have a young family! I wanted a safe, reliable new car as I also do a bit of travelling as Iam a Civil Engineer, but this car has been a nightmare and for $22,000 odd dollars its just not worth it especially when Mitsubishi are not willing to fix the car when its not even 12 months old.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st April, 2005

10th Jul 2005, 01:33

The warranty can and should be voided if the car is mistreated. It's quite easy to abuse a clutch or manual gearbox and make it fail in a very short time. No warranty will cover driver abuse. My advice to the poster is to ask for evidence: a burnt out clutch due to poor driving skills will have characteristic marks on it. Taking Mitsubishi's word for it gives too much trust to the manufacturer, but likewise no carsurvey.org user knows how the original poster treated the vehicle.

21st Jul 2005, 02:41

I sold my Lancer today to a Adelaide Mitsubishi dealer as I have had enough of this car! I did not trade at this car yard I simply sold it to them for $7000! its the best offer I could get with no factory warranty! I just wanted to cut my losses and move on from this experience! VP Commodore here I come...

17th Dec 2005, 16:25

I am faced with the prospect of my company Astra wagon being replaced with a Lancer ES wagon towards the middle of next year. I recently took a Lancer for an extended test drive and was seriously disappointed after the solidly built, pleasant-to-drive Astra. The Lancer feels like it is built down to a price, with wobbly handling, cheap interior materials, a coarse and noisy engine, slovenly performance and a complete absence of character. How do they manage to extract an EVO from this sub-par starting point?

3rd Apr 2006, 01:03

I have a Grey 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer ES and I love it. I am 19 and work full time at a Hospital and I am also a college student. It is a very good car to hook up. All I needed were some black tints, black Montege Racing rims with a crome lip, a flip out DVD player, and a cool air intake. The Lancer is very affordable, good on gas, and looks phat.

16th Jan 2007, 19:46

I have a 2002 lancer es manual. For a 4 cylinder car you can't ask for anything better, good on gas runs good and even looks good. All it needs is a good driver behind the wheel and you have a great car.

10th Feb 2009, 13:39

It's a normal car. I have driven it. This car is not as bad as people say.

2004 Mitsubishi Lancer VR-X 1.8L 4 cylinder

Summary:

Good tight car, but needs a turbo!

Faults:

Nothing wrong so far!

General Comments:

Handles like it is on rails, but engine really needs a turbo. The 'tinny' sound that is common on all four cylinder engines is very apparent. It has the looks and you are able to turn corners at 60km/hr, but it doesn't accelerate all that fast. Like I said, it needs a turbo and then it would be the perfect affordable sports car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 21st March, 2005

24th Mar 2005, 05:04

Your VRX comes with a 2 litre engine (not 1.8), just like my new Lancer VRX.

23rd Aug 2005, 22:15

I stand corrected. The car has a 2.0L engine.

7th Jan 2006, 21:51

(I left the above comment about the Lancer having a 2L engine).

I have a 2004 VRX Lancer sedan and am very happy with mine. Its done 16,000km from new without any mechanical problems. There is a little bit of buzzing from the driver's door trim, but generally the car is very well put together. I had a 2001 Mercedes A-Class before this car and that car had dreadful reliability and build quality problems despite costing 40% more. Handling is pretty good. I wouldn't say it's as good as a Focus, but the car looks good, economical (I've had 7.9L/100km average over the life of the car, manual), the gearbox is snappy, and the acceleration is nice. The new 2.4L MIVEC Lancers should be better still. The warranty is now a standard 5 years so Mitsubishi really do stand behind the reliability of their cars (10 years for engine and drivetrain).

17th Oct 2009, 01:22

If you want a car with a turbo, you should have bought the turbo charged Evo. The VRX is just the base model with side skirts front and rear bumper + spoiler. Mine has adequate performance, especially for the price I paid for it, and looks great.