The cutting edge in practicality
Faultlessly reliable and solidly built. No car I had owned before or have since has proved itself so reliable.
Provided me with superb practicality, bullet proof reliability and rock solid build quality. Not very thrilling to drive, though.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th October, 2005
Everything seems to fail after 150,000 miles
The head gasket leaked oil.
The gear box had to be reconditioned.
The water pump bearing failed.
A rear wheel bearing failed.
The radiator frame came apart.
The thermal switch for the fan failed.
Exhaust leaks in through the rear hatch.
The fuel pump began leaking twice.
The carburetor had to be replaced.
The central locking had to be repaired.
The CV joints have been a big headache.
The clutch and release bearing failed.
The car was sold to us with an oil leak on the engine that we were told was the rocker arm cover gasket. It was actually the head gasket and apparently this engine is prone to oil leaks because the oil passages are close to the edge of the gasket. I replaced it myself and it wasn't too bad a job.
The gearbox became very noisy and we had to have it reconditioned, and that was very expensive.
A very great annoyance has been the drive shafts and CV joints. The outside CV joints have both been replaced two or three times each. One inside CV joint has been replaced with a used joint, but the drive train still has a lot of jerkiness to it, and I think it will be necessary to replace both sides CV joints and drives hafts to correct this.
The carburetor seemed to have been worked on by a mechanic with a sledge hammer because parts were bent. I got a used carburetor from a Gallant of the same year and it works much better.
One of the rear wheel bearings was noisy a month or so after we got the car and I replaced it, but found the new bearing was loose in the wheel. The old bearing had been in there so long that it had begun to wobble in the wheel and wore a larger hole in the wheel. I had to buy a whole wheel from Japan because I couldn't find a junk yard that had one.
An odd failure was the frame that the radiator is mounted in. It is soldered to the radiator and then bolted to the car frame and the solder joints failed. I had to bring it to a radiator shop to be renewed.
One of the most annoying faults is exhaust gases being pulled into the cabin when windows are open. It appears to be pulled through the fresh air vents in the hatch door. There are two vents in the paneling over the door and inside each vent is a fabric curtain that is supposed to prevent air from flowing into the cabin, but the curtains have become stiff and wrinkled and don't do the job. I finally had to block any air passages in the hatch to keep from being gassed.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 17th October, 2003
Serious competition for other MPV manufacturers
No big problems so far, but I bought the car with the following faults...
Safety cap missing off the rear 12v outlet.
Crack in the plastic trim just inside the boot load area. Some small scratches also evident in rear load area from previous abuse.
Three and a half year old car and it has some small rust spots appearing on the rear passenger doors, along side the windows.
A lovely car to drive, like being on a magic carpet. Hardly any roll for such a big vehicle. Rear end can start to slide out if you push it extremely hard. Brakes very positive (good job really with me driving!). Gear lever on column, eliminating the need for a center column, making more space. Air conditioning, power steering, heated electric mirrors, electrically adjustable headlights, ABS with electronic brake force distribution, adjustable steering column height, computer display for the stereo/outside temperature/consumption figures etc... gadgets, gadgets, gadgets, Mitsubishi think of everything. Even the headlights turn themselves off if you leave them on when you get out the car!
Performance from the 2.4 litre engine is quite sedate while pottering about, but is able to go with quite a kick when you floor the fun pedal. Flooring it does come at a cost though, I recommend getting an account at your local petrol station. Fuel figures I've been getting have been anywhere from 20-30 miles to the gallon, depending on conditions. The on-board display for average mph, mpg and miles left in the tank can make you paranoid if you look at it all the time.
So, the fuel figures aren't brilliant, but just for the road presence, smoothness of the drive and the comfort, you can leave all your fuel bill worries behind. A sheer pleasure to drive. Everyone I take out in it can't believe it's more than 3 years old, my Granddad thought it was new!
Seating is quite versatile, you are able to fold up the rear two seats or remove them all together. The middle row slides forward to allow access to the back seats or expand the rear load area. With the rear seats in you still have enough room behind them to store a fold up buggy and some bags etc... quite surprising, more room than the Zafira we looked at. The seats are a dull Grey cord/velor type material, but I've got used to them now and they are very comfortable.
To top it off, my Spacewagon has blacked out windows and near black (it's actually dark blue) paintwork, colour coded bumpers with front fog-lights and a rear spoiler make it look the mutts nuts. A very nice, unique looking motor.
I've owned an old Mitsubishi a few years ago and it never let me down, I'm hoping this has the same reliability. Will be taking it elsewhere for servicing though, local Mitsubishi dealer quoted £160 for intermediate service and £520! for the major service (including cam-belt).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th January, 2003
13th Mar 2003, 11:36
Great review, just don't ever buy a Renault like me.
I have looked at the Spacewagon at my local dealer and was quite impressed, although the interior did not look that roomy especially the two rear most seats.
I have considered a Mitsubishi because they have a good reliability record, but as you mentioned they are pricey for parts, servicing and of course insurance.