Faults:

IACV (idle air control valve) intermittently plays up, which is a common issue on these cars; either replace the unit or lightly keep your foot on the throttle to stop stalling. Only occurs occasionally on cold start up, and nothing else has gone wrong.

Note: these use a INVECSII transmission (F5a51) and are prone to failure, primarily due to the wavespring breaking and lodging in the transmission pump. If you purchase this vehicle, I recommend replacing the wavespring with a solid aftermarket unit and servicing the transmission approx. every 30,000km. It also doesn't hurt to purchase an additional transmission cooler to keep the ambient temperature down.

General Comments:

Surefooted, comfortable and practical ride, with near instant response from factory TD04-15T turbocharger. The engine is a detuned (177kW) version of the iconic 4G63T shared with the Evolution 7; 0-100km/h can be done with in approx. 7 seconds.

Maintenance is on the high side as this car won't tolerate poor servicing! Fuel economy is average (8.3l/100km open road, 15l/100km city).

Although it is classified as a SUV/station wagon, it is small, with just enough room to fit my families luggage for a weekend road trip, and the interior is plain and simple with no bells and whistles.

I bought this simply because of the practicality, reliability, safety and instant power that it offers. This is a very fun car to drive with many options to increase the power if you wish to do so.

Faults:

Cracked turbo manifold at barely 70000 km - replaced and costs a bomb. Cheaper or almost equal in having a custom banana manifold.

Failed air flow sensor at 90000 km - replaced and costs a bomb. Has been running fine until now.

Clogged fuel filter at 75000 km - replaced twice, could be caused by the quality of petrol we have in Malaysia.

Failed actuators (when bought at 60000 km), leading to the need to install a manual boost controller, which then leads to over boost, which damaged a few valves in the process. Had a top overhaul, and running fine until now.

General Comments:

It is a quick car, behaves very well on the road due to its engine output and the 4WD nature of the car.

Maintenance is quite on the high side, considering the car is used mostly for long distance journeys above 300 km and weekend trips. Parts are available easily, but costs are much higher than my Nissan.

Somehow runs smoother the longer distance you travel.

Requires that it's run only on RON 97 and above.

Fuel consumption gets much better for long distance/highways and very bad in stop-go traffic, perhaps due to its cruising nature of the semi auto gearbox (5-speed shiftronic). A full tank of 60-litre will give me 500 km for long distance, but only 350 km for mixed driving.

Cruising is smooth, and handling at high speed is superb. Had the speed limiter removed, and can easily climb to a top speed of 200 and beyond - effortless.

RPM at 100 km/h is 1800, and 170 km/h is around 3400.

Function over style - love the interior and its accessories e.g. cup holders, storage area, climate control, luggage space, flexibility of the seats to be folded down and adjusted to the maximum, amongst others.