Any Lancer GTS owners out there?

[Mitlov]

Still shopping for a replacement for my Jetta (whose AC is now needing repairs...fourth unscheduled maintenance of 2010). Timeframe for replacement is likely January 2011.

I was mulling over the Lancer GTS. It at least purports to be a sporty fun-to-drive ride, it's got the options I want (manual transmission, sunroof, leather, heated seats), it's the right price (just over $20k), it looks great, it's got the really good rear-seat side impact tests I'd want for my kids, and Mitsubishi offers 0% APR for five years.

But I was wondering if there were any owners here. Are you glad you got it? How does it hold up after the first year? These are things a test-drive can't tell me.

 

[Der Stig]

Try checking out a used Legacy or Outback wagon. I don't know how popular they are in the NW though. Also, Saab 9-3X would be another good, underrated choice.

 

[Spectre]

Mitsus do not hold up well in the long term, period.

 

[Mitlov]

Try checking out a used Legacy or Outback wagon. I don't know how popular they are in the NW though. Also, Saab 9-3X would be another good, underrated choice.

Not a big fan of Legacies. If I got a Scoobie, it'd be an Impreza.

Saab 9-3X? Why are you suggesting a $40k jacked-up wagon for someone who is looking at a $20k sporty compact sedan?

 

[Mitlov]

Mitsus do not hold up well in the long term, period.

Not the answer I was hoping for, but I appreciate the directness of the response.

Have you owned any, or was this based off of friends' cars, or just what you've observed generally?

 

[Der Stig]

Sorry, I meant this one: the 9-2X, aka Impreza.

 

[Spectre]

Not the answer I was hoping for, but I appreciate the directness of the response.

Have you owned any, or was this based off of friends' cars, or just what you've observed generally?

Hadn't owned any, but it's based off of how many of my friends' Mitsus I've had to tow home and from general observation.

You rarely see any old Mitsus, and it certainly isn't because they didn't make or sell many.

Edit: If you really want to know how well old Mitsus hold up... just ask gaasc. He has one.

 

[Mitlov]

Sorry, I meant this one: the 9-2X

Okay, gotcha, that makes a ton more sense.

I always liked the 9-2X, but it (and that generation Impreza) are really too small for my family (I have two kids, and carseats nowadays are BIG), plus, that generation lacked rear side curtain airbags. Very cool cars if you don't have kids; not ideal if you do and you're overprotective like I am.

It's a shame they dulled the driving experience of the current-gen Impreza a bit. Still, it's one of the cars I'd look at if I don't like the Lancer GTS or if I decide it's a bad idea. But from what I've read, the GTS is definitely a sharper driving experience than an Impreza 2.5i.

 

[Mitlov]

Hadn't owned any, but it's based off of how many of my friends' Mitsus I've had to tow home and from general observation.

You rarely see any old Mitsus, and it certainly isn't because they didn't make or sell many.

Edit: If you really want to know how well old Mitsus hold up... just ask gaasc. He has one.

Huh. At least around here, I do see old Mitsubishis with some real regularity, though I haven't been inside one and I don't know how much unscheduled maintenance they've needed. And weren't they always a small-volume-seller in the States, so there just isn't the numbers to start with that a company like Honda or even Mazda had?

I'll chase gaasc down.

 

[Spectre]

Huh. At least around here, I do see old Mitsubishis with some real regularity, though I haven't been inside one and I don't know how much unscheduled maintenance they've needed. And weren't they always a small-volume-seller in the States, so there just isn't the numbers to start with that a company like Honda or even Mazda had?

I'll chase gaasc down.

He shouldn't be hard to find. I believe his Mitsu has been on fire at least once since he's been here and it's back in the shop yet again.

Also, by old Mitsu, I mean from the 80s.

Even assuming that the Mitsu doesn't go on fire, they have a number of traditional issues such as crankwalk, bellhousing/transmission case cracking, and miserable piston ring sealing. Mitsus seem to be built to be disposable.

Also, Mitsu sold an awful lot of cars as a captive import under Chrysler for many years. Where'd they all go? I see more Series IIIs still running around than, say, Chrysler Lasers/Dodge Daytonas (which often had Mitsu powertrains, especially in the later years) or Plymouth Sapporos (a Galant by any other name)... and they made less Series IIIs in the entire 13 year run than they made Daytonas/Lasers in just three! Those aren't the best examples admittedly, but they're there. Then we have the Dodge Colt, which was a Mitsubishi Colt with new badges slapped on. Sold in huge numbers, all dead now.

 

[nouseferaname90]

http://www.edmunds.com/mitsubishi/lancer/2008/consumerreview.html

for the most part, people seem to think its alright (but some call it really underpowered), and there are rampant complaints of it having cheap paint.

 

[Spectre]

Oh, forgot one - the first generation Volvo S/V40 was a rebadged and fascia'd Mitsubishi Carina. They were very successful in the US, and they were everywhere for a while.

They all seem to have disappeared. Where'd they all go?

 

[GT - R]

Oh, forgot one - the first generation Volvo S/V40 was a rebadged and fascia'd Mitsubishi Carina. They were very successful in the US, and they were everywhere for a while.

They all seem to have disappeared. Where'd they all go?

I see lots of S40?s and Carismas around here and one of them is in my house (2000MY S40)

By contrast I have never seen a Jaguar older than 12 years in my whole life (Oldest jaguar I have ever seen was a 99 XK8 Cabrio)

 

[Spectre]

This has been discussed before - cars do more miles in the US and rust kills off fewer of them in most places than in Europe. Mechanical failure gets most of them here as cars will hit whatever 'terminal mileage' they have a lot sooner. For example, you guys sing the praises of Audi over there, where over here even ones from the same plant can have problems unheard of in Europe.

 

[MadCat360]

Mitsus do not hold up well in the long term, period.

Friend got an Eclipse a while back. It blew something or other within a year and he replaced it pronto. With an STi I think...

Mind you I do like the way the Lancer drives. But the Mazda 3 is better to drive (not sure on the safety aspect). It's got the same power and is lighter. If you want leather it's a tiny bit more expensive though.

By contrast I have never seen a Jaguar older than 12 years in my whole life (Oldest jaguar I have ever seen was a 99 XK8 Cabrio)

Tons of old XJSs still going around here. But then, cars live forever in California.

 

[Mitlov]

Edit: If you really want to know how well old Mitsus hold up... just ask gaasc. He has one.

I did ask gaasc. He told me he has a 20-year-old Mitsu pickup that's actually just a rebadged Dodge. Yes, it's taken a lot of work to get/keep it running. No, I don't see what that has to do with the anticipated reliability of a 2010 or 2011 Lancer.

 

[gaasc]

I did ask gaasc. He told me he has a 20-year-old Mitsu pickup that's actually just a rebadged Dodge.

Backwards mate, the Dodge is a Rebadged mitsu

 

[Mitlov]

Backwards mate, the Dodge is a Rebadged mitsu

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. Still, it'd be like judging a 2011 Sentra SE-R Spec V by the early-90s salvage-title Nissan pickup that left my wife stranded halfway across the Golden Gate bridge

 

[GM_IV]

I have no idea of the long term life of Mitsubishi cars as they've only come to Canada recently and the Chrysler badged cars were sold in very low numbers to begin with. All I can say is, the Lancer is a reasonably nice vehicle to drive in its class, but I don't like the interior very much...a bit too cheap. I still like the Mazda3 more when it comes to driving dynamics. Mitsubishi Canada does offer one of the best warranties here, I don't know if its the same case as the US since that can be different like how we don't get as nice of a Hyundai warranty for instance.

 

[Mitlov]

I have no idea of the long term life of Mitsubishi cars as they've only come to Canada recently and the Chrysler badged cars were sold in very low numbers to begin with. All I can say is, the Lancer is a reasonably nice vehicle to drive in its class, but I don't like the interior very much...a bit too cheap. I still like the Mazda3 more when it comes to driving dynamics. Mitsubishi Canada does offer one of the best warranties here, I don't know if its the same case as the US since that can be different like how we don't get as nice of a Hyundai warranty for instance.

Nearly every single review I've read has commented on the cheap interior plastics and the cheap paint. Luckily, those I can verify for myself on a test-drive to see whether I could live with them, even if they're not ideal.

Mitsubishi's warranty in the States is awesome. Five years bumper-to-bumper, ten years for the powertrain. Leaves most competitors in the dust on that front. Similarly, Mitsubishi's permanent policy of 0% financing for five years on any car besides the EVO is a big mark in its favor compared to some of its competitors.

The Mazda3 is a REALLY good package, smiley face notwithstanding. My hesitation with it comes from my desire to have a car with top-notch rear-seat side impact ratings because of my kids. The Mazda3 is no deathtrap--far from it--but in that one specific area, it doesn't get top marks. If I wasn't an overprotective daddy, I wouldn't think twice about the Mazda3's crash test ratings...but if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its ass when it jumped.