I got a white RA stock.I like it a lot. I don't like the brakes though. I drive it hard and fast through the wicked twisties in N. Cali.

 

Update: My initiation to Mitsubishi cars has been fairly good so far. As I mentioned in my first post, I use the car for courier work, so I drive ALOT. I'm up to 31k miles now and the car has only been to the dealer once for a CEL.

Here's what I've noticed in 31k miles.

Positives:

Power. OK, so it's not an EVO, but the 2.4 does a decent job of moving the Lancer down the road. I've surprised more then a few people in some stoplight drags. At 80 mph without cruise, it's very easy to move over 90 mph without much thought or pedal pressure.

Automatic transmission- In general, this is one of the better automatics I've experienced. Nothing beats a manual (which I miss) but this slushbox shifts smoothly most of the time, quickly and rarely hunts for the right gear.

Storage space. I love the storage under the rear floor.

Sound system. While the rear speakers are a bit weak, this is a fairly impressive stock stereo system, especially in a "cheap" car. I have a Pioneer headunit now and the factory speakers still sound good and can handle decent power. I'm not looking to win any sound competitions by any means, but it can handle fairly high volume settings without distortion. The factory speakers in my old Focus couldn't.

Simple oil changes. The drain plug is easy and so is the filter. Ford buried the filter on the back side of the engine, making oil changes fairly messy in the Focus.

Durability and Reliability- This car has only been sidelined for four days and it's seen some fairly rough roads and nasty conditions, plus a slide into a ditch. So far, the Mitsu gremlins I feared have stayed away (knocking on wood). My Focus was into the shop 5 times by now and that was over the same mileage in four years!


My problems:

Cheap seats- Granted Mitsubishi never intended this car for use how I use it, but the seats suck. You sit on the seat, not in the seat, if you know what I mean. I might get a Recaro seat for it.

Automatic transmission- On the whole it's pretty good, but below 20mph, it constantly shifts around between first and second. This cannot be good for it.

Paint and finish. This is my biggest complaint with this car. After 31k and only a few trips to a car wash, my car is a giant swirl mark. I take care of it, wash and wax the proper way and it still swirls terribly and has large nicks in the paint. Although the car is black and that makes it more obvious, my Focus didn't have any swirl marks in the paint after 4 years.

So far, I like the car a lot. If I had paid sticker or close to it, I wouldn't be as satisfied with it. But for 14k, it was a great buy. Do it again? Sure, but I'd probably go for the Ralliart version.

 

you've dragged in your Sportback? Thats hilarious...

 

Sometimes, you just need to get over a lane. And sometimes the person next to you is a punk in a riced-out Civic. Nothing like kicking someones as$ in a station wagon. I'm 28 and I try not to make a habit of doing that anymore, but sometimes the competitive side kicks in...

 

haha, s'all good, last thing I expect is gettin whooped by Pizza Hut's delivery wagon(jk). Does sportback have those bucket seats in the RA sedan? I never got to sit in one while I was at the dealership

 

He has the LS sportback, so he's got the cheaper base Lancer seats. The Ralliart Sportback has the better RA seats.

 

Now that they are re- releasing the Sportback in Canada sometime in April, I am thinking of buying - wondering how the dealership service is in the Vancouver area? Anyone with good/bad experience? Rest of Canada?

 

Why arn't they back in the U.S. ?!? Aurgh!!!!!!!!!

 

I bought mine at Wolfe Mitsu in Langley. They gave me a better deal at Wolfe than the one in Vancouver. Friendlier staff as well.

 

Kinda like the 02 bodystyle myself. It would be sweet to actually get that bumper here.

http://www.poweraxel.com/ralliart/ca...dia/index.html

 

Good to know - thanks...any trouble getting parts or big wait times? Any real problems with your ride? thx

Seems Mistu realizes there is a bigger market here than in the US for this type of vehicle - its big or go home down south

 

bump

 

Haven't had any problems with my Sportback yet (knock on wood) so I can't comment on the wait time for parts. I have had my first couple of services their and they do a pretty good job I guess but its fairly expensive. I do my own oil changes now so I don't think I'm gonna go back there for my service. Don't feel like driving all the way into Langley.

 

Mitsubishi made the mistake of having the Outlander ( do they sell them in Canada?) come to market at or nearly the same time as the Sportback. "Station Wagon" still has a stupid stigma attached to it, but "crossover" vehicle doesn't. No one wants to drive an "old station wagon" but raise it up a little, make AWD available and suddenly, it's a "cool" vehicle to own.

 

Gonna hit 50000 miles here in a few days (in 900miles) and no problems yet other than my rear view mirror vibrating all the time from the bass...LOL!