... By then I had decided not to buy the Cougar anyway, and no call came, so I still have the Mitsubishi! I wouldn't have changed it for the Cougar then anyway because I'm a stubborn old sod at the best of times! ... Read review
Advantages: Very economical, spacious family hatchback. Disadvantages: Slightly sluggish
MODEL SPECIFICATION: 4 cylinder 1834cc. 5-Speed manual gearbox, power assisted steering, disc/drum brakes (no ABS, unfortunately). Tinted glass, central locking, Thatcham approved immobiliser. Driver & passenger's airbags, electric windows & mirrors. Alloy wheels. Electronic trip meter, air conditioning, colour coded bumpers & mirrors. 5 door hatchback model.
The 16 valve GDi (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine achieves an outstanding ... ...infamous A14) and over 50mpg for motorway driving, sitting at a steady 70mph. Servicing costs are around £100 a time, and the parts are not at all difficult to get hold of.
I also have a large family (I have four children) and I find the car quite spacious. The boot was large enough to take our clumbersome double buggy when the girls were very small, and a few bags as well! It also used to take a full football kit and about eight footballs, ... more
MODEL SPECIFICATION: 4 cylinder 1834cc. 5-Speed manual gearbox, power assisted steering, disc/drum brakes (no ABS, unfortunately). Tinted glass, central locking, Thatcham approved immobiliser. Driver & passenger's airbags, electric windows & mirrors. Alloy wheels. Electronic trip meter, air conditioning, colour coded bumpers & mirrors. 5 door hatchback model.
The 16 valve GDi (Gasoline Direct Injection) engine achieves an outstanding 45mpg for general day-to-day use (mostly stop-start driving on the infamous A14) and over 50mpg for motorway driving, sitting at a steady 70mph. Servicing costs are around £100 a time, and the parts are not at all difficult to get hold of.
I also have a large family (I have four children) and I find the car quite spacious. The boot was large enough to take our clumbersome double buggy when the girls were very small, and a few bags as well! It also used to take a full football kit and about eight footballs, four players and myself when I used to manage Fenstanton Football Club!
Also, the air conditioning is lovely in hot weather, and although it's the first car I've owned with it, I will be insisting on it on any future car purchases!
On the downside, the car is quite sluggish - but I knew this when I bought it and was willing to sacrifice some performance for greater fuel economy. The interior whilst quite plush, is an acquired taste - it looks like camouflage! The engine is also a bit noisy - there is nothing wrong with it - it's just how they are. It performs like a petrol, has the economy of a diesel, and sounds like something in between! I would have also preferred the car to have ABS brakes.
I have owned the car now for over three years (I bought it in January 2002), and it has NEVER broken down on me. Sure, I've had it serviced regularly but apart from standard worn out parts, a new cambelt, and a new exhaust (the exhaust fell off the day after I bought it when I was driving it for the first time on a long journey - to see my beloved Everton lose at Aston Villa!) which was fitted free of charge by the garage I bought the car from, it's VERY reliable.
In July 2003 a guy in a van took the front end of my car off. He just shot straight out of a side road in Newmarket, somehow didn't see me, and demolished the front end of the car. It was borderline whether the insurers would repair the car or write it off, but gladly they decided to repair it and it looks as good as it did before the accident - better in fact because I paid a bit extra on the repair and had the roof resprayed (the lacquer was a bit tarnished as I'm a bit lazy and didn't clean the bird droppings off regularly enough - and there's a great number of birds sitting in trees every day in my office car park!)
Would I buy it again? I'm a bit bored with it to be honest, and the trade-in value of the car nowadays (less than £1,000) is so low, I may as well run the car into the ground and dispose of it. It was perfect for me at the time I bought it, though. I did have a look at a nice Ford Cougar recently. It was an 'S' registration 1998 (so the same year as my Carisma), had more miles, a few stone chips on the bonnet, and a nasty cigarette burn on the back seat. The dealer wanted £4995 for the car in October last year. I offered him £3000 cash and my car for a quick deal. He refused, sticking to his guns over the price, and insisted he wanted the full £3995 plus my car for the Cougar. This made me think a bit - it's a lot of money to me, and I knew nothing about the car. OK, I've liked the Cougar for ages and may buy one next time around, but I could have parted with all that cash and ended up with a car that was unreliable, thirsty, more expensive to insure, and regretted my decision. I explained this to the dealer - after all I know exactly what is wrong with the Carisma (very little) and it sails through each MOT every year. I left the salesman my business card, and asked him to call me if he changed his mind. No call came. I drove past the Cougar every day on the way to work for 6 months, and saw the price on the windscreen tumble (eventually to £3995 - which was the price i'd offered him back In October with my car!) every few weeks. By then I had decided not to buy the Cougar anyway, and no call came, so I still have the Mitsubishi! I wouldn't have changed it for the Cougar then anyway because I'm a stubborn old sod at the best of times!
Advantages: Frugal fuel economy/large boot Disadvantages: poor residual value
Having driven 3 Mitsubishi galants for the last 9 years each one covering 140,000 mile plus with never breakingdown, I decided to buy a 3 year old ex company car, Charisma 1.8 GDI Elegance,off my employer as a second family car.
I personally do not like the looks but my family like it!
The car is a hatch back year 2000 on a V plate with 83000 miles on the clock.Bringing it home consisted of a 150 mile journey mainly down the A1.What a great drive,plenty ... ...gauge hardly moved despite some rapid driving.I reset the trip computer on purchase and now after 1 month,all round town apart from the 1st 150 miles, it is returning 38mpg!!
The luggage area is extremely roomy for this size of car much bigger than the volvo V40 estate I was driving at the time.
Reliability is very good our company has run a small fleet of these over the past 5 years with an average 3 yearly mileage of 100,000 and some have been ...
geoffers 20.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8
I have recently bought this model made in 1999 with a host of extras including air conditioning and electric sun-roof, alloy wheels, ABS, electric windows and immobiliser.
An onboard computer gives average as well as instantaneous fuel consumption results.
It is extremely frugal with fuel due to the new GDI engine.
Also very good to drive.
All in all an excellent family car.
Very importantly it has Mitsubishi's unlimited mileage three year warranty ...
sab 06.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8
Advantages: Japanese technology Disadvantages: European built quality
This has got to be the worst Japanese car ever built! These vehicles were only ever built to bypass the foreign import quota. Built in Holland (Nedcar) with 90% european parts so more Japanese quality vehicles could be imported. This is a very very average car on the same lines as any Ford or Vauxhall. If you like your Carisma then please please don't take a Gallant out or you will hate your car when you drive it afterwards. Average car for the Japanese! ...
g.curry 02.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8
Advantages: Drives good and good price/quality Disadvantages: Loses it's value fast
The Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8 is probably the best known car from the Carisma series, and comes with a good collection of features. It drives good and is pretty quiet. The tank has space for 60 liters and uses about 7 liters per 100 km.
The car has a collection of extra's, inluding airconditioning, metallic, power-steering and electric windows. This all is extra and costs more, of course. You can also get a car radio / CD player inside your Carisma ... ...loss of value. Because it is an Japanese car, it loses it's value very fast, so that you can't get a lot of money for it when you trade it for another car. I find this car very good, with good features and a good collection of extra's. If you want a car with a good price/quality comparism, then this is a good choice. Also for renting this is a great car. Except the fast loss of value, I can recommend this car. Note: The Purchase Price of the car ...
gijluiaard 07.09.2003
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8
