My family bought this as a commercial/leisure vehicle and it just about filled its purpose.
The main concern is quality - nothing fell off, but there were various problems such as paint chipping off the bumper, badly corroded alloy wheels, worn syncromesh on first gear, clonking rear axle and sticky rear windows. For upwards of £18k this is unacceptable. The whole feeling of the car was of one built to a very low price.
To drive it is quite comedic, but the driving position affords you a good view of the road and it's not too shabby to drive if you don't push too hard. The comedy comes in when you do - oversteer and extremely roly-poly handling. The ride quality is adequate considering the basic suspension set-up.
Anyone who thinks you should buy a big lumbering 4x4 for the snow is plainly wrong - the L200 is terrifying in the snow, with unpredictable handling even with snow tyres and in four-wheel drive. I think the issue is weight and its poor distribution (as with all big 4x4s). At least it plows through drifts and gets up hills well.
Off-road it just about survives! We only managed to get it stuck once, in a very dodgy unstable river bed - down to our stupidity more than anything. Despite the huge rear overhang it handles itself off-piste surprisingly well.
Interior accommodation isn't fantastic, in a word: cramped, especially in the back. The dashboard is cheap and plasticky but decently built.
The 2.5 in-line 4 turbodiesel engine is a Mitsubishi stalwart and should last forever - it's very understressed with a mere 98bhp but it keeps up okay with traffic. Fuel economy hovers around 30MPG, which isn't too bad considering.
This isn't a great car, but if you need a pick up it's probably one of the best.
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My family use one of these daily and have found completely the opposite. Most days it's working alongside the farm land rovers and it's also the road car as it's cheaper on fuel for long trips to London every week. We find it brilliant off-road and towing. It's also been totally reliable for the three years we've owned it. You must have found a bad one. What a great pity. Emma.
Advantages: Multi-functional/High driving position/Good towing capability/Commercial class vehicle with reasonable comfort level/Full VAT recovery under current legislation/PAYE tax on £500-00 only as still classed by revenue as commercial vehicle. Disadvantages: Poor steering lock/High fuel use (Diesel)/Poor reliability/Frequent service intervals(4500 miles)/High dealer service cost
feralcat 04.11.2003 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Mitsubishi L200
Advantages: Multi-functional/High driving position/Good towing capability/Commercial class vehicle with reasonable comfort level/Full VAT recovery under current legislation/PAYE tax on £500-00 only as still classed by revenue as commercial vehicle. Disadvantages: Poor steering lock/High fuel use (Diesel)/Poor reliability/Frequent service intervals(4500 miles)/High dealer service cost
feralcat 04.11.2003 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Mitsubishi L200
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