Having been in the motor trade for some 12 years, from salesman to sales manager, I have driven hundreds of different cars from dozens of different manufacturers and I can honestly say these cars have to be one of the worst vehicles I have had the opportunity to drive in my life. How anyone can write a positive review of the L200 without being on some kind of mind altering drug, beats me.
Mitsubishi have lost the plot as far as cars go, with the exception of the Evo. Even the help of Daimler Chrysler could not help this ailing company from producing a car worthy of the price they charge and this beast aint worth the plastic it is made from.
Looks wise, the L200 is a different story, with the Animal and the Warrior giving it a boost and lots of stuck on chrome (They use blobs of mastic!) bling it up for the egotistical middle aged wanna be young again fat-bellied builder who thinks he can pull a young girl just by tooting his horn and shouting out "Oy, oy!" The shape of the L200 Double Cab is much better than her competitors, the Nivara, Toyota and I guess the Ford (snigger, who would?) and in fact she does look good with a few surfboards on the back on the seafront during a gusty weekend. Only one problem, they would not fit as the back of the L200 is tiny. You can't even put a motorbike on the back to go scrambling. This is because practicality has been neglected to make room for the "Ego!"
If you aren't aware, it is a tax scam to buy one of these as they are classed as a commercial vehicle so you only pay 3K Benefit in kind which means as a 22% taxpayer, this would cost you £660 in tax whereas the normal passenger car costs you a coupe of thousand at best. So manufacturers did their research and found the ideal market for the type of customer they wanted. Chuck some leather and a few celtic Animal graphics on a pick up and there you go.
Don't get me wrong, this car does have some good points, the turning circle is amazing for its class and the passenger space inside the cab is brilliant, but you bounce like a kangaroo on a trampoline at the merest sight of a matchstick on the road. Coupled with a 2.5 td engine that is noisier than a market trader and rougher than scraping your face along a brillo pad, you can imagine the car is not pleasant to drive. Being a diesel though, you would expect low fuel consumption, but how wrong you would be. 25mpg at 70 is what this car returns. I have driven about 20 of these cars, automatics (don't, just don't even consider this underpowered laggy gearbox, really!) and manuals and they all return about the same.
Interior is nice but basic, expect to add about £3,000 to the average price of £18,000 for an animal (plus VAT) for metallic paint, back box, liner and other stuff. Smart Nav is a bit basic as well, I mean why would you have a voice activated navigation when you can have a Tom Tom? Altometer is so wrong you can be parked on the beach and it would say 100m above sea level.
Servicing prices? Good news, buy a new one and you get three services for about £300. Bad news, expect to pay over £1000 for your first three services at 12500 mile intervals or every 12 months.
Problems, engines are somewhat unreliable which is unlike Mitsubishi but I have seen these trucks come back no a daily basis with blown out engines. There seems to be a few teething problems that have gone on for a while now.
Overall this truck is uncomfortable, heavy on the juice and expensive to run but it wont stop the middle aged wannabe's buying them and sporting surf wear and bleached hair.
If you need a truck for work then fair play but you can carry more in the back of a Ford KA than this thing so be sensible and get a van.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
A friend of mine has one of these, not really one for me though, very helpful review
greenierexyboy 01.12.2007 21:15
Remember the ad that went "Don't you wish you had a Mitsubishi?" Well, the answer's still "no" ;-)
COOOEEE 01.12.2007 11:37
I have seen much better car reviews but you have included servicing costs, fuel consumption etc so have covered the basics . I remember reviews full of spelling mistakes done on purpose by a particular individual Lol
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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Review of Mitsubishi L200
Nov 30th, 2007
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